baseball – Lake Weekly

Baseball Picked Fifth in RRAC Preseason Poll

The Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) baseball team was picked to finish fifth in the 2025 Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) poll that was released by the league on Tuesday. The Saints earned 72 votes and tied with Texas A&M-Texarkana who also earned 72 votes. The Saints ended the 2024 season with a 28-24 overall record and a 16-14 mark in RRAC play, good enough for a sixth-place regular season finish.

LSU Shreveport earned the top spot in the poll with 121 votes while taking all 11 first-place nods.

OLLU will open its 2025 season on January 24th as they welcome the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma to the Missions Baseball academy. After playing their first 11 games at home, the Saints will travel across Culebra to take on St. Mary’s University. RRAC play will behin at home on February 14 against LSU Shreveport.

See below for the full preseason poll.

Rank	School	Points
1.	LSU Shreveport (11)	121
2.	Houston-Victoria	104
3.	Louisiana Christian	96
4.	LSU Alexandria	92
5.	Our Lady of the Lake	72
6.	Texas A&M-Texarkana	72
7.	Southwest	57
8.	Jarvis Christian	36
9.	Huston-Tillotson	34
10.	Xavier	29
11.	Texas College	13

Preseason poll voting was submitted by each of the head coaches. Results of the poll are shown below with points calculated through an 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 format. First place votes are shown in parentheses.

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.

Five Saints baseball players selected to All-Conference Team

The Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) announced the 2023 RRAC Baseball All-Conference Team and player of the year awards May 4. Coaches determined the selections, with those on the first team being eligible for NAIA All-America consideration at the completion of the season.

2023 RRAC Baseball All-Conference Team

The Saints ended the regular-season with a 20-9 RRAC record and are now 29-18 overall – they’ve won their last seven games. They won one of the top awards, plus they placed one on the all-conference first team, three on the second-team and one on the Gold Glove team.

Alec Martinez earned All-Conference First-Team Honors as the Saints top pitcher. Caimyn Holiday, Jackson Kalisky and Joshua Mendez captured Second-Team and Gold Glove honors. Chase Dunn was the team’s Champions of Character representative.

Kalisky was named the RRAC’s Freshman of the Year.

The following are current, significant stats (top five) for all the honorees:

RRAC Freshman of the Year – Jackson Kalisky: He is having a phenomenal first year with the Saints, recording the most home runs with 12 and the most RBIs with 68 in the conference – both OLLU season records. His 68 RBIs is a tie for fourth all-time at OLLU with his brother Connor Kalisky, who played on the team from 2015-2017. Kalisky is second in the conference in slugging percentagear with .716.

Caimyn Holiday – His 51 hits are fifth best in the conference, and he has the third most doubles in the conference with 16.

Alec Martinez – He has a 6-2 record – third in the conference – and he leads the team in ERA at 2.20 the second best in the conference.

Joshua Mendez – He has the fifth most strikeouts in the conference with 62, and he is sixth in the conference in ERA with 3.73. He has a 1.000 fielding percentage.

Chase Dunn – He has two saves this season and has won two games for the Saints.

Saints baseball sweeps Southwest to complete regular season

The OLLU baseball team swept the University of the Southwest (USW) Mustangs in a three-game series over the weekend. The Saints won 7-6, 6-5 and 19-4 to improve to 29-18 overall and 20-9 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Mustangs fell to 22-22-26 overall and 11-19 in RRAC play.

The Saints compete in the RRAC Championship Tournament this week, Wednesday through Friday, in Sterlington, La.

Baseball plates 41 runs in three-game sweep of Xavier

The Saints baseball team completed a three-game sweep of Xavier University of Louisiana, winning 14-1, 10-2 and 17-3, this past weekend.

OLLU improves to 26-18 overall and 17-9 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Gold Rush fall to 16-22 overall and 7-20 in RRAC play. The Saints have won six of their previous seven games.

The Saints will play their last home games April 28-29 against the University of the Southwest.

See full results on the Saints Athletics website.

Baseball earns series win over Jarvis Christian

The baseball team tabbed two wins over Jarvis Christian University (JCU) to take the three-game series over the weekend. The Saints improve to 20-14 overall and 12-6 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Bulldogs drop to 14-19 overall and 8-10 in RRAC play.

