The Texas A&M University-San Antonio Jaguars faced off against the Schreiner University Mountaineers at home on Wednesday.
It would be the first of two doubleheaders for the week.
On Saturday, the Jags traveled to face the University of the Southwest. They split the two-game series, both games being decided by three runs or less.
Wednesday’s doubleheader vs. Scheiner University (3/23)
Game 1:
The Jag’s defense allowed zero hits against the Mountaineers in the top of the first inning.
The Mountaineers senior pitcher Kennedy Moody walked junior second baseman Peyton Vasquez to lead off the bottom of the inning.
Vasquez stole second base then advanced to third on a groundout by freshman third baseman Andrea Ortiz.
Moody then walked freshman designated player Julia Pinzon, who stole second base.
Junior left fielder Sidney Garza made it on base following an error from Mountaineer senior third baseman Marisa Hernandez, which allowed Vasquez to score and Pinzon to reach third.
After Garza stole second, junior right fielder Vanessa Garces hit a single to right field and it allowed Pinzon to score.
The Mountaineers recorded two straight outs to leave three Jags stranded on base after scoring two runs.
In the top of the second inning, the Jags allowed zero runs on one hit.
In the bottom of the second Vasquez reached first on a leadoff walk. She then stole second and was able to reach third on an error by the Mountaineers. Ortiz then attempted a sacrifice bunt to drive Vasquez home but wasn’t successful as she was thrown out at first without Vasquez scoring.
Moody walked Pinzon which put runners on first and third.
The Jags then executed a delayed double steal as Pinzon stole second and when Kollmansberger attempted to throw her out, Vasquez stole home to score the Jag’s third run of the game.
Garza singled to left field, advancing Pinzon to third, then stole second. Garces was then hit by a pitch from Moody to load the bases.
Moody then walked sophomore catcher Madeline Arellano to drive in another run.
The Jags continued their defensive performance in the third inning by retiring three Mountaineer batters on seven pitches.
The bottom of the third saw the Mountaineers make a pitching change as senior pitcher Marley Hilton replaced Moody.
Hilton walked junior center fielder Felicity Alamillo to lead off the inning but Alamillo was then caught attempting to steal second for the first out of the inning.
After a ground out from Mitchell for the second out of the inning, Vasquez was walked.
Then Vasquez stole second, then third to get herself into scoring position.
Ortiz stole second after she was walked.
Pinzon then singled to left field, driving Vasquez home to put the Jags up 5-0.
Hilton walked Garces and Arellano to start the bottom of the fourth.
One batter later sophomore pinch hitter Riana Tovar singled down the right-field line to advance the runners to second and third.
Garces was then able to score on a throwing error by the Mountaineer’s Pedraza making the score 6-1.
Sophomore pinch hitter Clarisa Montelongo was walked to load the bases but the Jags were not able to capitalize and stranded three runners on base for the third time in four innings.
The Mountaineers made another pitching change in the bottom of the fifth as freshman Kaedyn Filburn replaced Hilton.
Filburn hit Pinzon to start the inning, then walked Garces to put runners on first and second.
Arellano advanced the runners on a ground ball that saw her thrown out at first base.
The Jags capitalized on another mistake from the Mountaineers as Pinzon scored on a wild pitch that got past the Mountaineer catcher.
Freshman first baseman Karina Guzman then singled to right field which drove home Garces who had advanced to third on the wild pitch.
Another Jags runner got on base on a throwing error from the Mountaineers but the next batter grounded out to end the inning with the Jags lead extended to 8-1
The Mountaineers put up four runs in the top of the sixth inning to cut the lead in half.
Vasquez singled to lead off the inning then stole second base.
One batter later Pinzon singled to left center, allowing Vasquez to score.
The Jags shut down any hopes of a Mountaineer comeback.
Final score: 9-4
After the game, Jags head coach Nicole Dufour spoke about the team’s ability to capitalize on mistakes
“I think offensively we had a good plan,” she said. “When we executed that…we were able to capitalize on some missed pitches that their pitchers threw.”
