Jags sweep Jarvis for first 30-win season in 13 years, Leopold breaks hits record

HAWKINS – The UHV baseball team continued its historic 2024 run in strong fashion on Saturday.

The Jaguars swept Jarvis Christian 4-2 and 2-1 in a Red River Athletic Conference doubleheader at Bulldog Field. With the two wins, UHV (30-11, 17-7) secured its first 30-win season since 2011. The wins also moved the Jaguars' winning streak to five games.

Hayden Leopold helped the Jaguars to the 4-2 win in Game 2 of the series by going 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI. He and Raul Lopez had back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth inning of the game which proved to be the winning margin.

With his two hits in Game 2, Leopold broke the career hits record at UHV with 232 in his five-year career with the Jaguars. The previous mark was 231 set by Dylan Blaha from 2013 to 2016.

Lopez finished Game 3 4-for-5 at the plate with a run scored.

Kaden Fikac and Juan Perez, who delivered a clutch hit to eventually give UHV a win in Game 1 on Friday, each had an RBI in Game 3 to complete the sweep of the Bulldogs (15-18, 11-14).

The Jaguars have thrived in one-run ballgames, going 8-2 this season in games of the sort.

Brady Parker (7-3) and Julian Garcia (8-2) each picked up the wins on the mound for UHV while Justin Mireles earned his second save and Jacob Baker his third.

Parker went six innings in Game 2, allowing just two runs on six hits to pick up the victory. Mireles threw a hitless seventh inning to close the door on Jarvis Christian.

Garcia turned in a gem in which he went eight innings, allowing one run on five hits while fanning nine batters. Baker pitched a hitless ninth inning in which he had a strikeout and only one batter reached base via an error.

The Jaguars now hold a three-game advantage in second place of the RRAC standings ahead of Louisiana Christian. UHV travels to face the Wildcats in the penultimate series of the regular season next week.