LAS CRUCES – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team defeated the New Mexico State (NMSU) Aggies 13-8 to even their non-conference series at one game each on Saturday at Presley Askew Field.
Graduate student right fielder
Brett Cain and junior catcher
Raul Ortega had big days at the plate to lead the Vaqueros (19-15). Cain was 5-for-5 with a team-high four RBI, scattering singles all over the field and stealing one base. Ortega went 4-for-5 with a solo homerun and three RBI. Graduate student centerfielder
Jacob Hirsh also drove in three runs on his first homerun of the season.
Sophomore RHP
Angelo Cabral earned the win, tossing 2.1 innings with one run on two hits and two walks while striking out three. Graduate student RHP
Max Balderrama Jr. closed the game with one strong inning, recording two big strikeouts and allowing one run on three hits. Junior RHP
Colten Davis got the start and lasted four innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with four walks and two strikeouts.
The Vaqueros opened up a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, scoring all their runs with two outs. Cain drove in the first run with an extra-base RBI single up the middle, then Hirsh blasted a three-run homerun to right-center.
UTRGV expanded the lead to 6-0 in the second behind back-to-back RBI groundouts by junior left fielder
Brandon Pimentel, who finished with three hits, and sophomore first baseman
Jacob Sanchez.
The Aggies (13-19) got two runs back in the second off a solo homerun by
Logan Gallina and a RBI single from
Cal Kilgore. They trimmed the deficit to 6-3 in the third behind a RBI single by
Preston Godfrey.
Cain sparked another two-out rally for the Vaqueros in the top of the fourth with a two-RBI single to left-center. Ortegaand redshirt freshman shortstop
Isaac Lopez knocked back-to-back RBI singles to grow the lead to 10-3.
In the fifth, Cain stepped into the batter's box with runners on the corners and two outs. The Aggies sent
Mason Caperton to the bump to face the red-hot lefty, but the move didn't stop him as Cain sent a RBI single to right.
The Cardinals scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth on RBIs from Kilgore
, Brandon Dieter and
Tommy Tabak, making it 11-6 in favor of UTRGV.
Each team added one run in the sixth. Ortega knocked a solo homerun for the Vaqueros, and Godfrey recorded a RBI double for the Aggies. Ortega came through with a RBI single in the eighth, growing the lead to 13-7.
NMSU attempted a two-out rally in the final inning, but only scored on a RBI single by
Kevin Jimenez. Lamar's starting pitcher
Pablo Cortes took the loss after tossing 3.2 innings and allowing nine runs on nine hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
UTRGV aims to win the series Sunday at 12 p.m.
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