Kingsville - Carrying a four-game win streak, the Texas A&M - Kingsville softball team heads on a road trip to Angelo State to face off with the No.4 team in the nation in a doubleheader on Friday before playing No.22 Lubbock Christian in a doubleheader on Sunday.

ASU and LCU won't be the first ranked teams that Kingsville has played this season, the team already have two top-12 matchups under its belt, including a walkoff win over No.12 Mississippi St. to finish its opening weekend of play. Overall, the Javelinas are 11-8, and they hold a 6-2 record in Lone Star Conference play, including four straight wins.

"It's the Lone Star Conference, more than half of the teams are ranked in the top 25," Head Coach Orlando Salinas said. "Any team can beat any team on any given day, so we look forward to the challenge. Every pitch, every series gets you ready for the next opponent. We are right in the middle of conference play and it doesn't get any better than this. Our team is excited and looking forward to the challenge."

The team's four straight wins all came last weekend in its first four home games of the year. TAMUK swept Sul Ross St., 8-0 (5), and 10-0 (5), before doing the same to UT - Permian Basin, 9-0 (6), 6-2. The Javelinas were led by a pair of stellar performances in the circle from freshman Arianna Alaniz, who pitched two complete game shutouts with 23 combined strikeouts across just 11 innings. She has moved into seventh in the conference in strikeouts despite having started just three games, half as many as any other player in the top 15.

This year, Kingsville's offense has been led by graduate student outfielder Lindsey Evans, who is hitting .564 on the season, the best mark in the LSC and the eighth-best in the nation. She is also second in the conference in walks. Sophomore infielder Laney Doeslitsch and graduate student outfielder AJ Jasso are also both top 11 in the LSC in base on balls. As a team, the Javelinas rank fourth in the conference in both batting and on base percentage, while they have hit the third-most homers.

This weekend's opponents, however, bring a unique test. Angelo has lost just three game all year, with one of those coming against the No.1 team in the land, UT-Tyler. The Rambelles split their doubleheader with Tyler, taking the second game 3-2. Early in the season, ASU's pitching has been fantastic. The team's ERA of 1.69 is the third-best in the conference, while its opponent batting average of .210 is the second best. Javelina Nation will likely see senior Cheyenne Floyd, whose 1.24 individual ERA is the fourth-best in the LSC, as well as senior Amelia Hatthorn, who has the 10th-best ERA in the conference and a perfect, 5-0 record in her seven starts. 

"Angelo State and Lubbock Christian are both very well coached, they've been playing great softball offensively, and on the mound," Salinas said. "We look forward to a great weekend of high level softball and great competition."

First pitch in Friday's doubleheader is set for 2 p.m., with the second game set to start 4 p.m..