Tag: baseball

Baseball’s Alec Martinez earns Co-Pitcher of the Year in Texas Collegiate League

Alec Martinez (SR/Corpus Christi, Texas) of the OLLU baseball team was named Co-Pitcher of the Year in the Texas Collegiate League (TCL) this summer.

Martinez had a perfect 6-0 record this season in nine starts with the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio. In 47.1 innings pitched, Martinez had a 1.71 ERA while striking out 51 batters. His coach, John McLaren, earned Manager of the Year.

The Chanclas were crowned TCL champions after defeating the Victoria Generals 8-0 on Aug. 7. Martinez pitched four innings and allowed no runs with two strikeouts. The program finished with a 32-7 regular-season record and a 3-0 postseason mark.

Martinez said, “Being named Co-Pitcher of the Year was a great accomplishment. Coach McLaren and pitching coach Danny Graves helped me by working with my mechanics and my mental side of the game. I had a great time meeting new people and playing summer baseball for the Chanclas.”

Last season Martinez posted a 4.24 ERA with five wins for the Saints. He combined with Jose Diaz for a no-hitter against LSU-Shreveport on Mar. 26, marking the second time in OLLU history the feat had been achieved. The Saints totaled a season-high 34 wins and were NAIA World Series participants.

The baseball program begins its eighth season in 2022.

Baseball earns second consecutive ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award

The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) has announced that OLLU has been awarded the 2020-2021 ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award. Teams were honored with this year’s award, which highlights programs coached by ABCA members that posted a GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale for the entire 2020-2021 academic year. The Saints baseball team earned a 3.10 GPA, marking the second consecutive year the men have won this award.

Head Coach Bryan Aughney commented, “I’m very proud of our players taking care of business in the classroom, as it is our top priority. Our job is to prepare these athletes for life after baseball and assist them in their college education. The players got it done on the field despite the COVID-19 challenges during the season. More importantly, the team excelled in academics by producing a combined GPA of over 3.0. We preach the importance of being a successful student-athlete and earning a degree.”

Coaches were able to nominate their teams for the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award following the conclusion of their spring semesters prior to the nomination deadline of July 12. To be honored, teams had to meet the following criteria:

  • Must be a high school or college team
  • Head coach must be a current ABCA member
  • Team must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale during the 2020-21 academic year

The American Baseball Coaches Association has a long tradition of recognizing the achievements of baseball coaches and student-athletes. The ABCA/Rawlings All-America Teams are the nation’s oldest, founded in 1949, and the ABCA’s awards program also includes the ABCA/Rawlings All-America Awards, the ABCA/ATEC Regional & National Coaches of the Year and several other major awards such as the ABCA Hall of Fame and the Dave Keilitz Ethics in Coaching Award.

Baseball’s Jose Diaz and Brett Vasquez named NAIA All-Americans

Jose Diaz (SR/Pinar del Rio, Cuba) and Brett Vasquez (SO/Mont Belvieu, Texas) were named to the NAIA All-American Honorable Mention team.

This marks the first time in Saints history for a member of the baseball team to receive NAIA All-American honors. In 2019, Diaz was named an NAIA Player to Watch. At the beginning of the 2021 season, he was selected as an NAIA Preseason All-American. Diaz was named the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Player of the Year, while Vasquez received RRAC Pitcher of the Year honors.

Diaz led the Saints with a .374 batting average and 11 steals. He tallied a career-high 45 RBIs and 16 doubles. Diaz also combined for a no-hitter with Alec Martinez (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) against LSU-Shreveport on March 26.

Diaz ends his baseball career at OLLU with several all-time records including games played at 231, at-bats with 774 total runs with 175, hits with 260, doubles with 54, home runs with 17, RBIs with 163, total bases with 379 and stolen bases with 70.

Vasquez won nine games on the mound this season, setting a program record previously held by Jordan Hackett in 2016 with eight victories. He totaled 70 strikeouts including three straight starts fanning eight batters.

Head Coach Bryan Aughney commented, “I’m very excited for both Jose and Brett for their great individual accomplishments. Jose has been a mainstay in our program and has continually progressed as a baseball player. His work ethic and love for the game has been fun to be a part of. Brett really put in some work over the last 18 months. He is very driven and I’m excited to see what he does in the future.”

The Saints shined in their most impressive season to date with 34 wins and were crowned the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) regular-season champions. OLLU made its first appearance in the NAIA National Championships and lost in the opening round.

Baseball finishes historic season with loss to St. Thomas University

The baseball team concluded the 2021 season with a 14-7 loss to St. Thomas University (STU) in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.

