SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The No. 10 ranked Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) softball team welcomed two top-25 programs to San Antonio this weekend in No. 6 LSU Aleandria and Texas A&M Texarkana who is tied for 23rd in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll. The Saints came away with three wins on the weekend, dropping a game to LSUA on Friday. 

The Saints move to 39-7 overall and 25-1 in Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) action. The loss to LSUA was the first regular season RRAC loss for the Saints since the 2022 season. 

In the opener against the Generals, the Saints' starting pitcher Ava Hernandez was as impressive as she has been all season. The sophomore held a dangerous lineup to just two hits while striking out eight. 

The bottom of the second inning presented a scoring opportunity for the Saints as Caitlin Terrazas reached on a one-out single. Hernandez reached on an error and the bases became loaded with Saints after Kristee Salas singled. The LSUA defense escaped the jam, holding OLLU scoreless in the inning. 

The Generals threatened in the top of the fourth inning, putting two runners on base but Hernandez left them there and sent the game to the bottom half of the fourth, still tied 0-0. Just as Terrazas did in the second, she led the inning off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hernandez. Ayanna Trejo came onto run for Terrazas and eventually stole third. Kayla Rogers came to the plate and delivered the games first run with a single through the left side to score Trejo.

Salas added another run to the Saints tally in the sixth with her eighth homerun of the season. 

Hernandez retired the Generals in order in the seventh, giving them their first RRAC loss of the season. 

Terrazas and Salas each finished the game with two hits. 

The Saints offense came out swinging in the bottom of the first of game two, taking an early 3-0 lead on RBI singles from Grace Ross and Alyssa Flores. Hernandez added the Saints' final run of the inning when she grounded out to third, scoring Ross. 

A two-run homerun by the Generals in the second inning made it a one-run game. LSUA blew things open in the third, plating five runs on four hits to take a 7-3 advantage over the Saints. The fifth inning saw the Generals add three more runs to the scoreboard via a three-run blast, making it 10-3. 

OLLU added one in the sixth inning to make it 10-4 but that is as close as they would get to the Generals. 

On Saturday, the Saints looked to bounce back against the Texas A&M Texarkana Eagles, another top-25 RRAC opponent. 

Hernandez was back in the circle for the Saints and she made her presence felt immediately, striking out two of the first three batters she faced to open the game. The Alice, Texas native helped her own cause in the bottom of the first as she ripped a double off the centerfield wall to score Yezenia Perez and Lilly Rocha. 

In the top of the second, Hernandez added three strikeouts to make it five over two innings of work. 

Ross singled in the third and gave way to pinch runner, Emilia Salinas. After Salinas stole second, Terrazas plated her with a double to centerfield to extend the OLLU lead to 3-0. 

The Eagles added two runs in the fourth to make it a one run game. 

Lesia Escamilla led off the Saints' half of the fourth with a single to left field. Trejo came on to pinch run and moved herself into scoring position with a stolen base. After a sacrifice bunt from Salas, a sacrifice from Rogers scored Trejo to give the Saints a 4-2 lead. 

Rocha launched her ninth homerun of the season, a two-run shot, giving OLLU a 6-2 advantage over the Eagles. Later in the inning, Ross plated Rogers to extend the lead to 7-2. 

Hernandez ended the game just as she began it, striking out two of three batters in the inning to slam the door on the Eagles. 

In the Saints' final game of the weekend, Annika Litterio struck out six of the first seven batters she faced. It wasn't until the fourth frame that the Eagles would get to Litterio. A two-out RBI double from TAMUT broke the scoreless tie, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead. 

Flores reached in the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff single down the right field line. Reanna Aguirre came on to run for Flores and moved up on a single by Escamilla. Salas reached on a fielders choice to put runners at first and third. Salas later stole second, putting runners at second and third with Rogers coming to the plate. Rogers delivered once again when the Saints needed it most, roping a double into centerfield to score Salas and Aguirre to put OLLU on top. 

With two outs in the sixth, Rocha drew a walk, giving Caitlin Casas an opportunity to add to the OLLU lead. Casas answered the call with a double to right field, scoring Rocha from first base to add an insurance run for the Saints. 

Hernandez, who came on for Litterio in the sixth, earned her first save of the season as sat the Eagles down in order to end the game. Litterio finished with 12 strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work. 

OLLU will close out the regular season on Saturday, April 19 as they host Texas A&M San Antonio at the OLLU Softball Field. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the OLLU Saints, fans can visit ollusaintsathletics.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Saints news by following @ollusaintsathletics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.