EDINBURG – Sophomore Robert Quinonez carried a no-hitter into the sixth to lead the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros baseball team to complete the three-game sweep of the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks with an 8-4 victory on Sunday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
 
Quinonez (2-0) pitched his first complete game of the season and the second of his career, striking out five while allowing just four hits and one walk along the way.
 
Quinonez allowed just three base runners over the first five innings on a hit batsman and two errors. Two of the runner were caught stealing, though, so Quinonez faced just one over the minimum through that time.
 
In the sixth, however, Ellery Bresnahan drew an eight-pitch leadoff walk and then Cooper Maas doubled down the right field line. Ben Reznicek followed with a sacrifice fly and Tyler Berg hit an RBI-single to bring the Fighting Hawks (6-21, 3-9 WAC) within 8-2.
 
Quinonez pitched 1-2-3 seventh and ninth innings while allowing the remaining two runs on two hits in the eighth.
 
The Vaqueros (17-14, 6-3 WAC) chased Brandon Radmacher (0-2) in the first, as the first three batters reached to load the bases, and then, after a wild pitch scored a run, junior Correy Davis grounded out to force-in another run. After a walk by senior Cole Loncar and a sacrifice bunt, senior Jacob Huckabay hit a two-run single to cap the inning.
 
Senior Scott Mercer came up with an RBI-single in the second and then Huckabay and junior Victor Garcia Jr. hit back-to-back RBI-doubles with two outs in the fourth.
 
The Vaqueros got their final run in the fourth on a Davis sacrifice fly.
 
Mercer, Collazo and Huckabay all finished with two hits. Huckabay tied his career-high with three RBI.
 
The Vaqueros are back in action on Tuesday at 6 p.m. when they visit Texas in a game that will be televised nationally on Longhorn Network.

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