The Saints finish the season with a 34-19 overall record and 20-4 tally in Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play. 34 victories mark the highest single-season win total in program history. OLLU was also ranked in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 poll for the first time.

Head Coach Bryan Aughney said, “I’m really proud of the team, the COVID-19 seniors [those who were granted another year of eligibility] and the graduating four-year players. We all put a lot of work into this season every day. We accomplished a lot of firsts this season. I’m happy we could take the team to the opening round, as it’s a valuable experience. When you get to the national tournament, every team is tough, and unfortunately, we didn’t put together our best baseball. We raised the standards of our program and continue to build in a positive direction.”

History

This is the first meeting between the two programs.

Basics

The Bobcats started the scoring in the first inning by plating three runs on three hits. OLLU responded in the third inning when Connor Dayton (SO/San Antonio, Texas) scored on an error, and Andrew Ogletree (JR/Mission, Texas) scored on a Ryan Chapa (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) RBI groundout. After their lead was cut to 3-2, St. Thomas took a commanding 8-2 advantage by scoring five runs in the bottom of the inning.

The Bobcats added another six runs in the fourth, while OLLU started a rally in the fifth. Dayton got things rolling with an infield hit, following by a walk from Ogletree. Chapa singled to right, and after Ogletree was out after overrunning the base, Jose Diaz (SR/Pinar del Rio, Cuba) hit a three-run homer to move the Saints to 5-14.

The score stayed at 14-5 through the eighth inning when the Saints scored two runs. Klar homered to left and drove in Jacob Mitchell (JR/Harker Heights, Texas ). The game ended with the Bobcats winning 14-7.

Diaz went 1-3, adding three RBIs. Klar also went 1-3 and added two RBIs. Matt Mihalov (SR/Conroe, Texas), Dayton and Chapa each had two hits. Starting pitcher Alec Martinez (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) allowed eight earned runs on nine hits in 3.2 innings of work. Jose Ramirez III (JR/Donna, Texas) and Ty Cook (JR/Highlands, Texas) combined for 2.1 innings allowing four hits and two runs. Closer Diaz pitched 2 innings, facing six batters and striking out four.

Up next

With the loss to STU, the Saints are eliminated from the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. The Saints will begin their eighth season and fifth year under Aughney in 2022.

SAINTS HONOR SENIORS DURING 3-1 CONFERENCE SERIES WIN OVER TEXARKANA

OLLU baseball played a phenomenal doubleheader April10 and won the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) series against Texas A&M University – Texarkana (TAMUT) 3-1. The NAIA’s 21st ranked Saints outscored the Eagles 31-6 today with 18-6 and 13-0 wins after dropping the first game on Friday 1-8 and winning the second, 6-5.

In between the first and second games on Saturday, the university honored four-year seniors Ryan Chapa (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas), Robert Lopez (SR/San Antonio, Texas), Jacob Mitchell (JR/Harker Heights, Texas ), Andrew Ogletree (JR/Mission, Texas) and Triston Scherer (JR/Crosby, Texas), plus five-year seniors Joey Baker (SR/Victoria, Texas), Jose Diaz (SR/Pinar del Rio, Cuba), Matt Mihalov (SR/Conroe, Texas) and Xavier Solis (SR/Victoria, Texas).

Head Coach Bryan Aughney commented, “After a slow start, we really got things rolling. We didn’t play our best baseball on Friday but found a way to get the split on day one. I thought Alec (Alec Martinez) and Trey (Jose Ramirez III) gave us great stats on the mound, and that was key for us as it kept our pen intact heading into Saturday. We challenged the guys heading into Saturday as we’re in the hunt for a championship, and they responded with championship play. We clicked on all cylinders on Saturday. It was good to see.

“I can’t say enough about our senior class. I’ve been with these guys for four years, and they have done all that we have asked. Their hard work, dedication and sacrifice have led us to where we are now. I’m proud of the work they have put in and even more proud as all are either on pace to graduate or already have. And that is what it is all about.”

See game details on the Saints website.

In the News

Recent media coverage that brought attention to Our Lady of the Lake University:

On April 3, a story on KALB news in Alexandria, La., about OLLU’s baseball team sweeping a double-header against LSU-Alexandria:

https://www.kalb.com/2021/04/04/generals-take-a-pair-of-losses-in-second-double-header-against-ollu/

On April 3, a story on KALB news in Alexandria, La., about LSU-Alexandria taking a double-header from OLLU:

https://www.kalb.com/2021/04/03/trahan-timely-hitting-lead-lsua-to-double-header-sweep/

Baseball makes history with first NAIA Top 25 ranking

For the first time in OLLU baseball history, the Saints have been ranked in the NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. In the first poll, the Saints received votes, but this time around, they cracked the Top 25 to land at No. 21.

