Zias swept in final series of season

KINGSVILLE, Texas — Sophomore Tori Johnson pitched her first shutout of the season while senior Robyn Jensen hurled her third complete game of the weekend Saturday as Texas A&M-Kingsville completed a four-game Lone Star Conference South Division softball sweep of Eastern New Mexico University with 8-0 and 6-2 victories.

The Javelinas (31-24, 10-8 South) won Friday’s games 4-1 and 3-2 behind the pitching of Jensen, who ended the season with a record of 23-12. ENMU (11-36, 1-19) dropped 21 of its final 23 games overall.

Johnson (6-6) pitched a four-hitter in Saturday’s opener, walking none and striking out two. The game was called in the bottom of the fifth on the eight-run rule after the Javs erupted for five runs.

Kingsville broke a scoreless tie with a three-run third against ENMU senior Maegan Rhoten (3-15). Overall, five of the Javelinas’ runs off Rhoten were unearned, the result of four Zias errors.

In the second game, the Zias closed to 3-2 in the fourth on a single by Kyleigh Harris, a walk to Cassandra Gonzales, a wild pitch and Courtney McClasky’s two-out, two-run single. Kingsville responded with Ria Hoog’s two-run double in the bottom of the inning, and tacked on one more in the fifth against ENMU senior Lauren King (4-14).

Harris went 2-for-2 in both games on Saturday and was 5-for-11 in the series.

In Friday’s opener, the Javs again broke a scoreless tie with three in the third against Rhoten, two on a double by Brandy Thompson. Hoog added a solo homer in the fourth.

The Zias scored in the fifth on singles by Harris and Cindy Hess and a Kingsville outfield error.

In the second game, ENMU got a two-run double from senior shortstop Misty Torrez in the second inning and carried a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth behind King. Thompson singled home pinch-runner Hallie Roloff with the tying run, and TAMK’s Sarah Norman also scored on an outfield error on the same play.