Head Coach Matt Piker commented, “Anytime you can get a series win you should be excited about it. We lost a tough game one but our men bounced back and responded to the challenge in games two and three. It’s a huge credit to their buy in. I also can’t say enough positive things about how good of a job our assistant coaches do. Those men work their tails off for our student athletes every day. Our program is blessed to have them and to have the players that we do.”

History
The Saints were 13-13 against the Bulldogs prior to the series.

Game one
The Saints fell in game one after attempting a comeback late in the contest. The Bulldogs scored the first two runs of the game with one in the first inning and another in the fourth frame. OLLU rallied in the sixth inning to put up one run on a Jacob Montejano single. The inning ended in the following at-bat when Jackson Kalisky flied out to center field with Montejano on second base. The Saints also had a chance in the final inning with runners on first and second base with two outs. Jimmy Valle pinch hit and popped up to shortstop to end the game. The Saints were downed 2-1 and Alec Martinez suffered the loss. Martinez started on the mound and gave up two earned runs with six strikeouts.

Game two
The Saints offense came to life in game two. They defeated the Bulldogs 18-1 backed by 16 hits and four home runs. OLLU scored 15 runs in the first three innings. Montejano, Kalisky, Francisco Martinez and Anthony Valle all went yard and Diego Zuniga finished with four RBIs. Martinez also tallied four RBIs after batting 3-for-3. The Saints had eight players record at least one RBI and nine players had hits. Joshua Mendez earned the win after pitching three innings with three strikeouts. Dominique Boggs pitched four innings of relief.

Game three
The Saints took the third game to win the series. They scored one run on a passed ball in the first inning and followed with another run in the third inning. Tyler Vivier scored in the seventh inning and Zuniga followed with a three-run RBI double in the seventh inning. The Saints won 6-1 behind seven hits. The Bulldogs totaled eight hits, but OLLU limited them to only one run. Javier De Alejandro earned the win after going five innings with six strikeouts. Christopher Perez and Devin Benavides pitched in relief.

Up next
The Saints play at NCAA D2 St. Mary’s University on tomorrow at 6 p.m.

Baseball falls in three-game series against LCU

The baseball team lost a three-game series against Louisiana Christian University (LCU) this weekend on the road. The Saints drop to 18-13 overall and 10-5 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Wildcats jump to 19-7 overall and 12-3 in RRAC play.

Head Coach Matt Piker commented, “This was a tough weekend for our men. We had some great individual performances, but, collectively, we need to improve and find a way to get better. I still firmly believe this group is capable of accomplishing our goals for the season. We have to handle our business and focus on the things we can control.”

History
The Saints were 2-1 against the Wildcats prior to the series.

Game one
The Saints held the Wildcats scoreless in the first game of the series. OLLU took an early lead in the first inning when Jacob Montejano walked with bases loaded to score Tyler Vivier. Jackson Kalisky singled in the fifth inning to bring in one run and Montejano hit a solo home run in the sixth frame. Joshua Mendez pitched a complete game and earned the win after allowing only three hits while striking out five. Montejano finished with two RBIs and the Saints didn’t commit any errors in the 3-0 victory.

Game two
The Saints struggled in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday. They scored in the first inning again but ended up allowing seven unanswered runs. The Saints lone run came from a double by Francisco Martinez that scored Caimyn Holiday. Starting pitcher Javier De Alejandro suffered the loss after allowing four earned runs in 2.1 innings of work. Matthew Sanchez pitched the final 5.2 innings and gave up one earned run. Holiday finished with a multi-hit game. OLLU lost 7-1 heading into the series finale on Sunday.

Game three
The Wildcats offense scored 11 runs in the last contest of the three-game set. They scored eight total runs in the first four innings and the Saints were unable to catch up. OLLU scored four runs in the seventh inning with home runs from Kalisky and Rodriguez. Holiday helped bring the fourth run home on a ground out that scored Jimmy Valle. The Saints added one more run in the ninth inning in the 11-5 defeat. Ram Maldonado took the loss after giving up four earned runs in less than a full inning of work.

Up next
The Saints head to Hawkins, Texas, to face Jarvis Christian University in a three-game series starting on Friday.

Baseball grabs series win over Texarkana

The baseball team won two out of three contests to earn the series victory over Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) this weekend. The Saints improve to 17-10 overall and 9-3 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Eagles drop to 10-13 overall and 7-5 in RRAC play.

