SAN ANTONIO (April 10, 2021) - The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) played a phenomenal doubleheader today and won the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) series against Texas A&M University - Texarkana (TAMUT) 3-1. The NAIA's 21st ranked Saints outscored the Eagles 31-6 today with 18-6 and 13-0 wins after dropping the first game on Friday 1-8 and winning the second, 6-5.

In between the first and second games on Saturday, the university honored four-year seniors Ryan Chapa (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas), Robert Lopez (SR/San Antonio, Texas), Jacob Mitchell (JR/Harker Heights, Texas ), Andrew Ogletree (JR/Mission, Texas) and Triston Scherer (JR/Crosby, Texas), plus five-year seniors Joey Baker (SR/Victoria, Texas), Jose Diaz (SR/Pinar del Rio, Cuba), Matt Mihalov (SR/Conroe, Texas) and Xavier Solis (SR/Victoria, Texas).

Head Coach Bryan Aughney commented, "After a slow start, we really got things rolling. We didn't play our best baseball on Friday but found a way to get the split on day one. I thought Alec (Alec Martinez) and Trey (Jose Ramirez III) gave us great stats on the mound, and that was key for us as it kept our pen intact heading into Saturday. We challenged the guys heading into Saturday as we're in the hunt for a championship, and they responded with championship play. We clicked on all cylinders on Saturday. It was good to see.

"I can't say enough about our senior class. I've been with these guys for four years, and they have done all that we have asked. Their hard work, dedication and sacrifice have led us to where we are now. I'm proud of the work they have put in and even more proud as all are either on pace to graduate or already have. And that is what it is all about."

Game one

The Saints struggled in the first game of the series. The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, and their offense woke up in the seventh inning. They plated seven runs on four hits. The Saints scored one in the bottom of the seventh inning and lost 8-1. Alec Martinez (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) pitched six innings and struck out nine batters. Joey Baker and Layne Klostermann (SO/Raymondville, Texas) allowed seven runs combined and nine hits.

Game two

OLLU battled back to win game two. Despite the Eagles taking a 4-0 lead after three innings, the Saints found a way to score five runs on one hit in the fourth inning. Texarkana committed two errors during the inning. Jacob Mitchell, Matthew Klar (SO/San Antonio, Texas), Jacob Montejano (SO/San Antonio, Texas), Noah Rodriguez (SO/Victoria, Texas) and Connor Dayton (SO/San Antonio, Texas) all scored. The Eagles tied the game in the top of the eighth inning on a wild throw by Ryan Chapa. The Saints regained the lead in the bottom of the inning after Boedy Flores (SO/Harlingen, Texas) drove in Klar on a sacrifice bunt. Jose Diaz struck out the final two batters in the ninth inning with a runner on third base to secure the 6-5 victory. Jose Ramirez III (JR/Donna, Texas) pitched 7.1 innings and struck out nine. He was relieved by Diaz, who pitched 1.2 innings striking out four and securing the win.

Game three

The bottom of the second inning was an instant classic for the Saints when they scored 10 runs. Three Eagles' errors allowed OLLU to tally six hits. Connor Dayton started the inning by reaching base on a misplayed grounder. Chapa followed with a double, and a hit from Ogletree sent both Dayton and Chapa home. Robert Arredondo (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) got to first on a bunt, and Montejano followed with a single to send Arredondo home. A double from Diaz gave him two RBIs after Arredondo and Montejano came home. Others adding the rest of the runs were Rodriguez and Mitchell, plus additional runs from Diaz, Dayton and Chapa.

The Saints followed the 10-run inning with a seven-one inning in the third. The seven runs were scored by Montejano, Diaz, Klar, Rodriguez, Chapa, Arredondo (home run) and Ogletree. The inning featured five hits.

TAMUT added four runs in the fourth inning and two runs in the sixth, and the Saints followed with Solis scoring on a passed ball by Eagles' Ethan Rodriguez. The Saints ended the game with the 18-6 win.

Ram Maldonado (JR/McAllen, Texas) earned the win after pitching five innings allowing three hits and four runs while striking out four. Javier De Alejandro (FR/San Antonio, Texas), Devin Molina (JR/San Antonio, Texas), and Ty Cook (JR/Highlands, Texas) also saw action on the mound.

Game four

The Saints took dominance of game four after scoring at least one run in five of six innings while preventing any runs from the Eagles. They started with a sac fly from Diaz that scored Arredondo. Another sac fly, this time from Dayton, sent Klar home, and the Saints now led 2-0. In the third, the Saints added six runs on six hits to lead 8-0. Coming home were Diaz, Mitchell, Klar, Rodriguez, Chapa and Ogletree.

The fourth inning featured three runs on three hits coming off two errors by the Eagles. Scoring were Rodriguez, Dayton and Chapa.

The fifth inning belonged to Mitchell, who hit a dinger over the right-field fence to give the Saints the 13-0 win. The game ended on the mercy rule in seven innings.

Brett Vazquez had a tremendous outing on the mound. He pitched a complete game, allowing three hits while striking out nine - a new strikeout record for himself. Vazquez is now 7-1 on the season.

Top performers

There were several top performers on the Saints roster in this series. They include:

Andrew Ogletree - 6-for-9, 3 runs, 5 RBIs
Robert Arredondo - 6-for-14. 3 runs. 5 RBIs
Matthew Klar - 5-for-10, 5 runs, 3 RBIs
Jacob Montejano - 5-11, 3 runs, 2 RBIs
Robert Lopez - 5-for-14, 3 RBIs
Jose Diaz - 4-14, 3 runs, 3 RBIs
Jacob Mitchell - 3-for-11, 5 runs, 2 RBIs

What's next

From April 16-17, the University of the Southwest will be the home team against the Saints at OLLU's Missions Baseball Academy.