A&M-Victoria baseball routs Xavier (La.) in series opener

NEW ORLEANS — The Texas A&M University-Victoria baseball team continued its dominant March surge Wednesday night, piling up 14 hits and breaking open a tight early game with seven runs across the sixth and seventh innings in a 12–4 win over Xavier (La.) at Skelly-Rupp Stadium.

The victory was the team's ninth in a row and pushed the Jaguars to 22–9 overall and 11–2 in conference play while extending several of the team's longest hitting and on‑base streaks.

A&M-Victoria scored in six different innings, using pressure on the basepaths, patient approaches and a  top‑to‑bottom offensive effort to overwhelm a Xavier staff that struggled with command all evening.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Jones delivered seven strong innings to earn his seventh win of the year, allowing just two earned runs before the bullpen closed out the final two frames.

The Jaguars struck early in the first, then added single runs in the third and fourth before erupting for six in the middle innings to seize full control of the game.

Key Moments

A&M–Victoria opened the scoring in the first when Antonio Benitez doubled and came home on a run‑scoring single from Beck Zimmerman. After Xavier trimmed the lead to 3–2 with runs in the fourth and fifth, the Jaguars responded with their biggest punch of the night.

In the sixth, Garrett Smith and Jose Montanez reached to set up a two‑run single from Jackson Purcell. Moments later, Zion Hankins launched a two‑run homer to right field, extending the lead to 7–2. A&M–Victoria wasn't done, adding two more in the seventh on another RBI single from Montanez and an RBI double from Ty Boozer.

The Jaguars tacked on three more in the ninth, capitalizing on a trio of passed balls before Benitez delivered a sacrifice fly and Zimmerman singled home another run.

Xavier attempted a late rally in the ninth, loading the bases and pushing across two runs on walks and passed balls, but reliever Justin Mireles induced a groundout to shortstop to end the game.

Top Performers

Zimmerman led the offense with a three‑hit, three‑RBI night, extending his hitting streak to 13 games and his on‑base streak to 16.

Smith added two hits, pushing his hitting streak to 12 games and his on‑base streak to 14. Purcell also recorded two hits and two walks, extending his hitting streak to 10 games and his on‑base streak to 14.

Benitez's 1‑for‑3 effort with two walks extended his hitting streak to 9 games. Montanez reached base twice, extending his on‑base streak to 19. Boozer finished with two hits, including a pair of RBI doubles. Hankins homered as part of a two‑hit, two‑walk performance.

Kaiser reached on a walk and a hit‑by‑pitch, keeping his on‑base streak intact at 22 games.

On the mound, Jones turned in a sturdy start, scattering four hits over seven innings while striking out six. Mireles covered the final two innings, allowing one earned run and striking out one.

Next up

The Jaguars and Gold Rush wrap up the series on Saturday with a 12 p.m. doubleheader.