TYLER, Texas – Freshman Carissa De Los Santos (Kingsville, Texas) allowed just two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings and Aaliyah Ortiz (San Antonio, Texas) drilled a grand slam to help lead the No. 2 Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team to a 10-3 victory over the Oklahoma Christian Eagles on Saturday afternoon in the Lone Star Conference Tournament Semifinals in Tyler, Texas at Suddenlink Field at the UT Tyler Ballpark.
This win secures a spot for the Javelinas in the LSC Tournament Final, where they'll take on the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions on Sunday at 12 p.m.
"I thought we did good job getting on the board early and getting an early lead," said coach Craig Nicholson. "I joked with them before the game said 'Let's try and play with a lead today.' They fought their way back into the game and when you're playing a good team, that's what happens. [Carissa] pitched a great game for us. We had a couple hiccups but I thought our defense was really good all day."
TAMUK's offense started quickly, piling up four runs in the first three innings. In the first, a walk, a single and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with one out and junior Matisen Onofrei (Mesa, Ariz.) lifted a sacrifice fly to center to put the day's first run on the board. The second frame began with a Natalie Rodriguez (Edinburg, Texas) double and after a single moved her to third, it was senior Loren Kelly (Rockport, Texas) who skied a sacrifice fly of her own into right for a 2-0 advantage.
A two-out rally allowed the Javs to double their lead in the fourth, as, with a runner on, back-to-back safeties loaded the bases and freshman Rylee Oborski (Salado, Texas) slapped a two-run single into left and the Blue and Gold had forged a four-run edge.
One half-inning after Oborski's two-run hit, the Eagles fought back, putting their first two hitters on in the fourth before Aaliyah Brown whacked a three-run homer to trim their deficit to one. In the sixth, OC put its lead-off hitter on and had three chances with the go-ahead run at the plate, but De Los Santos and junior Saidi Castillo (Kingsville, Texas) retired the next three hitters to preserve the lead.
The chance for the Javelinas to add to their lead came in the seventh, when three consecutive singles loaded the bases and sophomore Kayla Gonzales (San Antonio, Texas) was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Junior Matisen Onofrei (Mesa, Ariz.) followed with an RBI single and that brought up Ortiz who crushed the first pitch she saw to center for a grand slam. De Los Santos did the rest to send the Javelinas to the LSC Tournament Championship Game.
Follow all the action in the LSC Tournament Final by visiting Javelinaathletics.com, where you'll find links to live stats, live video and a recap at game's end. Stay current with Javelina softball by following @TAMUKSB and @JavelinaSports on both Twitter and Instagram, liking the Javelina Sports Facebook page, subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube Channel and visiting Javelinaathletics.com. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy.
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