Kingsville - After a Friday-afternoon split with St. Edward's the Texas A&M - Kingsville softball team will host St. Mary's for a Sunday doubleheader at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., NOT the usual time of a 1 p.m. first pitch.

Sunday, March 23rd:
Doubleheader VS St. Mary's (FloCollege)
4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Projected Starters:
TAMUK Game One: Arianna Alaniz (Fr. RHP) - (8-6), 2.55 ERA, 71.1 IP, 0.98 WHIP, 48 H, 26 ER, .180 oAVG, 111 Ks
STM Game One: Emily Ayala (Jr. RHP) - (6-1), 2.64 ERA, 53.0 IP, 1.19 WHIP, 54 H, 20 ER, .255 oAVG, 30 Ks
TAMUK Game Two: Esther Martinez (Fr. LHP) - (3-4), 4.27 ERA, 59.0 IP, 1.76 WHIP, 76 H, 36 ER, .297 oAVG, 29 Ks
STM Game Two: Madeline Bloom (Sr.) - (6-3) 2.39 ERA, 52.2 IP, 1.10 WHIP, 49 H, 19 ER, .241 oAVG, 28 Ks

Sunday's series holds significant weight in the Lone Star Conference standings, as TAMUK's 12-10 LSC record is just one game back from St. Mary's', who currently sits in the No.5 spot in the conference. 

St. Mary's offense is incredibly formidable, boasting the second-most hits in the LSC and the fifth-most runs as well as the fifth-best batting average. Much like the Javelinas' last opponent, the Hilltoppers, the Rattlers have five different players (who have started double-digit games) hitting at least .330 on the season. That offense will match up with a pair of Javelina freshmen who are set to start in the circle. Both Alaniz and Martinez had been played very well as of late, including a pair of complete games with just one earned run a piece given up against No.1 UT-Tyler last weekend, but neither looked like their usual selves in Friday afternoon's split. The young stars will have to rebound quickly with a dangerous group of Rattler bats waiting for them.

Though on the whole, St. Mary's pitching staff has struggled this year, the team's two aces, Bloom and Ayala, boast 6-3 and 6-1 records respectively and each have a WHIP below 1.20. The team, however, has allowed at least five runs in each of its last four games. 

A win over No.4 Angelo St. highlights the strong start to the Rattlers' season, but the team has lost three of its last four games entering Sunday's matchup, leaving both teams desperate for wins in a key LSC series. 

TAMUK Notes:
As a team, the Javelinas are fifth in the Lone Star in on-base percentage with .399 and second in walks with 127
Graduate student outfielder Lindsey Evans enters the weekend hitting .459, the sixth-best mark in the LSC
Graduate student outfielder AJ Jasso and freshman third baseman Alexis Soliz are 30th and 33rd in the conference in batting average - hitting .368 and .365 respectively. 
Jasso leads the team in RBIs with 27 (the 16th-most in the LSC) - the team has five different players with at least 17 
Freshman right hander Arianna Alaniz's 111 strikeouts are the fourth-most in the LSC and tied for the eighth-most in the NCAA this year - she ranks fifth in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings with 10.9
Alaniz has already won multiple LSC Pitcher of the Week awards in her young career, having thrown a five-inning no-hitter against No.22 Lubbock Christian - she has already posted four games this season with double digit strikeouts, and has thrown three complete-game shutouts
Kingsville has four players, Laney Doelitsch, Dakota Martinez, Evans, and AJ Jasso with at least four homers on the season - Evans and Martinez each have six (tied for seventh in the Lone Star)