Tennessee Wesleyan grabbed 17 of the 19 first-place votes in the second edition of the Top 25. Southeastern stayed put at No. 2 with two first-place votes, while Cumberlands also remained in the same spot at No. 3. Central Methodist and Faulkner both moved-up one spot and rounded out the top five. Both No. 15 Science & Arts and No. 16 Reinhardt jumped seven spots this week.

The Saints have won 14 of their last 16 games for a record of 20-10 and are undefeated in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) at 8-0. The Saints also jumped to the top of the conference rankings after defeated previous league leader LSU-Shreveport in a four-game sweep last week. As a result, the previous No. 13 ranked Pilots dropped out of the Top 25 to receive 15 votes.

The Saints are under the helm of third-year Head Coach Bryan Aughney, who just marked his 215 career win and is nine wins short of his 100th win at OLLU.

Poll Methodology

  • The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.
  • The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
  • The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed, and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
  • Teams that receive only one point on the ballot are not considered “receiving votes.”
  • The frequency of the polls is bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) prior to the 2016-17 academic season. This change allows raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work between rating periods.
  • For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.

2021 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll 2 (March 31, 2021)

RANKLAST WEEKSCHOOL [1st Place Votes]RECORDFINAL POINTS
11Tennessee Wesleyan [17]26-2528
22Southeastern (Fla.) [2]29-3513
33Cumberlands (Ky.)26-5486
45Central Methodist (Mo.)23-3478
56Faulkner (Ala.)15-2450
64Vanguard (Calif.)27-7424
79Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)22-2422
88Keiser (Fla.)28-6413
97Georgia Gwinnett21-7410
1016Oklahoma Wesleyan22-3389
1111Middle Georgia State21-9350
1210Hope International (Calif.)18-10339
1315Bryan (Tenn.)21-8319
1412St. Thomas (Fla.)21-12288
1522Science & Arts (Okla.)16-7275
1623Reinhardt (Ga.)20-9247
1718Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.)14-7244
1820Taylor (Ind.)24-7226
1917McPherson (Kan.)21-5207
2024Concordia (Neb.)20-3184
21NROur Lady of the Lake (Texas)20-9157
22NRLoyola (La.)20-8156
23RVIndiana Wesleyan25-9150
24RVBenedictine (Kan.)21-4146
2519Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)15-14132

Dropped from the Top 25: Webber International (Fla.), Oklahoma City, LSU Shreveport (La.), William Carey (Miss.)

Others Receiving Votes: Webber International (Fla.) 100, Indiana Southeast (Ind.) 96, Oklahoma City 80, Westmont (Calif.) 51, Columbia (Mo.) 25, Southwestern Christian (Okla.) 22, Mobile (Ala.) 21, Point (Ga.) 20, Bellevue (Neb.) 20, LSU Shreveport (La.) 15, Asbury (Ky.) 10, Clarke (Iowa) 9, Huntington (Ind.) 8, Concordia (Mich.) 7, William Carey (Miss.) 3.

Baseball shocks No. 13-ranked LSU-Shreveport with four-game sweep

The baseball team swept the four-game series against the NAIA’s No. 13-ranked LSU-Shreveport (LSUS) to improve to 20-9 overall and 8-0 in Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play. The Saints are 16-2 this month and set a new record for the longest winning streak in Saints history with eight victories.

Head Coach Bryan Aughney said, “This was a great weekend for OLLU baseball. Shreveport is a good team and we matched their play this weekend. It all started with our pitching. We attacked the strike zone and had more walks than we would like, but Alec Martinez (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) pitched lights out game one and set the tone. I could not be prouder of these players and how they played this weekend. We continue to compete in every situation, and it seemed like every time a run was scored against us, we bounced back and scored on our own.”

Aughney continued, “We put ourselves in a good position in the conference, and there is still a lot of baseball to play. We must continue to work hard and take care of the little things. I’m proud of how we played this weekend, and it was a great effort all around. We are looking forward to next weekend.”

History

The Saints trail the all-time series against Shreveport 4-16. The wins mark the first Saints victory over the Pilots since 2018.

Game one

Martinez and Jose Diaz (SR/Pinar del Rio, Cuba) combined for a no-hitter in the first game against Shreveport. The no-hitter marks the second time in Saints history the feat has been achieved. The Saints scored the lone run in the second inning. Connor Dayton (SO/San Antonio, Texas) singled to left field to score Andrew Ogletree (JR/Mission, Texas). The Saints held on to win 1-0. Martinez struck out four batters, and Diaz earned the save in the seventh inning.

