Record crowd sees Jags walk off No. 3 LSU Shreveport in extras

Nobody on the UHV baseball team wanted to disappoint the home crowd on Friday night at Riverside Stadium.

The record crowd of 1,400 on Little League Appreciation Night and Free Ticket Weekend Presented by Crossroads Bank saw the Jaguars wipe away a four-run deficit to set up a walk-off walk by Juan Perez in the 10th inning to beat No. 3-ranked LSU Shreveport 5-4 in Red River Athletic Conference play.

It was the first home win against the Pilots (23-3, 14-2) in program history for UHV (20-7, 9-4).

"Man, 1,400 with Little League Night. I can't say enough about them and allowing us to put that on," said UHV head coach Jonathan Stavinoha. "What a finish. We kept scratching and clawing."

Friday night's attendance, helped by the Victoria Northwest and Southwest Little Leagues, broke a 16-year old record, set on Feb. 2, 2008, during UHV's first-ever baseball game against LSU Alexandria.

"It's awesome we had such a great crowd for Jags baseball," said UHV Director of Athletics Ashley Walyuchow. "We thank Crossroads Bank for their support with Free Ticket Weekend."

UHV trailed 4-0 going into the eighth inning.

Then, walks by Levi Whitlock and Daviel Camacho set the table for Raul Lopez, who's ground ball with one out scored two after an error by LSUS third baseman AJ Fritz on a throw home to try and prevent a run from scoring. Lopez extended his hitting streak to 13 games while Hayden Leopold extended his to 12.

Kaden Fikac had a bases-loaded walk and Hal Perez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to tie the game and force extra innings.

"We're a team. We stick together," Juan Perez said. "We have each other's backs. Whatever the score is, it doesn't matter. … We always have each other's backs and know we're not out of any ballgame."

After the Pilots' ace, Isaac Rohde, exited the game before the seventh inning, the Jaguars drew four walks and were hit by three pitches. UHV had three hits in the final three innings Friday, including two in the 10th by Juan Martin and Hal Perez.

It was picturesque to the JagBall identity under Stavinoha.

"That's the epitome of JagBall right there," Stavinoha said. "We worked good counts, had strong at-bats, worked for walks and hit-by-pitches. Ultimately, we got four in the eighth."

Carson McKenna came on to throw 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball and earn his first win of the season, striking out four while only allowing two hits. It was the second career win for the senior.

Of his 37 pitches, the left-hander from Splendora threw 26 strikes mostly thanks to his slider, which topped out at 88 mph.

McKenna came on in the eighth inning in relief of Mason Longoria, who struck out six in 7.1 innings of work. It's the fifth time this season the Victoria native has worked to the seventh inning or later.

"It means the world being able to deliver for these guys," McKenna said. "They're always behind you every single step of the way. Even down four, I feel as we were just as energized as we were when it was 0-0. It was just a lot of fun. A lot of zeros make for a great time on the mound."

The Jaguars wrap up the series on Saturday with Homecoming and a 12 p.m. doubleheader. Admission is free and the Royal Jaguars will be announced after the first game.