Jags ride sixth inning burst past Union in Opening Round

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – UHV exploded for six runs in the seventh inning to pick up a come-from-behind win against Union (Ky.) in the first game of the Hattiesburg Bracket in the NAIA Opening Round.

The Jaguars won 10-7 at William Carey's Milton Wheeler Field, setting up a 5 p.m. meeting with the host Crusaders.

UHV plated its six runs in the seventh on six hits and two errors by the Bulldogs, including a two-run single by Raul Lopez.

It's the third straight win in NAIA Tournament openers for UHV (27-25) and sets the team's longest winning streak this season at five games.

"You talk about the errors, those were forced," said head coach Jonathan Stavinoha. "We put it in play, hustled down the line and made them try to speed up their shortstop. Then we came up big with knock after knock."

Hayden Leopold led the way offensively, going 4-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored. Lopez drove in a team-high three RBIs, including the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the sixth. In total, the Jaguars scattered 14 hits to pick up the win.

Four UHV players had multi-hit performances, including Zach Lee who mashed his eighth home run of the year in the fourth to tie the game at 3-3.

"I think hitting is contagious," Leopold said. "When we've got guys in the top of the lineup swinging it like we swung it in this game, the bottom of the lineup will pick us up. We're just feeding off each other."

Mason Longoria turned in a third consecutive quality start, going seven innings for his sixth win of the year. Justin Mireles earned a four-out save, his third of the year, after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth.

Longoria bounced back after allowing a two-run homer to Union (30-18-1) in the first inning. The Victoria native pitched scoreless frames in the second and third innings to allow the Jaguars to tie the game and eventually take the lead.

"He came right back," Stavinoha said. "He didn't have his best stuff, but he battled and grinded through it to find a way to get outs for us. That's what a No. 1 guy does. That's what he's been for us this year. I'm so happy with the effort he put up today."