KINGSVILLE, Texas- On Saturday, four members of the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball team hit home runs, while potent pitching from sophomore Karson Shepard helped propel the squad to a 12-4 victory over St. Mary's at Nolan Ryan Field. Additionally, the Javelinas claimed the series, bouncing back to win the next three after dropping the opener on Friday.

"It's tough to do, winning three in a row like that after losing on Friday night, said coach Jason Gonzales. "You put so much stock in Friday night; you're at home under the lights. There's always a lot of energy, and we didn't play very well. But what I never doubted was these guys' ability to bounce back. I've seen it all year long. We haven't always played well, but we've always responded. This is a tough group … The weekend's over, and to know that you won the series after losing on Friday night that's tough to do, and I couldn't be more proud of these guys."

The Javelinas (22-16, 21-15 LSC) took down the Rattlers (16-18, 14-18 LSC), as Shepard (3-1) picked up the win thanks to seven scoreless innings and nine strikeouts, while Karlo Kalifa (0-1) was tagged with the loss. 

TAMUK pushed 12 runs across with junior Nick Wolff, redshirt sophomore Hayden Johnson, junior Garrett Thompson, and senior Steven Bonuz all going deep. 

Wolff wasted no time putting the Javelinas on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first as he drilled a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right-center, knocking redshirt junior Ivan Duarte in for a 2-0 lead. Bonuz was plunked ahead of a Johnson home run that doubled the TAMUK total. 

Sophomore Dalton Kramer worked a full-count walk in the bottom of the second before Wolff picked up his third RBI of the day on a sharply hit single up the middle for a 5-0 Blue and Gold edge. 

Two more runs scored in the fourth, with Thompson smashing a solo shot over the wall in center field ahead of a wild pitch that saw Kramer scamper home. 

The Javelina lead was at its largest in the bottom of the sixth, as Duarte singled and stole second before denting the plate on a towering home run from Bonuz that delivered a 9-0 lead. 

The Rattlers clawed their way within five in the top of the eighth with a sac-fly by Clay Bradford and a three-run home run by Brandon Broughton, seeing a 9-4 score before sophomore Robbie Spencer entered to record the final out of the frame. 

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Duarte walked, and a fielding error put two runners on for Bonuz, who smacked a double into the gap in right-center to score the pair. Junior Shelby Becker then pushed across one more run for the Pack, plating Bonuz with an RBI single. 

The Javelinas now await an exhibition with the Corpus Christi Hooks on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. at Whataburger Field, ahead of a four-game series with Lubbock Christian starting Thursday at 6 p.m. at Hays Field and City Bank Clubhouse in Lubbock, Texas. 

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.