Leopold, Jags walk off SAGU

GEORGETOWN – For the second time this season, a walk-off walk gave the UHV baseball team an extra-inning win.

Hayden Leopold drew a bases-loaded walk on four straight pitches to lift the Jaguars to a 14-13 win over Southwestern Assemblies of God in 11 innings at Georgetown East View High School's Patriot Park on Wednesday.

It was the fifth RBI of the day for the senior. He hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to give UHV (27-11) a 13-12 lead at the time and erase a four-run deficit. It was his third homer in as many games. 

"We're never out of any fight," Leopold said. "This team, the amount of power we have offensively one through nine, we're never out of a game. We're never out of a fight."

After the Lions (21-21) scored six in the second inning to take a 6-1 lead, the Jaguars responded with homers from Raul Lopez and Julian DeLeon to tie the game. Hal Perez, who was named the RRAC Player of the Week on Monday, hit his sixth homer of the season the next inning to give UHV a 7-6 lead.

In total, UHV hit five home runs – one shy of tying the single-game record of six. Jose Montanez home run in the eighth – his second consecutive game with a homer – sparked the five-run rally for the Jaguars.

Four UHV players – Lopez, Jean Michael Gonzalez, Kaden Fikac and Richard Gill Jr – had multi-hit performances.

"Leopold did a great job there, down three in the eighth with the bases loaded. That's the stuff you dream of," said head coach Jonathan Stavinoha. "Hats off to him for really buying in and having good at-bats."

Drew Bradbury earned his first win of the season, throwing 3.1 innings and striking out five while allowing just one run on four hits.

He came on in the eighth inning for Wyatt Lambert and only surrendered a solo home run to Zeke Holder in the ninth, which eventually forced extra innings.

"I was just trying to get ahead of guys; that's all I can really do – get ahead of them and go after them in the zone," Bradbury said. "Hats off to them in the ninth inning. (Holder) made a really good swing on the ball. I had everything working for me and Hal called a really good game. It worked out for us."

The Jaguars now travel to Jarvis Christian for a three-game Red River Athletic Conference series starting at 1 p.m. Friday in Hawkins.