No. 20 A&M-Victoria splits on thrilling opening day of South Texas Shuffle

The Texas A&M University-Victoria baseball team opened the first day of the South Texas Shuffle with a pair of thrilling games.

The No. 20-ranked Jaguars overcame a five-run deficit to win, 8-7, against Doane (Neb.) in the first game of the day before falling, 5-3, to No. 17 Wayland Baptist in the nightcap despite rallying to tie the game in the fifth inning.

Antonio Benitez continued to set the tone from the top of the lineup, going 4-for-7 at the plate and extending his hitting streak to five games. He's now hit safely in seven of the eight games for A&M-Victoria (6-2).

Connor Kaiser also had a pair of multi-hit games on Saturday, going 4-for-7.

Game 1 vs. Doane

The Jaguars didn't get on the board until the third inning after Doane built a five-run lead

But A&M-Victoria bridged the gap immediately, plating five runs and tying the game in the bottom of the third. RBIs from Jose Montanez, Garrett Smith, Robby Olguin and Kyle Barosh brought the Jaguars all the way back.

Montanez provided the final three RBIs in the fourth and sixth innings to put A&M-Victoria up 8-5 at the time.

The Arroyo, Puerto Rico, native finished the day 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBIs to pace the Jaguars.

Jonathan Jones earned the win, throwing six innings and allowing just one earned run while striking out five.

Matthew Mejia earned the save with an inning of work and one strikeout.

Game 2 vs. Wayland Baptist

Once again, the Jaguars played from behind in the nightcap with No. 17 Wayland Baptist, who led 3-0 after the top of the fifth inning.

And once again, A&M-Victoria erased the deficit immediately with a three-run fifth inning.

RBIs from Benitez, Robby Olguin and Connor Kaiser made it a tie ballgame going into the final two frames before a two-run single by Wayland in the seventh proved too much for A&M-Victoria.

Olguin's RBI double in the fifth meant the Robstown native has hit safely in six of the last seven games.

Blane Zeplin put together a solid start on the mound, throwing 4.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with six strikeouts.

Constendinos Demetriou suffered the loss in 1.2 innings of work where he struck out a pair of batters.

Next up

The Jaguars wrap up play on Saturday with two games, starting at 12 p.m. against Wayland and at 6 p.m. against Doane.

It's still Brady Parker Weekend presented by South Texas Orthopedic Specialists and Crossroads Bank. Fans who missed out on Parker's autograph session Friday will have another opportunity during the 12 p.m. game. Admission is free all day again on Saturday.