Canyon - On the second day of the Lone Star Conference Softball Tournament, the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball team upset the No.4-ranked team in the nation, the West Texas A&M Lady Buffs, 4-0, to earn a spot in the LSC Tournament Championship tomorrow at 2:00 p.m..
Kingsville's trip to the Championship against the Angelo St. Rambelles will be the first time the program has earned a trip to the big game since 2019. It was also the first time that a team has blanked WT since April 1st against UT-Tyler. Freshman DP
Ella Srubar led the way offensively for TAMUK, knocking a home run to give the team a lead it would not surrender in the third, as well as a triple to lead off the seventh.
Shutout
The combined pitching effort of redshirt junior RHP
Rylee Yarborough and junior RHP
Marianna Zumerle forced WT into just the second shutout of its season, silencing perhaps the best hitting team in the nation.
Yarborough started in the circle for the Hogs, pitching a scoreless 1.2, before Zumerle took over for the final 5.1, again keeping the Lady Buffs off the board. She got Kingsville out of multiple jams, including a bases-loaded threat from WT when she took over in the second, and a runners-on-the-corners situation with one out in the fourth. The two pitchers combined to force 15 groundouts and threw just 94 total pitches.
Game Summary
After Zumerle (W, 3-3) worked Kingsville out of the bases-loaded jam in the second, Srubar began the game's offense with a solo shot in the top of the third, giving the Javelinas their lead. For the second straight game, on the second straight day, the team's pitching staff and defense tightened the clamps. Once the Hogs had their lead, they allowed just one hit the rest of the game, locking down WT's red-hot offense and closing out the win. A pair of insurance runs in the sixth, driven in by freshman CF
Kennia Chong and sophomore RF
Lainee Ballin, added to TAMUK's lead, before a sacrificed groundout from sophomore SS
Megan Geyer scored Srubar from third in the seventh after her leadoff triple.
Kingsville's win will give it a shot to win the third LSC Tournament Championship in program history.
Up Next
The Hogs are now on to the LSC Championship for the first time since 2019, and will face off with Angelo St., who they split with (got swept in San Angelo, swept in Kingsville) during the regular season. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
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