EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) baseball team scored five runs in the eighth and brought the go-ahead run to the plate before falling to CSU Bakersfield 8-5 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) opener on Friday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
 
Alec Daily (2-0) didn't allow hit to UTRGV (13-10, 0-1 WAC) over the first seven innings.
 
In the eighth, however, UTRGV trailed 7-0 and loaded the bases on a walk, a hit batsman and an error. Senior Austin Siener followed with a bases-clearing triple to knock out Daily. Sophomore Tyler Torres followed with a two-run home run to bring UTRGV within 7-5.
 
UTRGV then put runners on the corners with one out, but Naithen Dewsnap struck out three of the final five batters he faced for his fourth save.
 
CSU Bakersfield (10-13, 1-0 WAC) jumped on senior Carter Johnson (1-2) in the first, as Andrew Penner, Jared Thoothman and Evan Berkey came up with consecutive run-scoring hits to make the score 3-0.
 
Johnson settled down from there, allowing just two more hit while striking out five in six innings of work.
 
CSU Bakersfield added four runs in the eighth on a grand slam by Sergio Robles.
 
UTRGV and CSU Bakersfield play the middle game of this three-game series on Saturday at 6. Friends and families can purchase four-packs that include four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks for $25. Additionally, UTRGV Athletics will host the Greek Week finale by welcoming all fraternities and sororities on campus. Gates open at 5.

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