Tag: LSU-Shreveport

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.

Saints upset No.23-ranked LSU-Shreveport 87-85

The men’s basketball team stole a win at No. 23-ranked LSU-Shreveport (LSUS) 87-85 on Jan. 19. The Saints improve to 11-8 overall and 6-5 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Pilots drop to 14-5 overall and 8-3 in RRAC competition.

Head Coach Chris Dial commented, “This was a great win for our team and our program. The team showed a lot of grit tonight and I’m proud of them. Playing at LSU-Shreveport isn’t an easy place to grab a win.”

History
The Saints were 10-13 against the Pilots prior to the game.

Basics
The Saints defeated an NAIA Top 25 team for the first time since 2019. Both programs shot over 45 percent from the field in the first half. The Saints were solid from three-point range at 57.1 percent shooting and forced nine turnovers by the Pilots. Rob Gil had double-digit points at halftime and Tommie Law added four rebounds.

Shreveport’s three-point lead at halftime slowly deteriorated. The Saints tied the game six minutes into the second half and there were multiple lead changes as the frame went on. OLLU rallied to lead by six points with under three minutes left. The Pilots tallied four quick points to cut the advantage to one point. The game was tied with four seconds remaining when Law made a layup assisted by Gil. Shreveport missed a game-winning three point shot at the buzzer and the Saints held on for the victory.

Offensive/defensive standouts
Law led the Saints with 24 points. Law also grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Gil led the team with four assists.

Jalen Brooks led LSUS with 23 points. Brooks and Tyler Washington grabbed a team-high six rebounds each. Brooks and Jordan DeCuir finished with two assists apiece.

Inside the box
OLLU combined for 26-of-44 shooting for 59.1 percent, 8-of-13 from three-point range for 61.5 percent and 27-of-32 from the free-throw line for 84.4 percent. LSUS shot 28-of-52 for 53.8 percent, 9-of-19 three pointers for 47.4 percent and 20-of-34 from the free-throw line for 58.8 percent.

The Saints grabbed 20 rebounds while Shreveport collected 26.

Up next
The Saints face Texas College at home on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

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.