Author: OLLUNewsletter

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.

Due to the winter weather that swept through Texas last week, the Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) volleyball team played a rare Friday afternoon match against Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) opponent Jarvis Christian College (JCC). The Saints swept the Lady Bulldogs 25-17, 25-22 and 25-13. This is the third conference matchup this season between the two teams. The Saints move to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference, while Jarvis is now 0-9 overall and 0-3 in the conference.

The Saints are 19-0 against Jarvis.

With several regulars out, some new Saints took advantage of their chance to shine. Freshman outside hitter Jaalin Rosser (FR/Killeen, Texas) led the offense with 10 kills showing both power and a variety of shots. Anastasia Brown (FR/Aransas Pass, Texas) racked up seven kills of her own out of the middle while Daisy Cantwell (FR/San Antonio, Texas) chipped in with six. Cassidy Haller (FR/Cibolo, Texas) and Tijana Kruta (JR/Bar, Montenegro) kept things balanced along the net, tallying five kills each. Madelynn Strzelczyk (FR/San Antonio, Texas) got the first start of her career running the show at the setter position and acquitted herself well.

Head Coach Scott Mattera reflected, “I thought Mads really ran an efficient offense and mixed the sets around just how we like. When all five hitters have five or more kills in three games, that’s a balanced attack.”     

While the Saints didn’t rack up a ton of aces, Mattera was also pleased with the serve game. “We really found the right mix of aggressive and smart from the serve line. Kruta was her usual tough serving self, and Anna (Anna Sujo Hernandez (FR/Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico)) Maddy (Madelyn Gonzalez) and Cantwell  were really good back there too, which really kept the pressure on them [Jarvis] all match.”

“Overall, I’m really pleased with what we did today. Jaalin didn’t just get it done physically; she played with poise and confidence that was infectious. T (Tijana) and Ashley (Ashley Maldonado (JR/Laredo, Texas)) did a great job of providing calming veteran leadership…people stepping up physically and intangibly is exactly what you want to see!”

The Saints will return to action next weekend at NCAA DIII opponent LeTourneau University on Friday, followed by an NAIA powerhouse matchup with Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas. “They got us in five last year and then went on to perform well at nationals. We are really looking forward to playing them and seeing how we stack up!”

The men’s soccer team opened Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play with a win on the road over Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) 2-1. The Saints improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in conference while the Eagles drop to 0-5-1 and 0-1 in the RRAC.

Head Coach Shane Hurley commented, “I’m proud of the players effort. Aside from a couple of free kicks, we defended well and limited their chances. Joseph Baker (SO/Llantwit Major, Wales, U.K.) came up with a big save on a penalty kick, and the team rallied around it when Norberto Lira (JR/Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico) produced a game-winning goal. It was a good win.”

History

The Saints are undefeated against the Eagles all-time at 5-0.

Basics

The first half was evenly played as the Saints and Eagles produced four shots each. The Saints took three corner kicks and Baker made one save. The match was scoreless heading into the second half.

Luan Balestieri (SR/Erechim, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) broke the tie at the 56th minute with a goal. The Eagles responded 10 minutes later with a strike from Austin Beck to return to a tie. Lira was the hero for the Saints with a late goal in the 83rd minute. Baker finished with four saves and the Saints tallied seven shots on goal. Both teams combined for nine yellow cards.

Scoring overview

56′ – OLLU – Luan Balestieri

66′ – TAMUT – Austin Beck

83′ – OLLU – Norberto Lira

Inside the box score

Leading the way for the Saints’ offense was Balestieri with three shots. Beck led the Eagles with two shots.

Overall, the Saints tallied 12 shots, with seven on goal. Texarkana recorded nine shots, five being on goal.

OLLU’s Miguel Sanchez (SR/San Antonio, Texas) was shown a yellow card at the 3rd minute.

TAMUT’s Coastas Heckman was shown a yellow card at the 28th minute.

TAMUT’s Andrew Knoebel was shown a yellow card at the 55th minute.

OLLU’s Bernard Cutini Alvarenga (SR/Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil) and TAMUT’s Luis Garza were shown a yellow card at the 66th minute.

OLLU’s Javier Pena (SO/San Antonio, Texas) was shown a yellow card in the 78th minute.

TAMUT’s Gabriel Sweeny was shown a yellow card in the 82nd minute.

OLLU’s Oluwatimileyin Talabi (SO/Abeokuta, Nigeria) was shown a yellow card in the 84th minute.

TAMUT’s Jonathan Fitter was shown a yellow card in the 87th minute.

What’s next

The Saints will play their first home game on Thursday against Jarvis Christian College at 1:30 p.m. The team will honor seniors Miguel Sanchez, Bernard Alvarenga, Luan Balestieri, Gustavo Borba, Jose Delgado and Carlos Cabrera after the game.

The women’s soccer team defeated Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) 3-1 and Paul Quinn College 4-0 last week to remain undefeated at 4-0 overall and open Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play at 2-0.

Head Coach Arthur Salazar commented on the victory saying, “It was nice to start off conference play with a win over a hard-working team like Texarkana. Once we settled down in the second half, we were able to do a better job of taking care of the ball and controlling the tempo of the game. Giving up the first goal is always difficult, but the team responded well. They stayed composed and showed a maturity and competitive spirit that we will need throughout the season.”

Scoring during the TAMUT game were Baye Polansky, Sophia Mora and Kyleigh Spree-Kolos, with on assist from Jaylin Seto. In the game against Paul Quinn, Seto, Irania Acosta, Haley Smith and Stephanea Valles scored goals.

What’s next

The Saints travel to Seguin to play Texas Lutheran University on Tuesday at 7 p.m., then return for their first home match on Thursday. The team will play Jarvis Christian College at 11 a.m. and will honor seniors Savannah Hernandez, Baye Polansky, Victoria Morales, Yolanda Vazquez and Mikaela Gilbert at the end of the game.

The men’s golf team finished fourth overall, and Kane Ybarra (SR/San Antonio, Texas) took first place in the individual leaderboard.

Head Coach Arnie Martinez said, “I’m proud of our guys. We have endured some unfortunate circumstances, with the freezing weather last week stopping us from practicing. Nonetheless, they fought hard and didn’t give up. I have high expectations for our team, and I know they hold themselves to high standards, as well. We will get back to work and be better as a unit for our next event in Kerrville.”

Martinez addressed Ybarra’s victory, saying, “It was great to see Kane take care of business. In my opinion, he is a top player in the NAIA, and he showed that today. It’s been a very gratifying experience to watch this young man mature into the player that he is today. This game is not easy, and the conditions made it even tougher. He kept his head down and grinded throughout the tournament. It’s a great win for him. Hopefully, we can add a couple more wins before the year is over. Go, Saints!”

The first two rounds were played on the Canyons course, and the final round was held at the TPC Oaks Course. Both courses have a par of 72.

Wayland Baptist University finished in first place with a total of 909. They were followed by Texas Wesleyan University at 922 and OLLU at 926. Morningside College tallied 929, followed by Grand View University at 933 and Texas A&M University-San Antonio at 1043.

Ybarra hoisted the trophy by shooting a 73 round one, 70 round two and 73 in the final round to finish at 216 total and even par. Massimo Garcia (SO/Laredo, Texas) took 10th place at 233, followed by Chase White (JR/San Antonio, Texas) in 13th place at 235, Diego Garcia in 21st place at 242 and Raul Gutierrez (JR/San Antonio, Texas) in 29th place at 249.

The Saints head to Kerrville, Texas, to compete in the Mountaineer Invitational at Comanche Trace on March 7.