Kingsville - Carrying a tie for the program's longest winning streak since 2022, the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team will host a pair of doubleheaders this weekend, beginning on Friday at 4:00 p.m. against Texas Woman's and finishing with a matchup against UT-Tyler on Sunday at 1:00 p.m..

The Javelinas have won seven straight games stretching back to their final five matchups at the Southern Colorado Crossover in non-conference play. They followed those up with a sweep of Texas A&M - International in last Sunday's doubleheader, beginning Lone Star Conference play 2-0. 

In the early going of the season, TAMUK's offense has led the way for the squad, scoring the fifth-most runs in the conference, while stealing the fourth-most bases and holding the sixth-best on-base percentage. To help pad that top-ranked OBP, the team leads the LSC in total walks with 61 through 12 games. 

In the circle, while senior RHP Andrea Martinez has just one win in her three starts, she leads the team and sits at eighth in the LSC in strikeouts with 26, and is coming off of a game where she pitched 6.1 while giving up just one earned run and striking out a career-high eight batters. Additionally, she has reached the eighth spot in the conference while pitching in fewer innings that six of the seven pitchers listed above her. 

Scouting the Competition: The Texas Woman's Pioneers (3-7, 1-1 LSC)

The Pioneers have had a slow start to their season dropping six of their first seven matchups, three of which came at the Lone Star Classic, at which the Javelinas also competed. Since then, however, they have won two of their last three entering the weekend, including a split matchup against UTT last weekend that saw them win a high-scoring affair with the reigning National Champs, 11-10.

Junior catcher Marissa Espinoza has been electric for the Pioneers this year, hitting a blistering .485 batting average (6th in the LSC), with a 1.299 OPS (12th in the LSC), while leading the team in hits and total bases. Sophomore pitcher Randi Crawford has been excellent in the circle, having made six appearances and three starts this year. Her 3.50 ERA is the 19th-best in the LSC and she leads the team in WHIP at 1.27. She allows opposing batters to hit just .262 (17th in the LSC), and has struck out 22 batters this season (12th in the LSC). 

Kingsville will be hoping to continue a recent stretch of great play against TWU. TAMUK has won 10 of its last 15 matchups against the Pioneers, including wins in three of last season's four contests. 

Scouting the Competition: The UT-Tyler Patriots (9-5, 1-1 LSC)

The back-to-back reigning National Champs have already lost as many games as they did all of last season. Despite that, they have pieced together a strong stretch of games, and had won six straight games, including the first LSC game of their season over TWU, before dropping the second half of the doubleheader against the Pioneers, 11-10. The team's matchups with Kingsville on Sunday will be the final two of six straight road games to begin conference play.

Tyler's offense has been on fire, especially as of late. Entering the weekend, it has the second most runs scored in the conference (22nd in the nation), the third-most total bases, and the fourth-best batting average. Amazingly, two different hitters for Tyler, junior utility player Kiara Wiedenhaupt and junior infielder Kaylee Cavazos, have each hit .444 or better with a slugging over .600.

Defensively, much like Kingsville, the Patriots' ERA has been middle-of-the-road to begin the year, but they punch out batters with the best of them, having struck out 69 hitters this year, the fourth most in the LSC. 

The Javelinas will be looking to break a long losing streak against the Patriots, having not beaten UTT since May of 2022 (10 straight losses). 

Javelina Quick Hitters:

• After a slow start full of tight, late losses, the Javelinas have been on a tear, carrying a seven-game winning streak into the weekend, which is tied for the longest in program history since 2022
• Senior RHP Andrea Martinez has stepped into a starting role for Kingsville and has been excellent, striking out the eighth-most batters in the LSC while pitching in fewer innings than six of the seven pitchers above her on that list
• Sophomore LHP Esther Martinez has been equally good, boasting the 11th-lowest ERA in the conference while having pitched in more innings than five of the 10 pitchers above her - she is also one of just six pitchers in the LSC this year to record a save
• Early in the season, sophomore outfielder Lainee Ballin had a stellar weekend at the Southern Colorado Crossover, hitting .588 with three home runs, keying Kingsville to the first five of seven straight wins (and counting) and earning the Lone Star Conference's Hitter of the Week award
• Kingsville as a squad leads the conference in walks, having drawn 61 on the season, and hold the sixth-highest on-base percentage in the LSC - they have also been extremely efficient bringing those base-runners home, having stolen the fourth-most bases and scored the fifth-most runs in the conference