Jaguars sweep Southwest (N.M.) on Senior Day

SAN ANTONIO – The Texas A&M University–San Antonio's softball team honored its first class of graduating seniors Friday prior to a doubleheader sweep of the Southwest (N.M.) Mustangs.

The Jaguars (20-21, 13-7 RRAC) won their opening game 9-4 before taking game two by a score of 4-1.

Several of the seniors honored prior to game one commanded attention when the games started, with Sidney Garza (San Antonio, Texas / Ranger College) and Britney Garcia (Weslaco, Texas / Coastal Bend College) knocking four hits during the doubleheader. Kameryn Casares (Edinburg, Texas / Vela) went 3-for-3 in game two.

While it was a day for the seniors and their families, a freshman ended up taking some of the spotlight in game two, as pitcher Bethany Garrett (Georgetown, Texas / East View) struck out a program-record 12 batters over six innings. She became the first pitcher in school history to strikeout as many as eight batters in a regulation contest of seven or fewer innings.

Southwest opened game two with an unearned run in the first inning, but the Jaguars manufactured the tying run with perfection in the bottom of the second. With runners on first and second, Karina Guzman (Edinburg, Texas / Vela) hit a sacrifice bunt that was played by the opposing catcher. Garcia, who was running on the play, managed to round third and then score after Guzman was called out.

Though the Jaguars were held scoreless until the sixth inning, Garrett continued to put away Mustang hitters with ease. She retired 10 of the first 11 batters she faced after entering the game in the second inning. The only Southwest players to reach base after the fifth inning did so by getting hit by a pitch.

The Jaguars opened the bottom of the sixth inning with Julia Pinzon (San Antonio, Texas / Madison) reaching base on an error and then moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from Garcia. Garza and Guzman then knocked back-to-back RBI doubles to give the home team a 3-1 lead. Guzman then scored on Andrea Ortiz' (Mission, Texas / Sharyland Pioneer) RBI single.

In the opening game, the Jaguars took an early 3-0 lead before Southwest responded with four runs in the top of the third. A&M–San Antonio recovered with another three runs in the bottom of the fourth, with two of them scoring on Peyton Vasquez' (Porter, Texas / Cisco College) RBI double.

The Jaguars would score three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Vasquez was one of five Jaguars with two hits in the game as she also knocked in three runs. Gabby Mitchell (San Antonio, Texas / Texas A&M International), another of team's graduating seniors, scored three times in the game.

Vasquez, Mitchell, Garcia, Garza, and Ortiz all had two hits in the opening game. Guzman, Mitchell, and Caty Rangel (Austin, Texas / Ranger College) all had an RBI in the opener. Ryanne Limon (San Antonio, Texas / Smithson Valley) pitched four and two-thirds innings of shutout relief to pick up the win.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic that erased the 2020 season, none of the players who were honored Saturday will have exhausted their athletic eligibility, which is why there is no player listed as a senior on A&M–San Antonio softball rosters. Seven of the eight players who were honored transferred from junior colleges.

The players honored were (pictured from left): Vanessa Garces (Edinburg, Texas / Coastal Bend College), Natalie Trujillo (Pearland, Texas / Weatherford College), Mitchell, Felicity Alamillo (San Antonio, Texas / Coastal Bend College), Casares, Garza, Garcia, and Rangel.

The Jaguars return to action Tuesday, April 19, when they visit Huston-Tillotson for a Red River Athletic Conference doubleheader. The games will be played at the Krieg Softball Complex on South Pleasant Valley Road in Austin.

First pitch in game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.