No. 14 Jags set new single-season wins record with onslaught vs. LSUA

There wasn't a player more fitting to spark the UHV baseball team on Friday than Hal Perez.

Heading into this weekend's series with LSU Alexandria, senior catcher Hal Perez had played in 101 games at Riverside Stadium between his three years with the Jaguars and one season with the Victoria Generals of the Texas Collegiate League.

In his 102nd game at the historic ballpark, the Camuy, Puerto Rico, native delivered a career performance to kick off Senior Weekend, going 3-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs to lift the Jaguars to a 15-6 win over LSUA.

He finished a triple shy of the cycle and his solo home run in the third inning was his team-leading seventh this season. What's even better is he did it with his mother and father in the stands after flying in from Puerto Rico.

"It's definitely special," Perez said. "Tomorrow will be my last home games here and I'll take this field with me. This week is special, especially with my family here the whole weekend. I just needed some happiness and it paid off. It just feels good."

With the win, UHV (35-14, 20-8) set a new single-season wins record and secure the two seed at next week's Red River Athletic Conference Tournament in Sterlington, Louisiana.

"It's a true testament to this team and the work they've put in over and over," said head coach Jonathan Stavinoha. "When things didn't go our way, they just got right back to the grind to figure everything out. The mentality this team has, it's exciting. We set the record, but we've still got more baseball to play. I'm excited to see what we can do here in the final stretch of the season."

Perez's success at the plate was imitated by his teammates.

UHV had five different players with a multi-RBI showing against the Generals (23-24, 16-12). Seven different Jaguars had hits, including five with multi-hit performances. Jackson Purcell and Rafael Gutierrez each had three RBIs on Friday.

"We just got back to the basics of having good ABs and not chasing pitches out of the zone," Stavinoha said. "We worked to get good pitches to hit and, when you do that, you're going to lucky. You play the right way and play hard, you're going to string hits together and you're going to score a bunch of runs. We did that tonight."

Relief pitching shined for UHV in the win with two relief pitchers combining for five shutout innings and six strikeouts behind starter Brady Parker.

Ryan Rodriguez was the first to get the call out of the bullpen and hurled two shutout innings, allowing just two hits and recording three strikeouts. That led to the redshirt-freshman from Needville earning his first career win. Justin Mireles tossed three shutout innings behind Rodriguez to earn his third save this season.

He came on with the bases loaded and nobody out in the fifth inning before striking out the first two batters he faced and got a lineup to end the threat.

"My mindset was to just come in and throw strikes, let my defense work," Rodriguez said. "I had the lead and I'm very confident in myself. I've been feeling good lately and it's starting to show."

Friday was Rodriguez's sixth appearance for UHV.

In 6.2 innings over those six appearances, Rodriguez has not allowed a run while boasting a team-leading K/9 rate of 14.85.

"The kid's got guts," Stavinoha said. "Every time he's come out this year, he's looked great. He's put in the hard work to thrive in that position. When his number's called, he thrives. He's building that confidence to put him in with tough situations."

The Jaguars and Generals wrap up their three-game set at 12 p.m. tomorrow to conclude Weekend at the Ballpark presented by Crossroads Bank, meaning admission is free. The Jaguars will also hold Homecoming and Senior Day at the ballpark.