The Texas A&M University-San Antonio softball team competed in the Red River Athletic Conference tournament on May 6-8. The Jags held their own against the top teams in the conference as they made their conference debut.
Although the Jags didn’t win the championship, they earned their first two wins in the program’s history.
The Jags made a name for themselves in the RRAC tournament while having their backs against the wall.
Nicole Dufour, Jag’s head coach, explained the reality of being the youngest program at the tournament.
“We’re just a second-year program; a lot of people are surprised that we’re even here,” she said.
One of the highlights of the weekend was freshman catcher Julia Pinzon being named to the 2022 RRAC Softball All-Tournament Team for her outstanding play
Pinzon hit two home runs, batted in four runs and was a wall behind the plate.
May 6 game vs. The University of Houston-Victoria Jaguars
In their first matchup, A&M-San Antonio went against Houston-Victoria, a team that gave them their final two losses of the season.
The momentum Houston-Victoria ended the season with carried into the tournament as they controlled the game from beginning to end.
A&M-San Antonio was held to one run on three hits in their debut tournament game.
Final score: 7-1.
This wouldn’t be the last time these two teams would meet.
May 7 vs. Xavier University of Louisiana Gold Nuggets
The following day, the Jags knew that if they were to lose one more game, their season would be over.
They came out guns blazing.
Junior second baseman Caty Rangel reached on a throwing error. Then, two batters later, Pinzon homered down the left field line to get the Jags on the board.
Next, freshman first baseman Karina Guzman doubled to left-center then junior center fielder Vanessa Garces singled up the middle to score Guzman.
The score was now 3-0.
After a scoreless second inning for both teams, the Jags got the bats going in the third when junior left fielder Sidney Garza singled to left.
Pinzon then singled down the left field line, which advanced Garza to second.
Two batters later, Guzman singled to left which put Pinzon on second and Garza at third.
The momentum continued as Garces hit a two-run double that scored Garza and Pinzon while getting Guzman to third.
In the next at-bat, freshman third baseman Andrea Ortiz reached on a fielder’s choice that loaded the bases.
Then junior shortstop Gabby Mitchell singled to left-center which brought in Guzman and Garces while advancing Ortiz to second.
The Jags ended the inning by adding four more runs.
In the following inning, the Jags gave up one run to the Gold Nuggets but continued to control the momentum.
Garza singled to left then Pinzon drew a walk to put a runner on first and second.
Sophomore pinch hitter Kameryn Casares hit a sacrifice bunt to move the runners, so now runners were on second and third.
Next, Guzman singled to left and it scored Garza and moved Pinzon to third.
Then Garces singled to left to score Pinzon and advance Guzman to second.
After a walk by Ortiz to load the bases, Mitchell reached on a fielder’s choice that saw Guzman get thrown out at home.
Lastly, sophomore pinch hitter Riana Tovar singled to the shortstop, scoring Garces and moving runners to second and third.
The Jags closed out the game as junior pitcher Ebbie Rodriguez shut down the Gold Nuggets in five innings.
Final score: 10-1.
Following the game, Dufour explained how her team was able to bounce back from the loss the day before.
“We know we are better than what we showed yesterday,” she said. “Today was our opportunity to come back and prove that…and that was our goal.”
May 7 game vs. Louisiana State University at Alexandria Generals
The Jags needed to keep their foot on the gas going into this game to advance into Sunday.
After a slow start through the first two innings, the Jags found a spark in the top of the third.
To start the inning, Ortiz singled to center then advanced to second on a sacrifice hit by Mitchell.
Rangel then reached second on an infield hit, advancing Ortiz to third.
Next, Garza reached first on an error by the shortstop to load the bases.
Junior first baseman Melissa Gonzalez drew a walk with the bases loaded to bring in the first run of the game.
Two innings later, Rangel reached with a double to left field, advancing to third on a flyout by Garza.
Pinzon then homered to center field to extend the lead to 3-0.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Generals captured their first run of the game, but the Jags matched them in the top of the seventh with a run of their own.
Going into the bottom of the seventh, the Generals added two more runs to close the lead to one run.
Rodriguez wasn’t phased as she closed out the game for the second time that afternoon.
Final score: 4-3.
May 8 game vs. The University of Houston-Victoria Jaguars
Following back-to-back wins on Saturday, A&M-San Antonio faced Houston-Victoria for the second time during the weekend.
Houston-Victoria came into the game-winning the last three meetings against A&M-San Antonio, and this game continued that trend.
A&M-San Antonio was held to one run on three hits as they fell to Houston-Victoria, causing their elimination from the tournament.
Final score: 5-1.
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. Team coverage can be found at @tamusasports on all other social media platforms.
