RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team, which is receiving votes for the second week in a row in the
USA Today Coaches and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Polls, fell to the Houston Christian University (HCU) Huskies 12-9 on Sunday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in front of a crowd of 1,371.
UTRGV drew 11,029 fans during the three-game series, increasing its season total to 42,983 fans through 15 dates, the third-highest single-season total in program history. UTRGV drew a program record 62,132 fans across 28 dates in 2024 and 45,461 fans across 28 dates in 2023.
Junior
Rene Galván led the Vaqueros (17-5, 10-2 SLC) by going a career-best 4-for-5 with his first-career home run, a career-high two doubles, an RBI and a career-high tying two runs scored. Graduate student Vela alum
Isaac Lopez went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, three RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore
Armani Raygoza went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Graduate student PSJA alum
Jacob Sanchez finished 2-for-5 with an RBI.
The Huskies (14-7, 7-2 SLC) jumped on senior
Jacob Limas (1-1) in the first, putting runners at second and third with one out, setting up an RBI-single by
Parker Edwards. After a walk loaded the bases,
Matthew Leiterman and
Luke Bard walked to force-in runs,
Jeremy Rader hit into an RBI-fielder's choice, and
Trevor Roper hit an RBI-single to put the Huskies up 5-0.
In the bottom of the first, Lopez drew a leadoff walk from
Ben Smith (2-2) and later moved to third from where he scored on a two-out single by Raygoza to bring the Vaqueros within 5-1.
The Huskies plated two runs in the second on an Edwards RBI-double and an RBI-single by
Rhett Hendricks to make the score 7-1.
Galván hit his first home run in the bottom of the inning, bringing the Vaqueros within 7-2.
In the third, though,
Katcher Halligan hit a two-out RBI-double to extend the Huskies' lead to 8-2.
The Vaqueros got two back in the fifth on a Lopez 2-run double to make the score 8-4.
The Huskies pushed their lead back to six at 10-4 in the seventh on a two-out, 2-run single by Roper.
The Vaqueros climbed back to within four on back-to-back two-out RBI-singles by Raygoza and Sanchez in the bottom of the seventh, making the score 10-6.
The Vaqueros loaded the bases with nobody out in the eighth. Lopez hit a sacrifice fly, and one out later, freshman
Cameron Carter hit a 2-run single to bring the Vaqueros within 10-9.
Bard hit a 2-run home run in the top of the ninth to extend the Huskies' lead to 12-9.
UTRGV opens a 10-game road trip Tuesday at 6 p.m. with the first of two at TCU. Fans can watch via
Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
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