KINGSVILLE, Texas- The Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball team fell twice on Saturday, dropping game one of a Lone Star Conference doubleheader to St. Edwards 8-5, before falling 20-2 in game two at Nolan Ryan Field 

The No. RV/NR Javelinas (0-3, 0-3 LSC) saw a slew of Blue and Gold debuts in a pair of losses against the No. RV/16 Hilltoppers (3-0, 3-0 LSC). 

Redshirt sophomore Ramsey Amador and junior Shelby Becker provided bright spots, with Amador going 3-for-4 at the plate and Becker 4-for-8 scoring a pair of runs. Additionally, classmate Nick Wolff went yard, logging his first home run of 2023.

Game One 

The Hilltoppers took game one 8-5, with both teams recording eight hits as the Javelinas struck first, plating a pair of runs in the bottom of the first.

Junior Colton Taylor tossed a scoreless inning before a leadoff single by shortstop Michael Cervantes and a fielding error put Becker on base. Back-to-back RBI groundouts by Wolff and senior Steven Bonuz plated the pair for the first two runs of the 2023 season.

The toppers scored five in the top of the second before adding a pair in the third, handing SEU a 7-2 lead. 

A bloop and a blast in the third brought the Javelinas within three as Becker slapped a single and Wolff launched his first long ball of the season, resulting in a 7-4 score line. The inning continued with a Bonuz walk and an Amador single, prefacing a sophomore Jake Chapman sac-fly that scored another Blue and Gold run.

Things remained quiet until the fifth, when SEU tacked on an insurance run, stretching their lead to three. Chapman looked to respond in the sixth, lacing a leadoff triple but was eventually stranded, ahead of an 8-5 final score.

Jack Granack (1-0) picked up the win, while Taylor received a loss, and Jack Engelmann earned a save. 

Junior Cole Payne saw action out of the bullpen allowing a hit across two innings with a strikeout, while redshirt junior Hunter Kloesel surrendered just one hit over the final three frames. 

Game Two

The Hilltoppers got on the board early, hitting back-to-back home runs in the first before sending five more across the plate in the second. Freshman Blake Rogers then tossed a scoreless third in his Javelina debut before SEU plated seven in the fourth.

Redshirt freshman Daniel Trevino then toed the slab for the first time in his collegiate career, striking out the first two batters he faced before tagging Davis Drewick himself for the third out in the top of the fifth.

SEU continued to build their lead knocking in six in the sixth, ahead of a bottom half that saw TAMUK score their first runs of the ballgame. 

Junior Collin Young wore a pitch to begin the frame before walks by sophomore Dalton Kramer, and redshirt junior Ivan Duarte loaded up the bases for sophomore Brandon Ramirez. He sliced a single into center field, allowing Kramer and Young to cross the plate for the final runs of the ballgame. 

Senior Matt Vasquez entered for the top of the seventh, tossing his second scoreless frame in as many days and recording a strikeout in the process. 

Luke Short (1-0) picked up the win for SEU after holding the Javelinas to one hit across the first five frames.

The Javelinas will look to bounce back on Sunday, with first pitch in the series finale set for 1 p.m. at Nolan Ryan Field. 

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.