Wichita Falls - The Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team snapped its three-game losing streak in dramatic fashion, sweeping the Midwestern St. Mustangs, 1-0 (10 innings) and 8-3, in Wichita Falls on Sunday.
Senior RHP
Andrea Martinez, who has not recorded a loss in the circle since March 8, put up her second complete-game win in the last two weeks, shutting out the Mustangs across 10 innings. Offensively, it was freshman 3B
Ella Srubar who broke the tie and won the game for Kingsville in the tenth. Game two was a much louder performance for TAMUK's offense, which posted 12 hits, eight of them coming from Srubar, freshman 2B
Victoria Vargas, and sophomore DP
Alexis Soliz.
The Javelinas are now 28-14 overall and 23-9 in Lone Star Conference play. They sit in the spot, where they have a four-game advantage on the sixth seed (Lubbock Christian), and are one game behind fourth place (Oklahoma Christian).
Game-One Drama
The first game of Sunday's matinee was a defensive dogfight. Martinez dueled with her Mustang counterpart as the two posted some of the best softball of their seasons. As a result, the game stayed a scoreless tie frame after frame.
Eventually, the matchup's two pitchers dueled themselves into extra innings, the third time that Kingsville has played extras in its last seven games. In the top of the tenth, it was Srubar who came up clutch for the Hogs. She knocked a base hit back up the middle, sending freshman LF
Kennia Chong, who had hit a two-out double not long before, home to give TAMUK the lead. That would end up being the only run scored in the game as Martinez engineered a 1-2-3 bottom of the tenth to get Kingsville back in the win column, ending a three-game losing streak.
Martinez Gem
In the 19th start of her senior season, Martinez was simply incredible. She pitched a complete-game, 10-inning shutout in game one, striking out seven Mustang batters and earning the 12th win of her season. She improves to a 12-6 record on the season with the seventh complete game of her year.Â
That performance was not without its drama, however, as Martinez allowed seven hits and three walks, but locked in when it mattered most. Over the course of the day, she forced Mustang batters to go 0-11 with runners in scoring position. Under her watch, MSU left four runners stranded between the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings.
Game Summaries
Game one featured a true pitcher's dual, with an unbelievable 18 straight scoreless sides beginning the game. Kingsville, who entered the weekend carrying one of the best offenses in all of Division II, did not get its first hit until the sixth inning when sophomore
Julissa Vasquez pinch hit, sending one through the infield to become the Javelinas' second base runner of the contest.
As the game pushed into extras, Martinez continued to work herself through high-leverage situations, throwing an incredible 157 pitches across the contest. She set up a scoreless tie in the top of the tenth, where Kingsville's offense woke up in a big way. With two outs, Chong knocked a two-out standup double into left field, putting a runner in scoring position for Srubar to send home two batters later, giving TAMUK the win.
Game two started with a bang for the Javelinas. They plated five in the top of the first courtesy of RBI base hits from sophomore SS
Megan Geyer, sophomore RF
Lainee Ballin, Chong, and Soliz. Soliz struck again in the third, driving in two more runs to give Kingsville a 7-0 lead. The game was Soliz's first with multiple hits this season, she went 3-4 with four RBIs.
Though the Mustangs got three back in the home side of the fourth, Kingsville responded with an insurance run driven in by Ballin, followed by a two-run homer from Srubar. She brought Chong home with a no-doubter for the fifth home run of her collegiate career. Freshman LHP
Kailee Silva got the start in the circle, giving up two runs in three innings of work. Senior RHP
Kristina Nash (W, 7-1) went 2.1 IP in relief. She has not recorded a loss since February 22.
Up Next:
The Javelinas will now be returning home eying a pair of LSC doubleheader in what will be the final home weekend of the team's season. They will first face off with No.5 West Texas A&M at 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Friday. They will then take on Eastern New Mexico at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, which will also serve as the team's senior day, where it will honor its four graduating seniors.
