Softball set for RRAC twinbill at Southwest

The UHV softball team is ready for its longest road trip this season.

The Jaguars (16-12, 8-2) will make a 500-mile trek to face University of the Southwest (4-22, 0-8) in a Red River Athletic Conference doubleheader at the Seminole ISD Softball Field in the Texas Panhandle. The games were forced to move from Hobbs, New Mexico, due to damage to the USW softball field.

But UHV will carry plenty of momentum on the bus, riding a four-game winning streak after sweeping Jarvis Christian and Texas College last week. The Jaguars outscored their opponents 41-7 in four games last week.

"We're looking to challenge ourselves because that is a tough road trip. That's a lot of travel with a quick turnaround," said head coach Lindsey Ortiz. "We want to wake up Friday ready to put our best product on the field. We specifically want to carry over the offensive success from last weekend. We want to continue to build confidence within our pitching staff to keep making our mark in conference play."

Senior Claire Blinka has ignited UHV's offense, hitting .463 this season and riding a 21-game hitting streak – she's recorded a hit in 27 of UHV's 28 games this year. Her batting average ranks fifth in the RRAC while Kenzie Chambers' 33 stolen bases leads both the conference and nation.

That flame has been fanned over the last two weeks since she was moved to the leadoff spot with the Port Lavaca native slashing .800 with eight RBIs, two doubles, two triples and two home runs.

Junior Jasmine Canales followed suit during the weekend sweep against the Bulldogs and Steers, going 7-for-13 at the plate with nine RBIs, three doubles, a triple and an inside-the-park home run over the four games. The Corpus Christi native has delivered an RBI in each of the last six games and a hit in each of the last five.

In the six games since the lineup shuffle against Cumberlands (KY) at the Gulf Coast Invitational, UHV is hitting .379 as a team.

"Honestly, I think the whole lineup since we moved things around is really being productive and hitting situationally," Ortiz said. "They're kind of building off one another. So, I'm happy to see them doing that and I want them to continue to score runs early and often.

Jocelyne Galvan earned a pair of wins last week to improve to 3-0 in the circle. She earned her first win as a starter in UHV's 9-1 run-rule win over Texas College on Saturday after tossing four shutout innings, surrendering only three hits.

Audrie Sayas also earned two winning decisions last week for her sixth and seventh wins this season, which is tied for fourth most in the conference. She ranks fourth in the RRAC in strikeouts with 49 this season.

"We need to go in carrying ourselves with an expectation to win, but recognizing we have to execute if we want to make that happen," Ortiz said.