NACOGDOCHES – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team clinched its fourth-straight Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament berth by beating the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 15-1 in seven innings on Friday at Jaycees Field.
The Vaqueros (28-24, 14-14 WAC) will head to Hohokam Stadium, the spring training home of the Oakland A's, for the tournament starting Tuesday. The bracket is expected to be available at the conclusion of play on Saturday.
Graduate student
Brandon Pimentel extended his career program record home run total to 29 with a 3-run shot in the fourth against
Garrett Gearner (7-2) to make the score 7-1.
Pimentel now has 17 home runs this season, the third-highest single-season total in program history behind only Hall of Famer
Mitchell Moran (20, 1983) and
Jesse Gutierrez (21, 2000).
Junior
Adrian Torres also homered, blasting a grand slam to cap a seven-run seventh inning with the Vaqueros up 15-1.
Pimentel finished 3-for-3 with two walks, four RBI and three runs scored. Torres went 2-for-3 with a walk, a career-high five RBI and two runs scored. Senior
Roberto Gonzalez finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore
Steven Lancia went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Sophomore Vela alum
Isaac Lopez finished 2-for-3 with a walk and a career-high three runs scored. Graduate student
Montclair Cain went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Senior
Zerek Saenz finished 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs scored.
Graduate student
Abanny Garcia (1-0) made the runs stand up. In his first Division I start, he pitched a complete game, going a career-high 7.0 innings, striking out a career-high five while allowing just three hits and two walks en route to his first Division I win.
The Lumberjacks (22-27, 12-17 WAC) scored their lone run in the first on an RBI-double by
Cal Martin, making the score 1-0.
The Vaqueros responded in the second. Lancia led off with an infield-single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. That set up a game-tying single by senior Vela alum
RJ Ochoa.
In the third, Lopez, Pimentel and Gonzalez opened the inning with singles, setting up a Cain 2-run double. One out later, Torres brought home a run on a groundout to make the score 4-1.
In the fifth, the Vaqueros put two on with one out ahead of an RBI-single by junior
Kade York to go up 8-1.
The Vaqueros opened the seventh by loading the bases on walks before Pimentel and Gonzalez hit RBI-singles. Cain followed with a sacrifice fly. Lancia then singled to reload the bases and set up Torres' grand slam.
UTRGV and Stephen F. Austin close out the regular season on Saturday at 12 p.m. Fans can watch for free via
WAC International.
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