Longoria sets new career best as Jags take opener from Xavier (La.)

UHV head coach Jonathan Stavinoha knew his ace had more in him.

Mason Longoria had worked through eight innings of shutout baseball, but thought his night was done.

Instead, the Victoria native struck out two batters in the ninth inning to seal a 5-0 win in a Red River Athletic Conference series-opener over Xavier (La.) on Saturday at Riverside Stadium. His 11 strikeouts set a new career-high.

"Honestly, I thought I was done after seven at 80 (pitches)," Longoria said. "But Stav trusted me to finish the whole thing. I thought I was done after the eighth when I had 92. I went out there and Stav just let me go."

Longoria, who improved to 3-2 on the mound, turned in his third complete game of the season – and first of nine innings – on the heels of a 10-strikeout performance last Friday against Dallas Christian College. That was the Victoria St. Joseph product's previous career-high.

"I was looking over in the ninth and he was still sitting 90-91 (MPH)," Stavinoha said. "He wasn't skipping a beat, didn't show any signs of fatigue. I went out there and told him, 'Don't make me go to the bullpen.' He wasn't gonna let me."

Saturday was the third shutout of the year for Longoria and his second in as many starts.

"Pitcher of the Week, that's all I'm chasing every single week," Longoria said. "That's what I want. That's my goal, to be Pitcher of the Week."

An RBI double from Hayden Leopold in the first opened the scoring for the Jaguars (14-6, 3-4). Jose Montanez tacked on two more with a single in the second inning.

Kaden Fikac and Raul Lopez also had RBIs against the Gold Rush (8-9, 3-6).

UHV scattered just four hits in the win, but drew 10 walks and seven hit batsmen.

With a hit Saturday Lopez extended his hitting streak to six games while Leopold's double marked the fifth consecutive game with a hit.

"The hit total is a little low and misleading," Stavinoha said. "We scratched three across early. Then after that, we had runners on but we hit some balls hard right at people. … So it's a little misleading at the end of the day, but you'll take a 5-0 victory on a Saturday night."

The teams conclude the series with a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Sunday at Riverside Stadium.