Kingsville - In a wild, offense-filled doubleheader against the St. Mary's Rattlers, the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team got an eight-inning walkoff grand slam from sophomore RF Lainee Ball to win game one 11-8 before dropping a back-and-forth game two, 12-9, ending the Javelinas' historic win streak at 14 games.
The Javelina offense, which entered the matchup as one of the nation's top scoring teams, totalled 25 hits and 20 runs across the doubleheader, but was out-hit in game two, leading to the team's first in nearly five weeks (March eighth). The squad holds on to its fifth spot in the Lone Star Conference standings and is two games out of third - three out of first.
Javelina History
The streak is the longest for TAMUK since 2022 and is tied for the fifth-longest in the history of the program. It was also the longest active streak in the LSC.
Ballin's heroic game-one swing was not the only homer of the game, as junior 1B
Dakota Martinez went deep into center field in the third frame, giving her sole possession of tenth all-time on the Javelinas' career home-runs list. Nine of her 16 career bombs have come this year, moving her one homer away from what would be a six-way tie for tenth all-time on the Javelinas' single-season home run list.
Javelina Heroics
Game one became the second game of the Javelinas' weekend to need extra innings to decide a winner after the Rattlers plated the tying run in the top of the seventh. The visitors then came back in the top of the eighth with a crooked number, making it 8-6.
In the face of those long odds, Kingsville's lineup did not blink. After a ground out to begin their side of the frame, three straight Javelinas reached safely to load the bases, followed by an RBI walk from Martinez to make it a one-run game. Then Ballin went deep over the left field for the seventh home run and first grand slam of her career, giving TAMUK the second extra-inning walkoff win of the weekend.
Ballin went 4-of-9 with eight RBIs, two triples, and a homer across the doubleheader. Her four triples tie her for the fourth-most hit by anyone in the LSC this season.
Game Summaries
Game one began with a quick first-inning three spot from Kingsville on an RBI single from Martinez, followed by a bases-clearing triple from Ballin. STM then responded with a four-spot in the top of the third, taking the lead. The Javelinas wasted no time taking it right back, however, plating two in the third on Martinez's history-making homer to make it 5-4. Kingsville then got an insurance run from sophomore SS Megan Guyer in the fourth, which became crucial when the Rattlers scored one each in the fifth and seventh to tie it up and force extras. From there, Ballin and the TAMUK offense took over to close out the game in dramatic fashion.
Senior RHP
Andrea Martinez pitched 7.0 IP across a start and re-entry, pitching the first 3.0 innings before getting pulled for senior RHP
Kristina Nash. A. Martinez then returns two batters into the fifth, pitching the final four frames of the contest and picking up the 11th win of her season, tying her for the seventh-most in the LSC.
Kingsville again jumped out to a quick lead in game two, plating a pair in the first inning off of another bases-clearing Ballin triple. From there, however, the offense began to struggle as the Rattlers found their groove. After a scoreless first, the visitors from San Antonio scored in each of the final innings, breaking the game open with eight total runs across the second, third, and fourth innings.
Never a crew to go down quietly, TAMUK exploded for a five-spot in the sixth inning, getting RBIs from sophomore 2B
Alexis Soliz, sophomore 3B
Alaunah Almaraz, and D. Martinez to pull within one. After STM padded its lead in the top of the seventh, Kingsville put a pair on base to lead off the bottom, but left them stranded, losing for the first time since early March.
Up Next
The Javelinas are now headed on the road to take on Lubbock Christian (Friday, 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.) and Midwestern St. (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.).
