BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley baseball team dropped the series opener to CSU Bakersfield 8-1 on Friday at Hardt Field.
 
UTRGV (30-18, 15-7 WAC) now trails NM State (16-6 WAC), which won 21-7 at Seattle U, by one game for first place in the WAC standings. UTRGV is tied for second with Sacramento State (15-7 WAC), which lost at Utah Valley 6-2, California Baptist (15-7 WAC), which beat Chicago State 13-2, and Grand Canyon (15-7 WAC), which beat Northern Colorado 11-1, with five Western Athletic Conference (WAC) games remaining.
 
UTRGV scored its lone run in the ninth.Senior Coleman Grubbs and junior Christian Sepulveda hit back-to-back one-out singles. Then, with two outs, junior Conrado Diaz singled to left-center to bring home Grubbs.
 
UTRGV was limited to two hits by Edgar Barclay (6-3)over the first seven innings, including a double by senior Anthony Gomez and a single by Sepulveda. Barclay struck out 12 without walking anyone.
 
Sepulveda finished 2-for-4.
 
Senior Trevelle Hill (7-4) held CSU Bakersfield (20-31, 8-14 WAC) to one run over the first four innings as Ryan Koch hit an RBI-single in the third.
 
In the fifth, however, Jesse Rowley hit a two-run home run and then Daniel Carrizosa and Evan Berkey hit two-run singles to put CSU Bakersfield up 7-0.
 
Jake Ortega came up with an RBI-single with two outs in the seventh to complete the scoring.
 
UTRGV and CSU Bakersfield play the middle game of the series on Saturday at 8 p.m.

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