Jags set for crucial showdown with No. 1 OLLU

The UHV softball team is ready to live in the moment.

The Jaguars (22-6, 10-2) are set to travel to top-ranked Our Lady of the Lake in San Antonio on Thursday for a crucial Red River Athletic Conference doubleheader.

UHV enters Thursday two games behind the Saints (35-1, 12-0), who are also on a 31-game winning streak.

"The good thing is, the pressure is not on us," said head coach Lindsey Ortiz. "We're coming in excited and hungry for the opportunity. I think we match up well with them. I think we always rise to the occasion when we play them. It's not coming from a place of, 'Oh we have to break a streak,' or anything like that. It's coming from a place of wanting to go challenge them and play our best ball."

Despite a pair of losses last week, the first two of conference play for the Jaguars, UHV has proven to be one of the best offensive teams in the conference and nation.

The Jaguars are 12^th nationally in batting average with a .345 clip. Kaylle Lopez had 10 RBIs in six games last week and sits second nationally with 41 on the year.

Kenzie Chambers' .494 average from the two-spot in UHV's lineup leads the conference. She and senior Madysin Leighton rank first and second in stolen bases in the RRAC with 29 and 26, respectively.

They'll look to overpower the nation's best pitching staff statistically as OLLU boasts a nation-leading 0.85 ERA.

"That's what softball is about," Ortiz said. "I think the good thing about our offense is we're not relying on one aspect of the game. We're not just relying on speed. We're able to do a lot of different things. I think, as long as we take that mindset, it will very likely be a pitcher's duel and we have to take what we can get. We have to push a little bit, be aggressive and make opportunities. We've been successful against their stuff before, there's no reason we can't do it again."

UHV played at the OLLU Softball Field last week in a conference bout with Texas A&M-San Antonio and swept that doubleheader 7-1 and 11-2. Claire Blinka had four RBIs and a home run in Game 2 last week in San Antonio.

But the continued growth of the Jaguars' pitching staff will hope to match their counterparts with the Saints.

Cameron Cowan (11-2) ranks second in the RRAC for ERA with a 0.96 mark. The Shiner native has allowed five runs in her last seven appearances.

Sophomore Anyssia Mendoza continues to thrive in her role as the No. 2 starter behind Cowan, boasting a 1.63 ERA in her last six starts and going 5-1 in that time.

Hope Quinones had two scoreless relief appearances last week for the Jaguars while Alexi Wade has posted a 2.63 ERA in her last two appearances.

But UHV's starters in Cowan and Mendoza haven't overpowered batters. Combined, the duo has 78 strikeouts in 132.1 innings pitched.

"But they are so effective," Ortiz praised. "They're putting the ball where they want it and spinning it the way they want it, and beating hitters. As the pitching coach, that's my favorite thing – seeing them execute a pitch, execute a plan. The defense is doing great things behind them. I think they're building off each other, so it's just elevating one another."