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EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros baseball team closed out the Al Ogletree Classic with an 11-9 victory over the Prairie View A&M University Panthers on Sunday at the UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
 
Vaqueros (3-5) pitching struck out 14 batters, led by freshman starter Pablo Ortiz (1-1), who struck out 10 in five innings of work while allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and four walks.
 
Ortiz recorded his first strikeout with a runner at third and two outs in the first. He used back-to-back strikeouts to escape a bases loaded, one-out jam in the fourth. He then notched his final strikeout with a runner at second and one out in the fifth.
 
Junior Joseph Collazo paced the Vaqueros offense by going 3-for-3 with his first-career home run and three runs scored. That home run sparked a four-run fifth inning that saw the Vaqueros go up 8-2.
 
Senior Cole Loncar was heavily involved in the scoring, hitting a first-inning sacrifice fly and a third-inning RBI-double. He later scored on a single by freshman Caden Rosholt. He also scored after walking in the fifth.
 
Senior Scott Mercer also drove-in two runs, hitting a single in the fifth and one more during the three-run sixth that saw the Vaqueros go up 11-2.
 
The Vaqueros did most of their damage against Panthers (2-5) starter Joseph Mack (0-1), who allowed eight runs (six earned) on seven hits and three walks in 4.1 innings. The Vaqueros also scored three times against Phillip Gay, who pitched one inning of relief.
 
Nick Gurka led the Panthers offensively by going 3-for-6 with two RBI and one run scored. Both RBI came during the four-run ninth.
 
Marion Chatman drove-in a team-best three runs, going 2-for-3 after entering the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh.
 
The Vaqueros kick-off a four-game road trip on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. when they visit No. 13 TCU.

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