Kaiser walks off Game 3, No. 20 A&M-Victoria baseball sweeps Wiley

The Texas A&M University-Victoria baseball team extended its win streak in thrilling fashion on Saturday.

The No. 20-ranked Jaguars completed a series sweep of Wiley with 9-2 and 7-6 wins on Saturday, including a 10^th-inning walk-off double by Connor Kaiser in Game 2.

A&M-Victoria has now won five in a row and improved to a perfect 4-0 at home after this four-game homestand.

"It feels good to win every game we've played at home so far," said head coach Jonathan Stavinoha. "Four in a row at home, five in a row and 5-1 on the season. I really liked, obviously (Saturday's) Game 1. (Blane Zeplin) pitched, man. He's a force to be reckoned with. When he's got his stuff working, he's gonna be tough to beat.

"This group has been fun to be around so far this year. I'm looking forward to spending more time with them. It's going to be a long season."

The Jaguars (5-1) picked up multi-hit games from Kaiser, Jose Montanez, Beck Zimmerman, Trevor Berger and Antonio Benitez in Saturday's doubleheader as they scored their 16 runs on 18 hits.

Game 1

After Wiley (0-5) struck first for a 1-0 lead in the first inning, A&M-Victoria responded by plating nine unanswered runs between the second and sixth innings.

Garrett Smith tied the game with an RBI double to center field before a two-run single by Robby Olguin gave the Jaguars a 3-1 lead. Olguin was later driven in by Benitez to make it 4-1.

RBI groundouts by Olguin and Kyle Barosh made it 6-1in the third before Jackson Purcell picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the fourth to extend the lead 7-1.

The A&M-Victoria scoring was capped in the sixth after an RBI groundout by Benitez and another sac fly, this time by Kaiser.

Olguin's three RBIs led the way in Game 1 on Saturday and Benitez was the only other Jaguar with multiple RBIs.

Zeplin improved to 2-0 on the mound after a career day.

The Victoria native went six innings, allowing just one run on one hit and three walks while striking out a career-high 10 batters.

Blake Rogers closed the game out with an inning of relief in which he surrendered one run on one hit with a pair of strikeouts.

Game 2

A&M-Victoria had to earn its sweep with Wiley tying the game twice late.

The Jaguars took the lead in the fourth inning thanks to RBI singles from Montanez and Barosh before Berger capped the inning's scoring with a two run single to extend the lead to 4-1.

After Wiley tied the game at 4-4 in the seventh, A&M-Victoria regained the lead on an RBI double by Montanez and then led 6-4 after a wild pitch plated pinch runner Ty Boozer.

Two Wiley runs across the final two innings tied the game at 6-6 before Kaiser sent the crowd home happy with a double to dead center field to score Barosh, who re-entered the game after a pinch-hit walk by Zion Hankins to lead off the inning.

"We're a team that's big on picking each other up," Kaiser said. "We hold each other accountable for things. If guys don't get the job done, the next guy is right there to step up for them and take care of it. We have a good process with that. I feel we trust each other with it."

That gave Kaiser a two-hit day, joining Montanez, Zimmerman and Berger as the lone Jaguars with multiple hits. Montanez and Berger each had two RBIs.

Jacob Baker delivered a strong start on the mound, striking out six over six innings while allowing just one earned run on one hit and three walks.

Constendinos Demetriou earned the win after two innings of relief, striking out three batters and allowing one run on one hit and one walk. The junior right-hander came on in the ninth in a save situation.

Next up

A&M-Victoria travels to Travis Field in Bryan to square off with Nelson University at 12 p.m. on Wednesday before returning home to face Doane (Neb.) and Wayland Baptist on Friday and Saturday.