Sports – Page 18 – Lake Weekly

Malik White Earns All-American Honors at NAIA Indoor Nationals

Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) men’s indoor track standout Malik White impressed in his first NAIA Indoor National Championships on Saturday as the speedster finished third overall in the men’s 60m hurdles. White ran a time of 7.88, making him the second-fastest freshman in NAIA history and #14 on the NAIA all-time list in the event.

The Hammond, Louisiana native earned a spot in Saturday’s final by running a 7.96 in the prelims, good for a fifth-place finish.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the OLLU Saints, fans can visit ollusaintsathletics.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Saints news by following @ollusaintsathletics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Cheer and Dance Both Earn Victories at Battle in the Big Easy

The Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) competitive cheer and competitive dance squads competed at the Battle of the Big Easy hosted by Xavier University of Louisiana on Friday.

The dance took on Loyola University New Orleans on the day one dual. OLLU earned a score of 71.47 to earn a win over Loyola.

The cheer squad also earned a victory during day one action, defeating Texas A&M University Texarkana with a score of 73.97.

“Both dance and cheer delivered outstanding performances today,” said Head Spirit Coach Crystal Brock. “While there are a few technical elements we’ll refine for tomorrow’s championship, we are incredibly pleased with today’s results. Our seniors made unforgettable memories as they completed their final duals in NOLA during the regular season. With both teams securing first place on day one—a historic first for OLLU Spirit—there is so much to celebrate. We’re looking forward to Saturday’s matchups and the excitement ahead. There is such pride in the resilience bestowed upon each athlete and determination to uphold our team goals and standards. Every athlete is making an impact, and we are blessed with their presence. This is Providence. It’s a great day to be a SAINT!”

What They Are Saying

Taking first place today means everything to me because it’s a true reflection of our hard work and dedication. This team has been through so much together and I am so proud to share the floor with these girls. I wouldn’t want to share my senior year with anyone else. We’ve put in countless hours behind the scenes, and it’s so rewarding to see that effort recognized. I couldn’t be prouder of my team—WINGS UP, BABY!”

Dance Captain | Madison Smith

Today meant so much winning first place with a special team. We all have created bonds that are unforgettable, and we will remember every moment from today. We have come a long way from the start of this cheer squad and today was a big and exciting accomplishment. Today was a special day to be a Saint. Wings Up!

Cheer Captain| Ginobili Cobarrubias

Watching this team transform from rock bottom to its absolute best has been nothing short of inspiring. When we started, we were counted out, underestimated, and struggling to find our identity. But through relentless effort, trust, and an unbreakable commitment to growth, we turned adversity into fuel. Now, we stand at our peak—not just because of talent, but because of heart, resilience, and a refusal to quit. This journey proves that greatness isn’t given; it’s earned through sweat, sacrifice, and the belief that no challenge is too big to overcome.

Assistant Spirit Coach| Joe Gonzalez

Today was a journey, coming from a perspective where I’ve never been a part of a cheer or dance competition. This experience has been amazing. The past few days have been filled with beautiful and fun memories to last a lifetime. The excitement, positivity, and adrenaline that comes with competition is something I am blessed to be a part of. Coming in as a freshman to a completely different athletic environment has me out of my comfort zone and I am forever blessed to be a part of spirit. I’m excited for the rest of the season and future accomplishments.

First Year Perspective| Richard Gonzalez

Up Next

The Saints will continue action in New Orleans today during day two of Battle in the Big Easy.

Baseball Scores 50 runs in Series Sweep Over Texas College

The Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) baseball team earned a series sweep over Texas College this weekend, scoring 50 runs in three games including 31 in the series finale. The Saints’ sweep moves them to 9-13 overall and 5-4 in Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) action.

Game 1 Highlights

In his first at-bat of the series, Jack Kalisky surpassed the OLLU career homerun record with his 27th career blast, giving OLLU the early 1-0 lead.
Gavin Machado doubled and gave way to pinch runner Christian Martinez who later scored on a Vincent Banda double to put OLLU in front, 2-0.
Texas College scored their lone run of the game in the bottom of the first via a solo homerun.
Banda drove in Martinez once again in the third to make it 3-0.
Criztian Delgado sent a ball over the right field fence for a two-run blast. 5-0 OLLU
Drew Saucedo recorded an RBI double in the inning to make it 6-0.
Isaac Davila drove in two runs and Kalisky capped off the inning with his second homerun of the game, a two-run shot.
The Saints led 10-1 after 2.5 innings.
OLLU plated four more runs in the fifth to extend their lead to 14-1.
Donovan Gamez earned the win on the mound in game one of the series, tossing five innings and striking out seven.

