Matthew (Moose) Lopez
Managing Editor
The Texas A&M University-San Antonio Jaguars dropped both games in a doubleheader against the Our Lady of the Lake University Saints Feb. 24 at the Tejeda Sports Complex.
This was the first time the teams had played each other since facing off in the championship game of the Red River Athletic Conference tournament May 7, 2023. The Saints were victorious in that bout, winning 13-0 in the first game and 6-0 in the second.
Their rematch would see a similar result.
OLLU shut out the Jaguars 5-0 in game one.
The Saints opened up the scoring in the first inning, and though the Jaguars kept them at bay for three innings, OLLU would score four more runs in the last two.
Senior catcher Sam Gaona chalked up the first loss to nerves. Gaona said the team needs to focus on the basics and keep their composure to handle high-pressure games like this one.
“We need to field cleanly and just do fundamental plays,” Gaona said. “It’s a big game — we need to calm down and play them like any other team.”
OLLU would continue their offensive onslaught in the second game, topping the Jaguars 10-1.
After scoring a homerun in the first inning, OLLU never looked back. The Saints controlled the game from start to finish, getting multiple runners on base while keeping the Jaguars off them.
Senior third baseman Yaya Jones emphasized the importance of bringing initiative and determination to every game they play.
“We need to compete, that’s the word of the year,” Jones said. “I feel like we got lost. We got down in the third inning of the first game ‘cause of all the hits, and then we got down in the second game when they had two home runs. I feel like we just need to come back and compete: in the box and in the field.”
Head coach Nicole Dufour kept it all in perspective saying the team would continue to learn from each loss and would not be defined by two games.
“We got a lot of season left. We have over 40 games,” Dufour said. “And we’re only eight in.”
Dufour said the team has been stressing consistency to the team. Even though the team were 5-1 coming into the doubleheader, she still felt they were lacking something.
“If our pitching was off, our offense was really strong and if our offense was off then our defense and our pitching were really strong,” Dufour said, “We were able to get by because we had two out of the three necessary components, but even coming into this, our focus was we need to have three of the three.”
A&M-San Antonio’s next matches will be against the Morningside University Mustangs at 1:30 p.m., and the Freed-Hardeman University Lions at 6 p.m. March 1 at the Gulf Shores Five Plex, in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
