Matthew (Moose) Lopez
Social Media Editor
The Texas A&M University-San Antonio softball team took down the No. 7 seed Jarvis Christian University Bulldogs 4-0, advancing the Jaguars to the second round in the Red River Athletic Conference tournament. The game took place on May 4 at St. Mary’s University’s softball field.
The Jaguars took a commanding lead in the first inning after junior shortstop Marisol Vargas and junior catcher Sam Gaona hit back-to-back doubles.
Coupled with their tenacious defense, the Jaguars were able to keep the Bulldogs at bay for most of the game.
In the top of the sixth, the Bulldogs began to battle back, filling up the bases while continuing to put the pressure on Jaguar senior pitcher Ebbie Rodriguez.
Rodriguez would close out the inning on a strikeout leaving the bases loaded, preventing JCU from scoring.
“In that moment I just stayed within myself and focused on me and Sam [Gaona],” Rodriguez said. “I was struggling with the last two batters, walking them back-to-back…I came back to fundamentals and stayed focused.”
Jaguars head coach Nicole Dufour wanted the team to continue their offensive onslaught but was satisfied with their effort on defense.
“I think we got complacent offensively, defensively I think we played strong,” Dufour said. “Our defense was able to hold them off…we had some great plays in the outfield, some great stops in the infield and just capitalizing off foul balls.”
The Jaguars’ second round match-up will be against the Louisiana Christian University Wildcats on May 5 at 12:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s University’s softball field.
