Jags hold off OLLU in RRAC Tourney opener

By Karolyn Hasler, Special to UHV Athletics

STERLINGTON, La. – In true JagBall fashion, the UHV baseball team took down Our Lady of the Lake 8-6 in the first round of the Red River Athletic Conference tournament on Wednesday.

The game felt almost reminiscent of their 2023 run at the Sterlington Sports complex.

The Jaguars (33-15) jumped to an early lead in the first inning courtesy of Hal Perez. 

Perez lit up the first with a three-run home run – his eighth of the year – to left field bringing in Hayden Leopold and Raul Lopez. Last year, the junior catcher had a grand slam in the first inning of the championship game which propelled UHV to the tournament title.

"It feels amazing to start the tournament with a win," Perez said. "We came to do a job and it feels good that everyone came together as a team like you're supposed to be, and we got out with a dub. We call it JagBall; we just pass the bat to the next batter, the next guy up. 

"It was a little bit (reminiscent), but with runners on second and third, I was just trying to hit the ball and get one run in, and it went out!"

The Jags repeated the pattern in the second inning adding a second set of three-runs capped with a two-run shot to left field by Jean Michael Gonzalez, sending Victoria into the third inning with a 6-0 lead.

"First off I can't say enough about the energy we played with from one to nine," said head coach Jonathan Stavinoha. "We came out of the gate hot and put some good barrels against one of the best pitchers in the Red River Athletic Conference and we can't say enough about those great ABs. There are some things we can get better with on the mound. We had some walks that kind of let them back in the door, but hats off to the boys to keep fighting and never let it get that far. This tournament is a crazy one and sometimes you have to win some games like that; it's not always going to be pretty and you've just got to overcome that."

The Saints found a way to break through in the third inning, taking away the shutout on an RBI single from Diego Zuniga. 

The Saints held the Jaguars scoreless for two innings, but UHV's offense continued in the bottom of the fifth. 

Raul Lopez found his way on base to lead off the inning with a double before waiting patiently. Gonzalez added an RBI with a single to bring Lopez in, lifting the Jags to 7-1. OLLU saw some light in the top of the sixth as they found a way to compile three runs and close the gap, 7-4. 

The final run for the Jaguars found its way across the plate in the bottom of the seventh as a double steal allowed Lopez to slide across for his second run of the game. 

The Saints (27-23) plated two more runs in the top of the eighth to try and start a rally, but UHV dashed their hopes leaving them scoreless in the top of the ninth with Justin Mireles, who earned his third save of the season in 1.1 innings pitched.

Jean Michael Gonzalez led the way for the Jaguars going 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs and two RBIs including a homerun and a double. Five Jaguars had two hits with Lopez, Perez, Richard Gill, Jr; Levi Whitlock and Julian DeLeon each delivering multi-hit performances for UHV.

Brady Parker took the win for the Jaguars after going 5.1 innings, striking out two and giving up only three hits and four runs for his eighth win of the season.

"On short rest after pitching Saturday, coming back on Wednesday and throwing five and a third," Stavinoha said of Parker's performance, "he was really on, limiting them. He gave it his all."

Carson McKenna worked in relief behind Parker to help secure the win by striking out three and allowing only two runs on two hits.

UHV faces No. 2 seed Texas A&M-Texarkana tentatively at 5 p.m. on Thursday in the winner's bracket, however potential inclement weather leaves the schedule subject to change.

The Jaguars and Eagles, who each had a 19-11 record in RRAC play, met earlier in the season with UHV winning the first game 9-8 before dropping the next two.