ABILENE – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros baseball team opened the 2016 season with a 5-2 loss to the Abilene Christian University Wildcats on Friday at Crutcher Scott Field.
 
Juniors Joseph Collazo and Austin Douglas led the Vaqueros (0-1) offensively, as each as each had two hits. Collazo also had a double and two runs scored.
 
Aaron Draper created a run for the Wildcats (1-0) against sophomore Johnny Gonzalez (0-1) right away, leading off the first with a walk before stealing second, advancing to third on a groundout and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Heath Beasley.
 
The Wildcats scratched across another run in the second when a pair of infield-singles set up an RBI-single by Hunter Markwardt to make it 2-0.
 
Willie Harris created another run in the fourth, reaching on an infield-single, stealing second, moving to third on a groundout and scoring on a passed ball to make it 3-0.
 
That was it against Gonzalez, who struck out three while inducing seven groundouts and five flyouts over five innings in his first-career start.
 
Kyle Carroll (1-0) pitched three hitless innings over the first four, but in the fifth, Collazo hit a one-out double and scored on an error to bring the Vaqueros within 3-1.
 
Carroll went six innings, scattering three hits and one walk while striking out four.
 
The Wildcats extended their lead with a pair of two-out runs in the seventh on a Harris single and a double-steal.
 
Harris finished a game-best 3-for-4.
 
The Vaqueros got one back in the eighth, when they loaded the bases with one out and junior Victor Garcia Jr. grounded out to force-in a run, but Brandon Lambright pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save.
 
The Vaqueros and Wildcats continue this four-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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