Martinez commented, “I wanted to give our team a chance to win against a good opponent. Everything seemed to be working on the mound for me and the defense behind me helped. I knew I hadn’t allowed a hit and wanted to keep dominating. Diaz came in for the save and sealed the deal. There is no man better for the job than Diaz.”

Game two

The bats for both teams came alive in the second game of the series. LSUS struck first with three runs in the top of the second inning. The Saints responded with five in the following inning. OLLU tacked on another run in the fourth inning to lead 6-3.

The Pilots tied the game in the seventh inning with three runs. OLLU gained the momentum back in the bottom of the inning. Robert Arredondo (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) scored on a wild throw, and Matthew Klar (SO/San Antonio, Texas) scored after a double by Dayton. The Saints won 8-6 to take a 2-0 series lead heading into Saturday.

Game three

Game three was just as exciting as the second game. The Saints led 4-0 after three innings. OLLU eventually led 7-4 and ended up winning 8-5. Jacob Mitchell (JR/Harker Heights, Texas ) batted 2-for-3 and drove in four runs. Boedy Flores (SO/Harlingen, Texas) tallied two RBIs, and Ryan Chapa (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) went 2-for-3 at the plate.

Game four

The Saints won 7-5 to close the series and earn the sweep. OLLU scored at least one run in the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth inning. The Saints tallied 11 hits and seven pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts. Four different Saints players had a multi-hit game. OLLU is first in the RRAC with an 8-0 conference record.

Up next

The Saints play one game against St. Mary’s University on the road on March 30 at 6 p.m.

Baseball wins four-game series against Ottawa University-Arizona 3-1

Hear from Head Coach Bryan Aughney.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/nH59fcuTGTY?enablejsapi=1&origin=http%3A%2F

The baseball team won a four-game series against Ottawa University-Arizona (OUAZ) 3-1 from March 4-6. The Saints improve to 7-8 this season while the Spirit drop to 8-10.

Game one

The Saints started the series against OUAZ with an extra-inning victory on Thursday. OLLU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Spirit tied the game with a last-minute effort in the top of the ninth inning to force extra innings. Robert Lopez (SR/San Antonio, Texas) was the hero for the Saints when he hit a game-winning sacrifice fly to score Jacob Montejano (SO/San Antonio, Texas) in the bottom of the 12th inning.

OLLU limited OUAZ to five hits and five Saints pitchers combined for nine strikeouts. Matthew Klar (SO/San Antonio, Texas) batted 2-for-4 and drove in one run. The Saints won 2-1 heading into the doubleheader on Friday.

Game two

The Saints rode their momentum from game one in the first game of the doubleheader. Despite trailing 3-1 after three innings, the Saints scored six runs over the next two innings. They scored one run in the fourth inning and five in the fifth inning. Tyler Vivier (FR/San Antonio, Texas) hit a sacrifice fly to score Klar to start the fifth inning. Ryan Chapa (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) singled to score Robert Arredondo (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas), Chapa later scored on a Noah Rodriguez (SO/Victoria, Texas) two-run home run, and Diaz doubled to score Montejano toward the end of the inning.

The 7-3 victory gave the Saints a 2-0 series lead. Alec Martinez (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas), Javier De Alejandro (FR/San Antonio, Texas), and Jacob Mitchell (JR/Harker Heights, Texas ) combined to allow six hits and seven strikeouts. The Saints’ pitching proved dominant for a second straight game by allowing only two runs.

Game three

The Spirit drove in one run in the top of the first inning, but the Saints responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Lopez doubled to deep right-center field to score Montejano and Diaz. Later in the inning, Klar singled to left-center field to bring in Arredondo.

The Saints eventually led 4-2 after three innings. Ottawa’s bats came to life in the fifth inning when they scored five runs. The Saints were unable to score in the final two innings and lost 7-4. OLLU featured six different pitchers and Vivier batted 2-for-3.

Game four

The Saints took the final game on Saturday 6-3 to earn the 3-1 series victory. OLLU led the entire game and tallied nine hits. Four different players drove in at least one run, and Diaz picked up the save. Starting pitcher Brett Vasquez (SO/Mont Belvieu, Texas) struck out six batters and allowed four hits.   

Up next

The Saints welcome the University of Houston-Victoria for a four-game series starting on March 12 at 1 p.m.

OLLU community invited to Second Annual Halloween Baseball Bash

2015HalloweenBaseballGameThe OLLU baseball team will hold the Second Annual Halloween Bash this Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m., at the Missions Baseball Academy. All members of the team will be dressed up in costume and will play an intrasquad game. After the game, a contest for the best costumes will take place with awards given for each category. For additional information, contact Head Coach Freddy Rodriguez at extension 7049.