No. 15 Jags hosting OLLU as RRAC title race tightens

NOTE: This article was published prior to the series being moved to Victoria and has since been updated.

The message to the No. 15-ranked UHV baseball team is to focus on what they can control.

This weekend, that's a three-game conference series vs. Our Lady of the Lake at Riverside Stadium Saturday and Sunday. The series was moved from San Antonio due to forecasted inclement weather.

The Jaguars (30-7, 17-4), who are on a five-game winning streak, sit in second place in the RRAC, 2.5 games behind conference leader and NAIA No. 1 LSU Shreveport.

"We've played some really good baseball the last five games and are really kicking it back into gear," said head coach Jonathan Stavinoha. "We've got a good conference opponent coming up with OLLU. They're going to be good. They're going to pitch it and they're going to have some guys in the lineup who can swing it, and they're well-coached. I think our guys are excited and ready for the opportunity ahead of us and ready to go try and win a series."

UHV will once again showcase the nation's second-best pitching staff, which boasts a combined ERA of 2.95 and a program-record eight shutouts this season following an 8-0 drubbing of St. Thomas (TX) on Tuesday.

Jonathan Jones garnered his second RRAC Pitcher of the Week honors this week after tying his season-high of 11 strikeouts in a complete-game effort to shut out Huston-Tillotson, 10-0, on Saturday. His 1.71 ERA leads the RRAC.

Jones ranks third in the NAIA in strikeouts with 81 while junior left-hander Brady Parker is tied for the NAIA lead with 87. After a strong showing on Tuesday, senior Mason Longoria leads the nation with 10 wins, which ties the program single-season record last set by Julian Garcia last season.

But it's been UHV's bullpen arms of Justin Mireles, Andrew Hurrelbrink and Jacob Baker which have shined during this five-game winning streak for the Jaguars.

In the two games the Jaguars have called on that trio during this win streak, they've combined for seven shutout innings with just one hit and a walk allowed while striking out 11 in seven innings. Mireles earned his first win of the season while Baker notched his conference-leading fifth save in a 6-5 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last week.

"Those guys, we're going to need them down the stretch here and into playoffs," Stavinoha said. "They've really grown throughout the year and have figured out what works and how to approach the game and do different things. It's been fun to see them get better as the season goes on."

The Jaguars' offense has also gotten back on track since standout first baseman Cristian Garcia went down with an injury two weeks ago. The graduate senior from Houston was second in the nation in batting average at .506 and reached base in each of the 29 games he's played this season.

During this five-game winning streak, UHV is averaging 7.4 runs per game and is hitting .313 as a team. The Jaguars have had 10 different players record multiple RBIs over the last five games.

Rafael Gutierrez was named RRAC Player of the Week for a second time on Monday after notching six RBIs and three home runs last week. Jackson Purcell delivered a walk-off solo home run to beat Huston-Tillotson, 4-3, and secure a series sweep.

"It took a few games to realize we're a really good baseball team even when Cristian isn't in the lineup," Stavinoha said. "We've had production come all year from different points in the lineup and we just had to remind the guys of that. Everybody's been contributing and it's a next-guy-up mentality, no matter what. We're in it for the team and we've got one goal in mind and that's to win as many games as we can and make a run ultimately to the national championship."