No. 13 A&M-Victoria squares off with Hope International in first game of Opening Round
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The Texas A&M University-Victoria baseball team is facing a new foe next week.
The No. 13-ranked Jaguars (36-15) take on Hope International University at 4:30 CT/2:30 PT on Monday, May 11, at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho, in the first game of the Lewiston Bracket of the NAIA Baseball Opening Round, presented by Avista.
The Jaguars are the two-seed while the Royals (37-13) are the three-seed.
A&M-Victoria is making its sixth NAIA Tournament appearance overall and third in the last four years after claiming its first-ever Red River Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship.
Also in the field at Lewiston are the hosts and top-seeded Lewis-Clark State College, and fourth-seeded Keiser University out of Florida.
The winner of the bracket will advance to the NAIA World Series, also hosted by LC State at Harris Field.
Runs galore
The Jaguars have scored in double digits 20 times this season and boast the 19th-best batting average in the nation, making them one of the toughest offenses in the field in Lewiston.
Among the four teams, A&M-Victoria's .327 team batting average leads the way and their 444 runs this season are second-most only to LC State, which has scored 445.
A&M-Victoria ranks 13th in doubles (106) and 25th in runs nationally. The Jaguars boast seven players batting over .300 this year with Antonio Benitez's .400 clip.
Record watch
Last week, Jonathan Jones became the single-season wins record holder for A&M-Victoria pitchers after notching his 12th win in a 15-1 win over Our Lady of the Lake.
On the hill, Blane Zeplin is eight strikeouts from setting a new single-season strikeout record, which was set by Jones last year. Those two are also the first Jaguar pitching duo to eclipse 10 wins in the same season.
Offensively, Benitez set new single-season records in runs (75) and stolen bases (40), and is two hits away from setting a new single-season record, which is currently 79 and last set by Ryan Suescun in 2014.
Scouting the field
This is the first-ever meeting between the Jaguars and Hope International. The Royals earned their way into the tournament by winning the Great Southwest Athletic Conference Tournament.
A&M-Victoria has also never faced Lewis-Clark State, which owns 19 NAIA championship titles – the most among the 48 teams in the national tournament.
The Jaguars and Seahawks of Keiser met in the Opening Round last year at Georgia Gwinnett in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Follow along
Fan can watch all games from the Lewiston Bracket as well as all NAIA Opening Round contests for free on Urban Edge Network.
Live stats will be provided for each game on the A&M-Victoria Athletics website.