The baseball team finished play in the OLLU Tourney today. The Saints hosted Midland University (MU) and Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) for a pair of doubleheaders as part of the tournament from Feb. 26-28. The Saints also scheduled a nine-inning game against Midland on Feb. 25.

Head Coach Bryan Aughney said, “We did well enough offensively to sweep the series against SAGU. Alec Martinez (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) and Jose Ramirez III both pitched well against a talented Lions team. Noah Rodriguez (SO/Victoria, Texas) played great throughout the tournament. We have been practicing our approach at the plate recently and all the athletes have bought into it. Jose Diaz (SR/Pinar del Rio, Cuba) has accepted his leadership role as a senior. He is a great teammate and holds those around him to a high expectation.”

vs. Midland University (2-25-21)

The Saints fell in a competitive game to the Warriors on Thursday. OLLU started strong by putting three runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Jacob Mitchell (JR/Harker Heights, Texas ) hit a three-run home run to deep right-center field that scored Rodriguez and Diaz. The game was scoreless from the second inning until the top of the fifth inning. Midland tripled to score a run and cut the Saints lead to 3-1.

The Warriors scored two runs in the following inning to tie the game. Kyle Weber drove in both runs on a single to left field. Midland scored again in the top of the seventh inning to erase the early 3-0 deficit and lead by one run. Rodriguez doubled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Saints a chance to tie the game. Matt Mihalov (SR/Conroe, Texas) struck out for the final out as the Saints lost 4-3 in a nail-biting game.

Game one vs. SAGU (2-26-21)

The Saints opened the OLLU Tourney with a 4-3 win over the Lions. SAGU entered the game with an impressive 16-1 record and nine-game winning streak. The Lions struck first in the top of the first inning but OLLU responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Jacob Montejano (SO/San Antonio, Texas) hit a two-run home run and Diaz scored on a fielder’s choice later in the inning.

SAGU tied the game at three in the top of the third inning. Mitchell was the hero for the Saints in the bottom of the seventh inning by hitting a walk-off single that scored Rodriguez with two outs. Starting pitcher Martinez allowed only two earned runs and struck out five batters in 6.1 innings of work. Devin Benavides (FR/Laredo, Texas) finished the game on the mound and didn’t allow a hit.

Game two vs. SAGU

Game two of the doubleheader against SAGU was a routine win for the Saints. After trailing 2-0 in the third inning, the Saints tacked on five runs on five hits in the bottom of the third inning and eventually won 6-2. Robert Lopez (SR/San Antonio, Texas) drove in three RBIs and Robert Arredondo (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) added two. Starting pitcher Jose Ramirez III (JR/Donna, Texas) pitched five innings and struck out five batters.

Game one vs. Midland University (2-28-21)

OLLU fell in game one of the doubleheader against Midland on Sunday. The Saints were limited to four hits. Rodriguez and Montejano both tallied one RBI each and Jacob Mitchell had 10 putouts. Midland scored three runs in the top of the third inning and two in the top of the sixth inning. Rodriguez tripled to left field to score Tyler Vivier (FR/San Antonio, Texas) and eventually scored himself after Montejano hit a sacrifice fly. The two runs weren’t enough as the Warriors went on to win 5-2.

Game two vs. Midland University

The Saints finished the OLLU Tourney with an impressive 9-2 win over the Warriors. Midland struck first in the top of the second inning with two runs. The Saints battled back in the bottom of the third inning and put up six runs on five hits. They tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rodriguez finished 2-for-4 and Connor Dayton (SO/San Antonio, Texas) batted 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Lopez and Mitchell also tallied two RBIs. The Saints recorded 11 hits and only allowed four.

Up next

The Saints host Ottawa University-Arizona for a four-game series starting on March 4 at 4 p.m. No fans are allowed at this time.