Game 2 Highlights

Banda got things started for the Saints in game two, driving in Davila to make it 1-0.
OLLU added a run in the third to take a 2-0 lead.
An RBI double by the Steer in the seventh cut the OLLU lead to 2-1.
Joshua Milton drove in a run in the eighth and the Saints took advantage of a wild pitch to plate another run, making it 4-1.
Texas College answered with a run in the home half of the eighth, making it 4-2.
Kalisky came around to score on a Delgado double as the Saints added an insurance run in the ninth.
Texas College plated a run in their final at-bat to make it 5-3.
Devin Benavides struck out 13 Steer batters over 8.1 innings of work to earn the victory.

Game 3 Highlights

The Saints scored 31 runs in a dominant win over the Steer. The program record in a game is 33 set by the Saints in 2023 against Texas College.
Kalisky finished the game with six RBI while Ben Hovda drove in five runs.
Gavin Machado and Alex Rodriguez each had three RBI.
The Saints hit five homeruns in the game (Rodriguez, Machado, Diego Zuniga, Brett Atkinson, Hovda).
OLLU drew 16 walks.
Domenic Martinez earned the win, going five innings and striking out seven.
Javier Hinojosa tossed an inning, allowing just one hit.

Up Next

The Saints will return to Missions Baseball Academy this weekend as they host LSU Alexandria in a three-game series. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. on Friday, March 7.

Softball Extends Win Streak to Six with Sweep of UHV

The Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) softball team extended its winning streak to six games on Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) foe, the University of Houston Victoria (UHV). The Saints remain undefeated in RRAC action on the season.

Game 1 Highlights

Lilly Rocha led the game off with a triple and scored after a sacrifice fly from Yezenia Perez.
Grace Ross doubled and Caitlin Terrazas walked. Both would later scored on an RBI triple from Ava Hernandez, giving the Saints an early 3-0 lead.
Kristee Salas reached on a hit by pitch to start the second inning and scored on Ross’ second double in as many innings.
Salas picked up an RBI in the third and Emilia Salinas scored on a UHV error to give OLLU a 6-0 lead.
UHV plated two runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it 6-2.
A sacrifice fly from Rocha scored Salas reached on a single to lead off the inning. Salas moved to second on a passed ball and to third on a sacrifice bunt by Alyssa Garcia.
Hernandez went the distance in the circle, allowing two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts.

Game 2 Highlights

Rocha got things started in the first inning with a single to right field and would advance to second on a sacrifice bunt from Perez. Ross singled to score Rocha and give the Saints a 1-0 advantage.
Caitlin Casas drew a one-out walk in the second and score on Rocha’s second single of the game.
Ross led off the fifth with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Terrazas. An Alyssa Flores single plated Ross to extend the OLLU lead to 2-0. Garcia doubled to left center with two Saints aboard, gibing OLLU a 5-0 lead.
Annika Litterio dominated UHV from the circle, tossing a complete game three-hitter and striking out nine, including the side in the bottom of the seventh.

Up Next

The Saints return home to welcome Huston-Tillotson on Tuesday, March 4. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 1:00 p.m.

Softball Rolls Past Huston-Tillotson

The Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) softball team cruised past Huston-Tillotson on Tuesday in a Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) doubleheader. The Saints scored a combined 36 runs to extend their win streak to eight games.

Game 1 Highlights

The Saints struck early, scoring 10 runs in the first inning.
OLLU added nine runs in the third inning to make it 19-0.
Alyssa Flores finished the game 3-for-3 with three RBI, including a solo homerun.
Grace Ross drove in three runs, including a two-run homer in the fourth inning.
Alyssa Garcia went 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in a run.
Brianna Ramirez was 2-for-2 with three RBI.
Danika Jimenez was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
Jazlyn Gomez drove in two runs and scored two runs.
Yezenia Perez finished 1-for-1 with two RBI.
Ava Hernandez had a two-RBI double in the first inning.
The Saints drew six walks and did not strike out in the game.
Hernandez earned the win in the circle, tossing three innings and allowing just one hit.
Chloe Booth struck out two batters in two innings of work.

Game 2 Highlights

OLLU scored a run in every inning.
Caitlin Casas had a team-high four RBI.
Salas was 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Kayla Rogers went 2-for-2 at the plate with two runs scored.
Lilly Rocha and Salas each hit homeruns in the win.
Annika Litterio moved to 8-1 in the circle, tossing three innings and allowing just one hit.
Valeria Vielma allowed one run on three hits in two innings of work.

