EDINBURG – In his collegiate debut, freshman Sharyland alum David Becerra pitched 5.1 innings of scoreless relief to lead The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) baseball team to a 7-3 victory over Arlington Baptist College (ABC) on Wednesday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium, completing the two-game sweep.
 
Becerra (1-0) earned the win after entering a bases loaded, two-out jam and striking out Lyric Walker to end the threat. Becerra stymied ABC (7-19) from there, striking out three while allowing two hits and two walks. He retired 13-straight from the fourth through eighth innings.
 
Junior Austin Siener led UTRGV (12-7) offensively, going a caeer-best 4-for-5 with a double, a triple, a career-high three RBI and one run scored. Senior Joseph Collazo went 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run, an RBI and a season-high three runs scored.
 
UTRGV jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first on the power of a Siener triple, a single by junior Ivan Estrella and a bunt-single by junior Noah Lee.
 
After ABC scored a run on a bases loaded walk in the top of the second, Collazo homered in the bottom of the inning to give UTRGV the run back.
 
Then, in the third, ABC added runs on a fielder's choice and another bases loaded walk, but in the bottom of the inning, UTRGV got a sacrifice fly from senior Jose Garcia and a two-run single from Siener to push the game out of reach.
 
UTRGV opens up a four-game series against the University at Buffalo on Friday at 7 p.m. in a game that will be televised throughout Texas on Spectrum Sports channel 323. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, the first 200 fans in attendance will receive green UTRGV t-shirts. Gates open at 6.

Support UTRGV Baseball | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube