A&M-Victoria baseball posts another season-high to down Division I Texas Southern
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 16 | 0 |
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2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 14 | 3 |
HOUSTON — The Texas A&M University-Victoria baseball team delivered its biggest offensive performance of the season Tuesday, piling up 20 runs and 16 hits in a 20–14 win over Division I Texas Southern at MacGregor Park.
The victory marked the Jaguars' fourth win over a Division I opponent in the past two seasons and continued a key trend: A&M–Victoria is now 14–0 this year when scoring at least eight runs. It's the seventh time in the last 10 games the Jaguars have posted double-digit runs.
A&M–Victoria (20–9) used an 11-run third inning -- also a season high for runs in an inning -- to seize control before holding off multiple Texas Southern rallies. The Jaguars produced six players with multiple hits and had eight different players drive in at least one run in their highest-scoring game of the season.
Texas Southern (7–10) countered with a pair of multi-homer innings, but the Jaguars' early outburst and late insurance held up behind four steady innings from closer Andrew Rivera.
Key Moments
A&M–Victoria broke the game open in the third, sending 16 batters to the plate and turning a 2-1 deficit into a 12-2 lead. The frame featured six hits, three Texas Southern errors and run-producing swings from Antonio Benitez, Beck Zimmerman, Connor Kaiser, Jackson Purcell, Ty Boozer and Josiah Taylor.
Zimmerman's two-run double and Kaiser's RBI single highlighted the middle of the inning, while Purcell added another RBI hit. The Jaguars extended the lead to 16–2 in the fourth on Benitez's RBI triple followed by Zimmerman's two-run homer.
Texas Southern answered with six runs in the bottom of the fourth and added five more in the sixth, twice cutting the margin to three. Rivera entered with one out in the sixth and stabilized the game, retiring 12 of the 16 batters he faced.
Montanez's solo homer in the eighth offered breathing room, and A&M–Victoria added three more in the ninth on a bases-loaded walk by Montanez and a two-run single from Purcell to rebuild a seven-run lead.
Top Performers
Rivera earned his third save of the season with four innings of relief, allowing three runs while striking out two as he shut down Texas Southern's late push. Justin Mireles picked up his first win of the season after two innings of relief behind Jonathan Jones.
Zimmerman went 2-for-5 with five RBIs, a double and a home run, extending his hitting streak to 11 games and his on-base streak to 14. Purcell finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs, and Benitez added a 3-for-5 day with three runs scored.
Montanez drove in two and scored twice, and Boozer contributed two hits and two RBIs. Smith stretched his hitting streak to 10 games and his on-base streak to 12, while Purcell extended his hitting streak to 8 games and his on-base streak to 12. Benitez pushed his hitting streak to seven games.
Kaiser reached base three times and improved his on-base streak to 20 games. Montanez extended his to 17.
Next up
The Jaguars continue their road trip on Tuesday with a 6 p.m. first pitch against John Melvin in Crowley, Louisiana. Live stats can be found at TAMUVAthletics.com.