A&M-Victoria baseball pushes NAIA-leading win streak to 11 with sweep of Xavier (La.)

NEW ORLEANS – The Texas A&M University-Victoria baseball team is the hottest team in the nation.

The Jaguars stretched their NAIA‑leading win streak to 11 games Saturday with a doubleheader and series sweep of Xavier (LA) with wins of 6-3 and 12-2, closing the day just one game back of first place in the Red River Athletic Conference.

A&M-Victoria improved to 24-9 overall and 13-2 in RRAC play.

Entering the twinbill with several of the nation's hottest hitters, the Jaguars saw their key streaks grow again: Beck Zimmerman extended his hitting streak to 15 games and his on‑base streak to 18, Garrett Smith reached 14 and 16 games respectively, Jackson Purcell moved to 12 and 16, Antonio Benitez hit 11 and 21, Connor Kaiser reached 24 straight on base, and Jose Montanez climbed to 21.

Game 1

The Jaguars rode a five‑run surge through the first three innings to secure a 6–3 win in the opener.

A&M–Victoria grabbed the lead immediately when Garrett Smith doubled home Connor Kaiser in the first inning. Xavier tied the game in the bottom half on a sacrifice bunt and throwing error.

Smith delivered the biggest swing of the game in the third, drilling a three‑run homer to right that brought home Kaiser, Zimmerman and Benitez to put the Jaguars ahead 5-2. Jackson Purcell added an RBI groundout in the seventh for an insurance run.

Starter Blane Zeplin was dominant, striking out 10 and allowing just two hits across seven innings to improve to 8–1. It's the fifth time this season Zeplin has eclipsed double-digit strikeouts.

Smith led the offense with a 3‑for‑4, five‑RBI performance, extending both his hitting and on‑base streaks.

Game 2

The series finale brought another offensive outburst as A&M-Victoria scored nine runs in the final two innings to complete the sweep.

The Jaguars first struck in the third when Smith homered to left center, scoring Kyle Barosh for a 2-0 lead. Xavier answered with a run in the bottom half.

A&M-Victoria regained control in the fifth when Zion Hankins lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Kaiser. The Jaguars then erupted for five runs in the eighth, beginning with a throwing error that plated Barosh to extend the lead to 4–2. Smith later drew a bases‑loaded walk, and Xavier Ortega followed with a three‑run double to blow the game open at 8–2.

Four more runs scored in the ninth on a bases‑loaded walk by Benitez, a two‑run single from Zimmerman, and an RBI single by Kaiser.

Jacob Baker earned the win with seven strong innings, allowing two runs and striking out seven. Andrew Rivera and Constendinos Demetriou closed the final two innings with six combined strikeouts.

Zimmerman's ninth‑inning single extended his hitting streak to 15 games and his on‑base streak to 18. Smith's two hits pushed his streaks to 14 and 16, while Purcell and Benitez added hits to extend their streaks as well. Kaiser's two‑hit game moved his on‑base streak to 24, and Montanez's single extended his to 21.

Next Up

A&M-Victoria returns home for Homecoming week and a three-game series against No. 1 ranked and RRAC leader LSU Shreveport. The series kicks off with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch on Friday, followed by a doubleheader and Homecoming at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday – the Homecoming Royal Jaguars will be crowned between the games on Saturday.