RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team beat the two-time reigning Southland Conference Tournament Champion Nicholls Colonels 13-2 in seven innings on Friday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in front of a crowd of 2,485.
The Vaqueros (12-3, 7-0 SLC) are off to their best overall start since 1979, when they started 14-1.
The Vaqueros are off to their best conference start since 2012, when they started 8-0 in Great West Conference play.
Graduate student PSJA alum
Jacob Sanchez led the Vaqueros offensively, going 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, an RBI and a career-high tying three runs scored. Sophomore
Armani Raygoza went 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored. Junior
Damien Whitfield drew a career-high three walks to go with a single, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base.
Michael Lindsey (0-2) retired the first five Vaqueros he faced. With two outs in the second, though, Sanchez singled and then postbaccalaureate student
Erick Martinez, senior
Hank Warren and Whitfield walked to force-in a run. Graduate student Vela alum
Isaac Lopez followed with 2-run single to put the Vaqueros up 3-0.
The Colonels (8-12, 3-4 SLC) responded with two outs in the third, as
Chase Jans singled and
Jaden Collura hit an RBI-double off junior
Wyatt Wiatrek (3-0) to make the score 3-1.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the third, the Vaqueros struck back Warren hit a 2-run single, and then after a walk reloaded the bases, an error brought home a run before junior
Thomas Williams walked to force-in a run and make the score 7-1.
The Colonels got one back in the fourth
Aaron Biediger doubled, moved to third on an error, and scored on a groundout by
Fisher Ingersoll, making the score 7-2.
That was it against Wiatrek, who struck out five in 5.1 innings.
After fouling off six pitches, Raygoza launched his team-leading sixth home run of the season on the 11
th pitch of his at-bat in the fourth. Sanchez followed with his fourth home run, a towering shot to fourth that cleared the construction fence of the Vaqueros Performance Center across West Vaqueros Drive beyond the left field wall, to make the score 9-2.
In the fifth, Whitfield drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and scored on a two-out double by sophomore
Easton Moomau. Senior
Steven Lancia followed by launching his first home run of the season to make the score 12-2.
The Vaqueros added a run in the sixth when Sanchez scored on a balk.
UTRGV and Nicholls play the middle game of this three-game series on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. It's Swifties Night. Taylor Swift music will be played throughout the game. Fans are encouraged to come dressed as Taylor Swift or Travis Kelce to compete in look-a-like contests. Fans can also make their own UTRGV friendship bracelets.
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 5:30 p.m.
Fans can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
Southland International.
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