(RV) Softball opening RRAC play at home vs. Huston-Tillotson

UHV softball head coach Lindsey Ortiz feels her team is hitting its stride at a good time.

The Jaguars have won their last two games, including a 6-1 win Monday over Ottawa, which beat defending national champion Our Lady of the Lake, and a 14-5 run-rule win over NCAA Division III Concordia University (Texas) in five innings on Tuesday.

Now, UHV looks to take the next step with its Red River Athletic Conference-opening doubleheader against Huston-Tillotson at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Victoria Youth Sports Complex.

"I feel really good about the product they're putting on the field at this point," Ortiz said. "I think they're bought into the process of getting better every series. I do think they saw some payoff in that second game against Ottawa and in the Concordia game. They have a little bit of extra pep in their step going into conference and I'm excited to see them keep doing it."

In Tuesday's win over Concordia, the Jaguars (7-7) got massive production from the bottom of the lineup with Fayth Hoover and Alyssa Carter combining to go 6-for-6 with eight RBIs.

Carter posted a career performance, going 4-for-4 at the plate with a team-high five RBIs as she extended her hitting streak to five games. The Sugar Land native leads the team in batting average with a clip of .563.

Jasmine Canales also had a multi-RBI showing on Tuesday with a pair while Claire Blinka upped her team-leading total to 13 with an RBI single in the first inning against the Tornados. Eight different Jaguars had a hit Tuesday, including two doing so off the bench.

UHV is fourth in the RRAC in runs with 82 over 14 games.

"Having the options we do gives us so much flexibility in our lineup and allows us to play our opponent," Ortiz said. "Every time these kids are being called upon and doing what we're asked of them, we're making sure to recognize them afterwards because that's one the toughest things to have to do – to wait for your opportunity, then go in there and capitalize, and not crack under the pressure. So, I love seeing that from them and love to celebrate that for them."

Jocelyne Galvan earned her first win of the season in UHV's rout of Concordia, tossing three shutout innings of relief in which she allowed one hit.

It continued Monday's trend of strong pitching after Audrie Sayas struck out a season-high eight batters in Game 1 against Ottawa and Keira Reis surrendered just one run over four innings in Game 2's win. Hope Quinones earned her fourth win of the season in Game 2 after hurling three innings of shutout relief, tying her season high of five strikeouts.

"Seeing JP come on to get the win against Concordia, seeing what Keira did in her start, I truly believe the more opportunities they get, the better they'll be," Ortiz said. "They're getting better each time they go out there, which is what I've been asking of them. So, I think with conference and them getting into a rhythm to be able to support each other in those roles, I really think they're going to thrive."

UHV owns a 38-6 edge in the all-time series with the Rams, but Saturday will be the first meeting on the field since March 24, 2023, after Huston-Tillotson was forced to cancel most of the 2024 season due to an injury-depleted roster.

The Rams are under the direction of second-year head coach Kacey Hvitved, a former NCAA Division I softball player at Fresno State and Ole Miss.

"I think she's fired up and I think those kids are fired up after not getting the opportunities to compete last year," Ortiz said. "I think they're gonna be hungry and excited. I think they're going to want to re-establish themselves in the conference. That's not anybody we want to mess around with. We want to go out, put our best product on the field, play our game and do what we do."

The games were originally scheduled for Saturday, but were pushed back due to forecasted rain.