Kingsville - After starting the season 5-6 in non-conference play, the Texas A&M - Kingsville softball team will open its Lone Star Conference schedule in Silver City against the Western New Mexico Mustangs with a Friday-afternoon doubleheader.

The Javelinas have played their softball all over the region to start their season. Their first six games took place in Youngsville, Louisiana, where Kingsville competed in the Mardi Gras Invitational, going 2-4 but knocking off the No.12-ranked team in the nation in walkoff fashion. Their next five came as the Javelinas went west, going 3-2 against regional foes at the West Texas Invite.

"Overall, we feel good heading into our first conference series," Head Coach Orlando Salinas said. "We played our first 11 games on the road and we're opening up at Western New Mexico on the road, so I feel that our ladies are getting used to playing on the road and they understand the grind. We've learned our personnel and where we truly are at this point, and we feel really good and excited about the direction that we're heading."

The Mustangs have struggled to open their season, starting 3-2 before dropping their next four games, all of which were played at the Edmond Regional Festival in Oklahoma City. They have scored just nine runs across their last four games heading into Friday's doubleheader matchup.

While WNMU has struggled offensively to start the year as a team, the Mustangs have a number of stellar individual hitters. Freshman Abbi Markus is tied for third in the LSC in doubles early in the year having hit five. They have two players, Markus and sophomore Hannah Martinez, who rank in the top 10 in the conference in triples, while senior outfielder Kaylee Hickman is tied for second with three homers.

"They're gonna be well-coached and they play really hard," Salinas said. "We understand that the Lone Star Conference is the toughest test in the country and any given day anybody can beat anybody so we're expecting war this coming weekend."

The Javelinas' bats have been red hot to start the year. They are hitting .312 as a team and have hit 10 home runs through 11 games, the second-most in the conference. Leading the way has been grad student outfielder Lindsey Evans, who is second in the LSC in batting average with an absurd .633, third in OPS, and tied for second in homers. 

"In order to win the series, we're going to have to put all our fazes together," Salinas said. "There's games that we pitch very well and we just can't get that key hit, and there's other games that we hit well but we just don't defend well, so we're hoping to put it all together this weekend."

First pitch on Friday is set for 1 p.m. central, with the second half of the doubleheader set to begin shortly after the end of the first game. Both games will be streamed live on FloSports, and you can follow along with the live stats or on social media @tamuksb.