#10/#8 Baseball hosts TAMUT in pivotal RRAC Series

At the midway point in the season, UHV baseball is in prime position to make history.

The No. 10-ranked Jaguars (22-3, 11-1), who also moved up to No. 8 in the third NAIA Ball Media Poll on Wednesday, sit atop the Red River Athletic Conference standings with a half-game lead over No. 1-ranked LSU Shreveport.

Now, UHV welcomes Texas A&M-Texarkana (19-6, 8-1), which is 1.5 games behind the Jaguars in third place, to town for a three-game RRAC series starting on Friday at 7 p.m. at Riverside Stadium. The series wraps up with a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.

"We're excited for the challenge with another conference matchup against a decent club," said head coach Jonathan Stavinoha. "They've swung it well, but I think our pitching will match up really nice against their sticks. If we play our game, if we play JagBall, we should walk away with three wins this weekend."

UHV's pitching staff has been dominant, ranking fifth in the NAIA and second in the RRAC in ERA with a 2.72. They'll face off against an Eagles squad which ranks ninth nationally in batting average, hitting at a .352 clip.

The Jaguars' probable starters of Brady Parker, Jonathan Jones and Julian Garcia are the top three pitchers in the conference in terms of ERA with Jones' 1.52 leading the way. Parker and Mason Longoria share the conference lead and rank second nationally in wins with six this season.

Parker leads the RRAC and ranks third nationally in strikeouts with 61 after a 10-strikeout showing against Jarvis Christian last Thursday.

Andrew Hurrelbrink also earned his first career save at UHV with a flawless 1.2 innings of work in a 4-3 win over NCAA Division I Prairie View A&M last week. The junior from Perth, Australia, struck out four of the five batters he faced.

"It starts with our starters, but you can't say enough about how the bullpen has performed and the different things they've done, especially against some Division I teams," Stavinoha said. "It's been really good to see them handle themselves the right way and have the confidence to go out and throw their pitches, to trust their pitches."

While UHV's starting pitching has gotten a lot of attention, the Jaguars have also been stellar at the plate.

The Jaguars are hitting .341 as a team, which is 18^th nationally and second in the Red River. UHV is averaging 8.76 runs per game and has scored 10 or more runs in nine games this year.

Cristian Garcia has led the way offensively, leading the conference in average, on-base percentage and slugging with a slash line of .494/.619/.734. The Houston native has reached base in all 25 games this season.

Hal Perez is second in the conference in RBIs with 29 and the Jaguars boast nine players with 10+ RBIs.

"I think our offense has grown in different ways," Stavinoha said. "The ability to do different things is a lot of fun. It's fun to have the ability to run and put the ball in play, but also occasionally hit the long balls, some doubles and other things. We can win offensively in many different ways. The big thing is, we haven't been striking out a lot. When we limit those strikeouts, put the ball in play and make things happen, things seem to go right."

This weekend is Free Ticket Weekend presented by Atzenhoffer.

The festivities kick off with the second annual Little League Appreciation Night on Friday, which is expected to draw a record crowd. The record is 1,400 and was set last season on Little League Appreciation Night as the Jaguars walked-off LSU Shreveport.

All four Victoria Little Leagues will be recognized with a pre-game ceremony on the field starting at 6:25 p.m.

"Thanks to the presidents for allowing us to do this," Stavinoha said. "Growing up playing Little League myself, you realize how cool it is to come out to a college baseball game, be recognized on the field before the game and have your Little League opening ceremonies go on like that. It should be a great time for the kids, parents and families out there, as well as our guys to be out there and see the joy on the youngsters' faces and take them back to what this game is really about."