BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) baseball team picked up its first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) victory of the season, 13-12 over CSU Bakersfield (CSUB) on Saturday at Hardt Field.
The 13 runs are the most scored by UTRGV (17-14, 1-4 WAC) this season and its highest output since March 13, 2016 in a 13-0 victory over Arlington Baptist.
Junior
Cris Castillo led UTRGV by going a career-high tying 3-for-3 with a walk, a career-high tying three RBI and a career-high three runs scored. Sophomore
Conrad McMahon posted his first three-hit game, going 3-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored. Junior
Ivan Estrella went a career-high tying 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored while senior
Joseph Collazo drove-in three runs.
McMahon started the game with a bunt-single against
Garrett Nimmo (0-2), moved to second on an error and then scored on a Castillo single. Castillo later scored on a Collazo groundout.
CSUB (12-10, 1-4 WAC) responded in the bottom of the first on a
David Metzgar sacrifice fly, but in the top of the second, UTRGV loaded the bases with nobody out to set-up a McMahon RBI-single and a Castillo two-run single to make it 5-1.
CSUB got two runs back in the bottom of the second on an RBI-double by
Cole Valletta and an RBI-single by
Junior Felix.
That was it against graduate student
Connor Grant (4-3), who struck out three while scattering five hits and two walks in five innings.
UTRGV added three runs in the fourth on an error and a Collazo bases loaded walk.
In the sixth, Castillo led off with a single before scoring on an RBI-triple by senior
Austin Siener. Collazo brought home Siener with a squeeze. UTRGV then loaded the bases with two outs to set-up a three-run double by Estrella that made it 13-3.
In the seventh, Felix hit a two-run double and
Andrew Penner, Metzgar,
Max Carter,
Mahlik Jones hit RBI-singles before
Ryan Kono and
Christian Deaton came up with RBI-groundouts to make it a two-run game.
Carter drew a bases loaded walk in the eighth to make it a one-run game before sophomore Brownsville Veterans alum settled down to pitch two innings for his sixth save.
UTRGV and CSUB play the rubber game of the series on Sunday at 2 p.m.
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