Head Coach Matt Piker said, “The walk-off win in the first game was great. The team stayed in the fight and did a lot of things that we talk about doing. The base running errors impacted the game in different ways. Like I’ve said before, I think more games are lost than they are won.”

History
The Saints were 11-12 against the Eagles prior to the series.

Game one
The Saints won an exciting first game of the series on March 10. Texarkana took an early lead in the first inning and then added another run in the fifth frame. The Saints tied the game in the sixth inning with two runs. Francisco Martinez and Diego Zuniga both singled to bring in one run each. Jackson Kalisky followed in the following inning with a sacrifice fly to score Jimmy Valle. The Eagles responded in the top of the ninth inning. They scored a run when the Saints were one out away from victory. Despite losing the lead, the Saints didn’t falter. Jacob Montejano won the game for the Saints in the bottom of the ninth inning with a clutch two-out double. Devin Benavides earned the win in relief after going less than a full inning with two strikeouts. Joshua Mendez started on the mound and allowed only two earned runs with seven strikeouts in seven innings. Tyler Vivier, Montejano and Martinez all had a multi-hit game.

Game two
The Saints offense exploded in game two. They totaled seven runs on 10 hits while limiting the Eagles to only four hits. Alec Martinez started on the mound and took the win with four strikeouts in four innings. John B. Ortega II earned the save after pitching three innings also with four strikeouts. Noah Rodriguez put the Saints in the lead in the second inning when he scored on a wild pitch. The Saints put the game away in the sixth inning when they totaled six runs. Vivier brought in two runs with a single and Caimyn Holiday followed with a single as well to score one run. Montejano and Martinez both doubled in the inning to bring in runs. The Saints won 7-0 and secured a series victory heading into game three.

Game three
The programs totaled 35 hits in the series finale with the Eagles winning a wild 15-11 game. The Eagles led 7-3 after the second inning, but the Saints added three runs in the third inning. Texarkana scored two more runs over the next few innings and led 9-6 after eight complete frames. The Saints forced extra innings after tying the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Kalisky doubled to score Montejano and Holiday, which cut the Eagles advantage to one run. Martinez came up big again and doubled to bring Kalisky home. Texarkana took a two-run lead in the top of the tenth inning. OLLU refused to bow out yet again. Kalisky hit a sac fly to score one run and Martinez singled to score Holiday. Like the inning before, the Eagles put up more runs. They brought home four batters to take the eventual winning 15-11 lead. Kalisky started on the mound and the Saints used seven relief pitchers.

Up next
The Saints play at Texas Lutheran University on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Baseball rallies to take series against No. 4-ranked LSU Shreveport

The baseball team took two of three games to win a Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) series over No. 4-ranked LSU-Shreveport (LSUS) on March 4. The Saints improve to 13-9 overall and 7-2 in the RRAC. The Pilots drop to 13-5 overall and 6-3 in conference play.

History
The Saints were 8-20 against the Pilots prior to the series.

Game one
The Pilots handled the Saints in the first game of the series. They totaled nine runs on 12 hits while limiting the Saints to four hits. Starting pitcher Joshua Mendez suffered the loss after allowing three earned runs in 2.2 innings of work. Chase Dunn, John B. Ortega II, Ram Maldonado and Christopher Perez all pitched in relief. Tyler Vivier, Caimyn Holiday, Jackson Kalisky and Diego Zuniga had one hit each. LSUS won 9-0 in the nine-inning night contest.

Game two
The Saints scored two late runs to earn a comeback victory against the Pilots in game two. The Pilots took the lead in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly. The Saints rallied in the sixth inning to take the permanent 2-1 advantage. Zuniga hit a clutch two-run RBI with two outs to score Kalisky and Jacob Montejano. Alec Martinez closed his complete game in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the victory. Martinez pitched all seven innings and allowed only three hits while striking out six. The Saints totaled four hits for the second game in a row. OLLU also played a discipled defensive game with no errors.

Game three
The series finale was a thriller. The Pilots slowly gained a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth frame. The Saints were able to cut the advantage to two runs in the sixth. Kalisky grounded out with bases loaded to score D’Artagnan Perez-Padron. Noah Rodriguez followed with a single to score two runs. LSU-Shreveport’s two-run advantage held until the ninth inning. Vincent Banda scored on an error to slice the Pilots lead to one run. Holiday pulled through with a double that scored Brandon Betancourt with one out in the inning to tie the game. The game headed to extra innings and the Saints walked it off in the bottom of the tenth. The Pilots intentionally walked two batters after Kalisky started the inning with a triple to center field. Betancourt struck out swinging to bring Perez-Padron to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. He singled to left field to score Kalisky from third base and win the series for the Saints. The 6-5 comeback victory marked two close games the Saints prevailed in on Saturday.