Standout players of the game:
Peyton Vasquez and Julia Pinzon were the standout players of the game. Vasquez became just the fifth person in NAIA history to have six stolen bases in a single game. Pinzon had two stolen bases of her own along with two RBIs.
Second baseman Peyton Vasquez: 2-5, 3 BB, 4 R, 6 SB.
Designated Player Julia Pinzon: 2-5, 2 BB, 2 H, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB
Game 2:
The second game got off to a fast start as the Mountaineers’ Pedraza and junior center fielder Malorie Solis got back-to-back singles to lead off the first inning.
Jags junior pitcher Ebbie Rodriguez struck out the next two batters and then forced a pop-up to end the inning.
Vasquez was walked to lead off the inning for the Jags but was then caught stealing second
A pair of ground-outs from Ortiz and Pinzon ended the inning.
The Jags retired three Mountaineers in the top of the inning with three flyouts.
Mountaineer senior pitcher Kaylee Culpepper walked the first batter in the bottom of the second.
Sophomore first baseman Melissa Gonzalez hit a fly ball to right field but it was caught for the first out.
Culpepper hit the Jags’ Garces to put two runners on base. Garza then grounded out to first base but was able to advance the runners.
Culpepper hit Alamillo to load the bases but the Jags didn’t capitalize as Mitchell struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Jags retired the Mountaineers to start the third inning behind two more strikeouts from Rodriguez.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Jags loaded the bases with one out after singles from Vasquez, Pinzon, and freshman catcher Jordan Ramos.
Gonzalez reached first on a fielder’s choice which saw Vasquez forced out at home.
Garces then grounded out to shortstop for the third out as the Jags failed to score a run with the bases loaded
The Mountaineers responded with two singles from Hernandez and Gonzales in the top of the fourth.
Hernandez then reached third on a flyout from Mountaineer junior designated player Taci Tatum.
The Mountaineers were unable to score when the Jags’ Ortiz made a running grab on a foul ball to record the final out.
The Mountaineers held the Jags hitless in the bottom of the fourth.
The Jags responded by holding the Mountaineers hitless in the top of the fifth.
Vasquez and Ortiz grounded out to lead off the bottom of the fifth.
Pinzon then gave the Jags their first run of the game with a home run over the center field.
The score was now 1-0.
The Jags held the Mountaineers scoreless through the sixth inning.
Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the sixth for the Jags, then Sophomore outfielder Riana Tovar came in to pinch run for Gonzalez.
Garces managed to reach first safely on a would-be sacrifice bunt when Culpepper made a throwing error. Tovar advanced to third on the error.
Then Garza singled to center field, driving Tovar home for a second run for the Jags.
Alamillo made it to first base on a fielder’s choice that saw Garces getting called out before reaching third.
The runners advanced on a ground out from Mitchell but Vasquez struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Jag’s defense completed their shutout performance.
Final score: 2-0
“We didn’t do a good job of being as prepared as we were in the first game. I think we got a little anxious,” Coach Dufour said when describing the Jag’s performance.
Dufour complimented the Mountaineers’ Culpepper.
“Their second pitcher definitely was a lot more consistent… we just didn’t capitalize on her as much as we did in the first game.”
Standout players of the game:
Ebbie Rodriguez and Julia Pinzon were the standout players of the game. Both contributed to the win against the Mountaineers.
Pitcher Ebbie Rodriguez: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO
Designated player Julia Pinzon: 2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
The Jags were able to get on a five-game winning streak before their loss on Saturday.
Going into the last month of the season. They have won eight games in conference play to only four losses, so a playoff spot is in their grasp.
For more information and news about A&M-San Antonio’s softball team, visit their social media account on Twitter @TamusaSoftball and Instagram @Tamusa_softball or follow the teams’ coverage @tamusasports on all other media sources.
Raul Trey Lopez contributed to this story.
