PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico softball team will make the long road trip down to Kingsville, Texas to take on no. 11 Texas A&M-Kingsville this weekend in a three-game Lone Star Conference series.
The Hounds enter the weekend on a six game losing streak and will need to respond after consecutive tough series against Texas A&M-Commerce and Cameron over the past two weekends. Eastern New Mexico currently sits seventh in the LSC regular season standings, one spot shy of the coveted top-six spots that would qualify the Hounds for their first LSC Postseason Tournament since 2002.
Cameron won all three games in last weekend's series against the Greyhounds at the Greyhound Softball Field by scores of 7-2, 6-2, and 11-3. The Hounds recorded 18 hits over the course of the three games, but drove in just six runs over the weekend, making it imperative that the Hounds find a way to get back to their timely-hitting ways that proved so valuable early in the season.
This weekend's games are set to begin at 5 p.m. MST on Friday night and 12 p.m. MST on Saturday afternoon for the first game of a double header.
SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS
Texas A&M-Kingsville enters the weekend ranked no. 11 in the NCFA Division II National Poll despite having their scheduled off week from Lone Star Conference play last weekend. The Javelinas most recently took that field on Mar. 11 against Oklahoma Baptist, securing the 4-0 win in that contest, and last faced an LSC opponent on Mar. 8-9 with a 2-1 series win over Cameron.
Kingsville has produced the lowest team ERA in the LSC this season at 2.01 and limits opponents to a team average of .215. The Javelinas have relied on the duo of freshman Saidi Castillo and junior Breanna Smith to command the circle for most of the season's innings, producing the league's best and nation's 25
th best team ERA.
Castillo has been especially potent in the circle, striking out 114 batters in 93.2 innings pitched, ranking first in the conference and seventh in the nation in the category. The Kingsville, Texas native enters the weekend with a record of 14-2 on the year, and will square off with a Hound lineup that ranks third in the LSC with a batting average of .314.
The Javelinas on the other hand have also been effective at the plate, hitting .312 on the season, and will be led by catcher Roxy Chapa, who ranks sixth in the LSC with 30 RBI's on the season. Kingsville has eight predominant starters batting .300 or better on the season.
HISTORY WITH THE JAVELINAS
The Hounds have won just a single game in the last 15 match-ups with the Javelinas since 2014, a 12-11 win in game one of the series last season in Portales. The Javelinas hold a 57-19 advantage in the all-time series, and have conceded just seven Greyhound victories on their home field in a series that dates back to 1997.
That 12-11 victory a season ago proved to be a thriller for both teams as the game lasted 11 innings and saw the Javelinas come back from an 8-2 deficit as well as taking an 11-10 lead in the top of the 11
th inning, only to concede two runs to the Hounds in the bottom half of the frame. Current Greyhounds
Samantha Brockman and
Jennifer McElroy were vital in that victory, combining to go 8-for-12 on the day while McElroy batted in a total of five runs.
ELYSA IS ELECTRIC
Junior
Elysa Rodriguez had an outstanding series against the Aggies last weekend, recording a hit in five out of 10 at bats for the weekend and raised her season average up from .358 to .381. Those five hits for the weekend were a team high, resulting in seven total bases for the weekend for Rodriguez.
A LOOK AHEAD
The Greyhounds currently sit seventh in the Lone Star Conference standings and have five more series including this weekend's slate of games against Texas A&M-Kingsville remaining on the schedule. The Hounds will also incorporate two non-conference doubleheaders against Lubbock Christian to shape up the remaining 19 games on the 2019 regular season schedule.
The Hounds will follow up this weekend's series against a nationally-ranked foe with a series the following weekend at home against West Texas A&M, who currently sits no. 6 in the national polls and is four games clear of Texas A&M-Kingsville for first place in the LSC standings. The Hounds will then take on Western New Mexico, Tarleton State and MSU Texas to wrap up the regular season.
