LUBBOCK – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team fell to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, a team receiving votes in the latest
USA Today coaches and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association polls, 11-6 on Tuesday at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
Junior Sharyland alum
Martin Vazquez hit his 15
th home run of the season, taking over sole possession of fourth place in single-season program history. Vazquez trails only
Jesse Gutierrez (21, 2000), Hall of Famer
Mitchell Moran (20, 1983), and
Brandon Pimentel (19, 2023). Vazquez finished a career-high tying 3-for-5, a triple short of the cycle, with a career-high tying four RBI.
Graduate student
CJ Valdez finished 3-for-5 with a home run. Freshman
Easton Moomau went a career-high tying 2-for-3 with a career-high tying two walks, and a career-high three runs scored.
The first three Vaqueros (21-19) batters recorded hits in the first, as senior
Kade York doubled, Moomau singled, and Vazquez hit an RBI-single. Junior
Steven Lancia followed by grounding into a double play to bring home Moomau, making the score 2-0.
The Red Raiders (30-17) got one back in the bottom of the first on a
Gavin Kash home run before tying the game in the second on a
Davis Rivers home run.
The Vaqueros regained the lead in the third when Moomau hit a single and moved to second on an error ahead of a Vazquez double to make the score 3-2.
Kash homered again in the bottom of the third to tie the game before Valdez hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the fourth, making the score 4-3.
Cade McGee hit a 2-run home run to put the Red Raiders up 5-4 in the bottom of the fourth.
In the top of the fifth, Moomau drew a leadoff walk and then Vazquez hit a go-ahead home run to put the Vaqueros up 6-5.
The Red Raiders tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a
Kevin Bazzell sacrifice fly.
In the sixth,
Gage Harrelson hit a 1-out RBI-double against junior
Tyler Davis (0-1). Then, after a walk, Kash reached on an error to bring in a run and
Damian Bravo lifted a sacrifice fly to make the score 9-6 Red Raiders.
The Red Raiders loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh. A wild pitch brought home Rivers to make the score 10-6.
The Red Raiders loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, setting up an RBI-walk by McGee to make the score 11-6.
That made a winner of
Josh Sanders (4-1), who pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.
UTRGV plays the first of three games at Abilene Christian on Friday at 6 p.m. Fans can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
WAC International.
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