STEPHENVILLE – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball defeated the Tarleton State Texans 5-3 to earn the split of the doubleheader on Friday at Tarleton Baseball Complex.
The Vaqueros (19-16, 8-9 WAC) were led by junior Sharyland alum
Martin Vazquez, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI. Senior
Kade York went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and junior Edinburg Vela alum
Isaac Lopez went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
UTRGV came out swinging in the second inning against Tarleton State starter Matt Haley (2-6) as they got back-to-back hits from graduate student
CJ Valdez and Lopez to put runners on the corners for junior
Hank Warren, who drove in Valdez with an RBI single. After a single by York loaded the bases, Vazquez cleared them with a three-run double making it 4-0 UTRGV.
The Texans (21-18, 11-9 WAC) started the bottom of the third with back-to-back hits before Cole Miears hit an RBI single to got them on the board. Later in the inning, the Texans loaded the bases with just one out but UTRGV starter senior
Zach Tjelmeland got back-to-back strike outs to get out of the jam.
The Vaqueros added a run in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Vazquez that scored York, who started the inning with a double, to make it 5-1.
The Texans got one back in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice bunt by Ike Shirey that scored Kooper Shook cutting into UTRGV's lead 5-2.
That was it against Tjelmeland (4-2) as he pitched five innings allowing two runs on eight hits with four strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season.
The Texans added a run in the ninth against junior
Robert Bonilla, who came on in relief of Tjelmeland, but got a double play to end the game to end the rally. Bonilla pitched four innings and allowed just one run on four hits to earn his first save of the season.
The Vaqueros and Texans will wrap up the three-game series on Sunday with the first pitch slated for 12 p.m. Fans can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
WAC International.
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