RIO GRANDE VALLEY –The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team fell to the Southern Illinois University (SIU) Salukis 7-2 on Saturday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in front of a crowd of 2,287.
The Vaqueros (1-1) scored their first run in the sixth, when down 5-0 with runners at second and third and one out, sophomore
Easton Moomau grounded out to bring home junior
Damien Whitfield.
Whitfield finished 2-for-3.
In the eighth, graduate student and PSJA alum
Jacob Sanchez, who missed all of last season due to injury, launched a home run over the left field wall, the 10
th of his career, to bring the Vaqueros within 6-2.
In his Vaqueros debut, junior Los Fresnos alum
Víctor Loa (0-1) started by striking out two in 3.0 scoreless innings. In the fourth, however, the Salukis (1-1) put two on with nobody out to knock out Loa. After a fly ball advanced the runners,
Gabe Petrucelli hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 1-0.
In the fourth, the Salukis loaded the bases with one out, setting up an RBI-double by
Cecil Lofton. One batter later, with the bases reloaded, a
Jordan Bach fielder's choice scored a run. A bases-loaded walk by
Matt Schark brought in another run, and then Petrucelli capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to make the score 5-0.
That made a winner of
Alec Nigut (1-0), who pitched 5.0 hitless innings, striking out six and walking two.
Three pitchers made their Vaqueros debuts.
Junior
Caden Wanless retired all three batters he faced.
Junior Sharyland alum
Kike Cienfuegos struck out one in 1.2 scoreless innings.
Junior
Nick Nolan struck out three in 1.1 innings while allowing a run in the eighth on a
Michael Mylott double to make the score 6-1.
The Salukis added an unearned run in the ninth when, with runners at first at second, the Salukis pulled off a double steal and the throw to third went into left field, allowing Schark to score.
UTRGV and SIU complete this 3-game series on Sunday at 12 p.m. at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in a game presented by Main Event. Fans will receive all you can play wristbands, courtesy of Main Event, good from Sunday through Thursday. Fans that bring their Vaquero Debit Card from Texas Regional Bank will receive free general admission to the game. Additionally, all Sunday home games feature the Family Fun Day: 4 for $44 promotion which includes four general admission tickets, four drinks, and four hot dogs for $44.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased 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. Fans can find a full list of game day information at
RallyTheValley.com. Gates open at 11 a.m.
Fans can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
Southland International.
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