Christian Meza
Sports Editor
The Texas A&M University-San Antonio Jaguars nabbed their first home win of the 2025 season Feb. 7 upon returning from competing on the road in the Louisiana Christian University Invitational Jan. 31-Feb. 1 in Alexandria, La.
With renovations to turn the softball field into a stadium breaking ground Feb. 18 the Jaguars will swap between Our Lady of the Lake University and St. Mary’s University softball complexes for home field throughout the 2025 season.
The Jaguars competed in a double-header against the Baker University Wildcats at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at St. Mary’s Softball Stadium.
Jags pounce back after rough start
To start off the first game of the series against the Wildcats, the Jaguars had a rocky start to the contest, striking out in the first four innings of seven. The Wildcats took hold of the lead through the first half of the fixture, scoring two runs in the first inning off of two hits and an error.
The Jaguars clawed back to take control late in the game, scoring six runs in the fifth and sixth innings, splitting three runs in each inning.
Freshman left fielder Kristianna Luerra sparked the comeback with a bunt to allow sophomore infielder Kaylee Barlow to score for the Jags.
The momentum for the Jaguars continued as sophomore shortstop Karyna Perez and junior infielder Ashlyn Weinert recorded multiple runs batted in the fifth inning to put the Jaguars up 4-2.
Three Jaguars reached base on balls in the fifth inning as the Wildcats escaped the fifth inning leaving three runners on base.
Barlow and Luerra kept the good times rolling at bat as their hits turned into scores. Senior infielder Samara Aguilera complemented their youthful energy by bringing her veteran experience to help bring them across home plate.
The winning pitcher for the Jaguars was graduate Ryanne Limon, who pitched the whole game and had two earned runs.
“For us, it’s just looking forward; we didn’t hang our heads early in the first inning,“ Limon said. “We just kept going, came back and racked up seven runs against a pitcher who is known for having a low ERA, so I think that was pretty cool for us.”
(An ERA is an earned run average)
The final score in the first game through seven innings resulted in a 7-2 resilient Jaguar win.
Jags falter against the Wildcats
The second contest was much slower paced, and with many key plays from infielders on both teams who prevented neither side from getting rhythm at bat.
Unfortunately the Jaguars’ momentum wasn’t able to stay consistent throughout both back-to-back meetings against the Wildcats, who outperformed the Jaguars at the plate, succeeding in nine hits compared with the Jags’ four hits, and also recording a home run.
The Jaguars attempted to rally late in the game and scored a run to cut the three-point deficit to two, but their potential late-game heroics were denied by the Wildcats as they evened the same-day series at one a piece, defeating the Jaguars 3-1.
The winning pitcher for the Wildcats was senior Breana Barchak, who had three total strikeouts in the contest.
Junior catcher Jordyn Henry said the difference in pitching caused issues for the Jaguars in the second game.
“We should’ve adjusted faster to the pitcher,” Henry said. “She was throwing drops compared to the first pitcher, she was throwing rise.”
The next home fixture for the Jaguars will be at 10:45 a.m. a Valentine’s Day matchup at Our Lady of the Lake University softball field to take on the Missouri Baptist University Spartans.
Barlow lamented the turnout for Jaguar softball and hoped to see more fans in the future. As the stands at St. Mary’s Softball Stadium in support of the Jaguars was scarce.
“It would be nice to have a bigger crowd, getting people to just know that we have a softball team,” Barlow said.