Up next
The Saints welcome NCAA D3 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) for a doubleheader on Tuesday starting at 2 p.m.

Baseball downs Texas College

The baseball team defeated Texas College (TC) in a pair of games on Feb. 24. The Steers forfeited the third game that was scheduled to be played on Feb. 25. The Saints are now 11-8 overall and 5-1 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC).

Head Coach Matt Piker said, “Today was perfect for getting a lot of players some opportunities and other players back into a rhythm. We are excited to get home and get back to work.”

Game one
OLLU scored 15 runs in the first game of the series. Four players had multiple hits and Jackson Kalisky smacked two home runs. Kalisky and Caimyn Holiday both finished with four RBIs. The Saints pitching limited the Steers to two runs while striking out 12. Starter Joshua Mendez picked up the win after going two innings with two earned runs and striking out three. Devin Benavides and Dominique Boggs pitched in relief and didn’t allow a run. OLLU scored in every inning besides the fourth and fifth frames.

Game two
The Saints cruised to a 33-0 win in the second game. They totaled 16 hits and three home runs, including a grand slam by Kalisky. Kalisky finished with seven RBIs after going 3-for-4 at the plate. Tyler Vivier, Vincent Banda, Holiday, Alejandro Ybarra, Diego Zuniga, Christian Martinez and Jimmy Valle also had multiple RBIs. The Saints pitching was solid yet again. Alec Martinez picked up the win and the Saints used four pitchers in relief. The relief pitchers totaled nine strikeouts. The Saints scored 14 runs in the fourth inning alone.

Up next
The Saints host LSU-Shreveport in a three-game series starting on Friday.

Baseball wins conference series over UHV

The baseball team took two-of-three games against the University of Houston-Victoria (UHV) this weekend. The Saints move to 8-7 overall and 2-1 in Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play. The Jaguars are 6-9 overall and 1-2 in the RRAC.

Head Coach Matt Piker said, “It was good to start the conference schedule with a series win. We dropped a tough game two, but I was really proud with how the team bounced back in game three. We showed a lot of fight in the series finale and played our brand of baseball. It was a good weekend overall and we have a lot of work to do, but I’m proud with how we competed. Our assistant coaches did a great job this weekend.”

Game One
The Saints won the first game of the series by putting up runs late in the game. The contest was scoreless until the top of the eighth inning. Jackson Kalisky singled to left field to bring in Caimyn Holiday and Jacob Montejano. The Saints added two more runs in the ninth inning. Tyler Vivier singled to score Jonathan LaCourse and Kalisky also followed with a single to bring in Criztian Delgado. The Jaguars hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback. The Saints won 4-2 backed by eight hits. Joshua Mendez had a fantastic start on the mound. He went 8.2 innings with 10 strikeouts and allowed only two hits. Chase Dunn pitched in relief to one batter after Mendez gave up the two-run home run. Mendez had a no-hitter brewing until the seventh inning and earned the win.

Game Two
The Jaguars won game two to start the doubleheader on Feb. 18. The Saints went up 2-0 after scoring one run in the fifth and sixth inning. Francisco Martinez hit a solo home run in the fifth inning and followed with an RBI single in the sixth. The Jaguars tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Vivier put the Saints back in the lead with an RBI single in the ninth inning. The Saints were unable to close out the game in the bottom of the frame. UHV singled to bring in one run and then won the game with a walk off single in the 10th frame. Alec Martinez started for the Saints and had four strikeouts in five innings pitched. John B. Ortega II suffered the loss.

Game Three
The Saints finished the series with an exclamation point. They scored six runs on 10 hits and allowed only one run by the Jaguars. Javier De Alejandro started for the Saints and went four innings with one strikeout. Dominique Boggs pitched in relief and picked up the win. Kalisky pitched the final inning for the Saints. Noah Rodriguez batted 2-for-3 with three RBIs. The Saints won 6-1 to start RRAC play with a 3-1 mark.

Up next
The Saints play at NCAA D2 St. Mary’s University on Tuesday at 6 p.m.