RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros baseball team fell to the Texas State Bobcats 6-5 on Wednesday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in front of a crowd of 1,721.
Down 6-0, the Vaqueros (12-12) started chipping away in the fourth by loading the bases with two outs ahead of an RBI-groundout by senior
Zerek Saenz.
In the fifth, graduate student
Montclair Cain hit a two-out double, setting up an RBI-single by junior PSJA alum
Jacob Sanchez to make the score 6-2.
The Vaqueros put runners on the corners with one out in the seventh. A throwing error brought home graduate student
Brandon Pimentel from third to make the score 6-3.
In the eighth, the Vaqueros put runners at first and second with one out. A wild pitched allowed PSJA North alum
Damian Rodriguez to score from second and junior
Kade York to go first to third. York scored on a Saenz groundout to make the score 6-5.
Pimentel led off the ninth with a double, but
Jack Stroud retired the next three hitters for his first save.
The bullpen is a big reason why the Vaqueros had the opportunity to rally, as five relievers combined to pitch 6.0 hitless innings, striking out nine.
Graduate student
Kris Massey pitched a career-high 3.0 innings of hitless relief, striking out a career-high four.
Junior
Zach Tjelmeland struck out the side in a hitless seventh.
Junior
Sebastian Mejia pitched a perfect eighth.
Junior Vela alum
Nico Rodriguez struck out one in 0.2 innings while senior
Alex Verdugo recorded the final out of the ninth via strikeout.
Senior
J.C. Ariza (1-3) pitched a 1-2-3 first inning, aided by a diving catch by York in foul territory for the first out of the game.
In the second, however the Bobcats (17-8) loaded the bases with two outs, setting up RBI-singles by
Ryder Hernandez and
Ben McClain and a grand slam by
Davis Powell to make the score 6-0.
Tony Robie (3-0) struck out four in three scoreless innings for the win.
UTRGV hosts Tarleton for a three-game series starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. UTRGV Athletics is hosting Pride Night in partnership with the UTRGV Office for Advocacy & Violence Prevention. The first 500 fans will receive a Vaqueros United Pride button. Friday is also the Cane's Challenge, which rewards fans with a buy one, get one free coupon for a box combo at Raising Cane's if the Vaqueros win. Fans can take advantage offriends & family four packs, which include four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks for just $25.
Tickets are on sale now at
UTRGVTickets.com. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with their student ID. All fans need to follow the clear bag policy, details of which can be found at
GoUTRGV.com/ClearBag. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.
Fans unable to attend in person can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
WAC International.
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