Up Next

The Saints hit the road to Branson, Missouri this week to compete in the Branson Grand Slam. Their first game will be on Thursday against Williams Baptist at 4:00 p.m. CT

Men’s Golf Finishes in Tie for Fourth at Claud Jacobs Invitational

The Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) men’s golf team moved up a spot to finish in a tie for fourth after a final round 290 at the Claud Jacobs Invitational. The Saints finished with a three-round total of 894 (303-301-290).

Oliver Gaisford earned a fifth-place finish with rounds of 73-72-69-214, a two-under par finish for the tournament. Gaisford carded 12 birdies over three rounds to lead the Saints.

Victor Pena and Jake Casias each finished in a tie for 24th. Pena sandwiched a two-under round between a two-over and eight-over round to finish the tournament at eight-over 224.

Niall Langley-Brook fired a final round 71 to move 11 spots up the leaderboard into 29th place. The freshman finished the tournament with eight birdies and an eagle.

John Martinez and Alex Marshall each carded final round scores of 75. Martinez finished in a tie for 37th while Marshall finished 45th.

The Saints will return to the course next week as they travel to Kerrville to compete in the Schreiner Shoot-out at Comanche Trace.

Kalisky and Gamez Sweep RRAC Weekly Awards

The Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) baseball team swept the weekly Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) baseball awards as announced by the league office on Tuesday. Jack Kalisky earned Player of the Week honors while Donovan Gamez was named the league’s Pitcher of the Week.

Kalisky and his power bat were on full display in the three-games series against the University of the Southwest (USW), as the junior homered in all three games, helping the Saints to a 2-1 series victory. The San Antonio native hit .462 and drove in 11 runs in the series. Kalisky now leads the RRAC in both homeruns (5) and RBI (21) on the season.

On the mound, Gamez began the three-game set with a gem, tossing a complete game and allowing just one run on three hits while striking out five batters. The win evened the junior’s record to 2-2 on the season.

Cold Weather Forces Schedule Changes

Due to the forecasted frigid temperatures expected this weekend, Our Lady of the Lake has made changes to its athletic schedules.

The OLLU Softball series scheduled for Saturday, February 22 at 12:00 p.m. against Unviersity of the Southwest (USW) has been moved to Monday, February 24. The first pitch of the doubleheader will be at 12:00 p.m.

OLLU Baseball is scheduled to hit the road to Hobbs, New Mexico for a three-game series with USW. That series has been moved to Saturday, February 22 and Sunday, February 23. The first pitch of the doubleheader in Hobbs will be at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday and the finale will be at 1:00 p.m. (all times listed are CT).

The Development team baseball games scheudled for today against Schreiner have been postponed.

Kristee Salas Earns RRAC Player of the Week Honors

Kristee Salas‘ performance at the plate last week earned her Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Player of the Week Honors as announced by the league office on Tuesday.

Salas helped the Saints to a 3-1 record at the Saints Classic, hitting .667 (6-for-9) with two homeruns and seven RBI. The graduate student from Edinburg, Texas is third on the team in hits (11) and second in double (10). The Saints are 8-3 on the season.

Saints Earn Dominant Win Over Jaguars

The Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) men’s basketball team completed the season sweep of the Texas A&M San Antonio Jaguars in dominant fashion on Saturday, winning 97-68. The Saints led for nearly 37 minutes in the win.

Breion Powell gave OLLU its first lead of the game when he nabbed a steal and flushed a dunk on the other end, putting the Saints up 7-5.

Rob Gil gave the Saints their first double-digit lead when he knocked down a triple at the 13:12 mark of the opening half. Wahkil Lopez went 1-of-2 from the free throw line with to give the Saints a 22-point lead with 29 seconds to play in the half, but a three from the Jaguars on their final possession of the half cut the OLLU lead to 19 entering the break.

The OLLU dominance would continue for the duration of the second half as the Saints built their lead as large as 33 points.

NOTABLE

Powell was dominant, finishing with a game-high 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting.
Rand added 16 points while shooting 50 percent from the floor.
Law was the third OLLU starter in double figures with 14 points.
Matthew Gonzalez chipped in with 12 points off the bench.
The Saints shot 49 percent from the floor and pulled down 50 rebounds.
OLLU scored 30 fast break points.

UP NEXT

The Saints will hit the road next week as they travel to Louisiana to take on LSU Alexandria and LSU Shreveport on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.