KINGSVILLE, Texas- Texas A&M Kingsville will kickstart the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament on Thursday, with the squad slated to faceoff with the MSU-Denver Roadrunners at 2:30 p.m. at Foster Field in San Angelo, Texas.
 
The tournament will be double-elimination, with the winner between TAMUK and MSU-Denver set to faceoff with the top-seeded Angelo State Rams at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. 
 
Coinciding with the pod in San Angelo, another group will be competing in Grand Junction, Colorado, which is made up of No. 2 seed Colorado Mesa, No. 3 seed West Texas A&M, and No. 6 seed St. Edwards. Following the weekend, the champions of the two pods will meet at the highest-remaining seed for a best-of-three Super Regional series, with the victor being crowned NCAA South Central Regional Champion and punching their ticket to the 2022 NCAA Division II College World Series. 
 
The No. 4 seed Javelinas (31-18) take on the No. 5 seed Roadrunners (35-20) in the program's seventh appearance at the regional level and its first since claiming the regional championship in 2018.
 
Just two remain from the 2018 squad in the form of seniors Giancarlo Servin (Edinburg, Texas) and Hayden Fails (Sweeny, Texas). In 2021, Servin put together a stellar year that's seen him claim first-team all-Lone Star Conference honors while playing all over the infield for the Javelinas. He leads the team in home runs with 13 and runs batted in at 52, while collecting 116 total bases. 
 
Servin wasn't the only first-teamer on the squad, as sophomore Nick Wolff (Klein, Texas) claimed LSC Newcomer of the Year honors as the Blue and Gold catcher took the league by storm, posting a .361 batting average with a 1.114 OPS. 
 
The Blue and Gold bullpen has been stellar all year with a 4.96 ERA that leads the South Central Region. The Javelina's boast one of the most potent rotations in the region, with sophomore Kobe Jaramillo (Bishop, Texas) and senior Brandon Symmank (Cypress, Texas) ranked third and fourth on the ERA list. The two, along with classmates Logan Garza (Round Rock, Texas) and Kolby Lunsford (Helotes, Texas), have played a vital role in keeping runs off the board. 
 
Additionally, in relief, sophomore Colton Taylor (Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada) sits 17th in the nation in saves after slamming the door eight times on the year. He's also collected a trio of wins and has struck out 47 in 39.2 innings on the mound. Taylor ranks second in the region behind only Eric Cox, who earned nine saves for a Roadrunner squad that's coming hot off a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Championship. 
 
MSU-Denver has been one of the most well-rounded programs in the RMAC, ranking at or near the top of the leaderboard in several statistics. They sit fifth nationally in home runs, with the squad smashing 109 long balls on the season. The majority of which came from Bill Ralston and Ross Smith, who have each logged over 20. The team also leads the nation in doubles averaging 2.8 per game, and holds the 13th-best batting average in the country at .338.
 
On the mound for the Roadrunners, Cox leads the team with a 1.42 ERA and three wins in 31.2 innings of work, while eight different arms have started games on the season. Despite just one start, Connor Nantkes tops the program in wins with seven, while hurlers Richie Arcillse and Auston Stone each logged five.  
 
The No. 1 seed Angelo State Rams (45-10) play host after winning back-to-back LSC tournament titles. They await the winner between the Javelinas and Roadrunners after earning a bye as a result of being the top seed. 
 
The Javelinas met the Rams at Foster Field earlier in the year, as the Pack earned a road-series split against the then-ranked No. 10 team in the nation. The result was aided by a top drawer performance by Wolff, who was crowned NCBWA South Central Region Hitter of the Week for his efforts. The sophomore from Klein got the better of the Rams, posting a .583 batting average with three round-trippers and 11 RBIs, and helped his team-best the Rams via the run rule in an 18-7 series finale win. 
 
The ASU team has found success all over the diamond, ranking third nationally in batting average at .358 and first in DII with a .981 fielding percentage. The Rams excel at getting on base with a .472 OBP that tops the country and a 564 run total that leads the region
 
The Rams have 13 maintaining batting averages over the .300 threshold, including Justin Lee and Austin Beck, who sit at .452 and .420, respectively. Lee tops the program in RBIs with 71, while Aaron Walters has logged the most longballs for his team with eight.  
 
Additionally, the Rams hold a 5.10 ERA that sits just behind TAMUK as second in the South Central, with Carson Childers, Aaron Munson, Jake Rodgers, and Benjamin Elder making up the rotation. Rodgers has earned 10 wins on the year, with Elder and Munson each winning eight, while Childers has managed seven. 
 
Be sure to check Javelinaathletics.com for updates throughout the weekend, including a recap at the conclusion of each day. Watch your Javelinas live on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy. Stay up-to-date with everything Javelina baseball at JavelinaAthletics.com, follow the program on Twitter @JavelinaBSB, and see recent news on Facebook at /JavelinaBSB.
 
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