RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team opened its annual Orange & Gray World Series as Orange poured in six runs to take down Gray in the series opener Thursday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
 
Sophomore PSJA alum Jacob Delgadillo led the way for Orange, going 1-for-2 with an RBI double, a walk, and scoring a run in the opener. Junior Andy Chapa went 2-for-3 in the win from the leadoff spot while junior Frontier CC transfer Gael Salinas scored two runs with a double and a walk. Fifth year Armani Raygoza hit the only home run in the game, a 349' shot that left the bat at 103 mph and fell into the Gray bullpen.
 
Earning the win for Orange was fifth year La Joya alum JC Gutierrez who pitched two perfect innings with four strikeouts.
 
Meanwhile, for Gray, senior PSJA alum Julius Ramirez went 2-for-3 from the plate with a double and a run scored. Fifth year St. Edward's transfer Nico Ruedas and freshman Cutter Warren also recorded hits in the game.
 
First Inning
 
Fifth year Calen Graham started for Orange and shut down the top of Gray's lineup in just eight pitches. Graham forced senior Rocco Garza Gongora into a flyout to center field in just two pitches. The next two batters went down after three pitches as Ruedas popped up to second and Moomau flew out to center.
 
Chapa was the first Vaquero to reach base after he hit a single into shallow right field in the bottom of the first. Then, sophomore La Joya Palmview alum Mateo Garcia hit a deep shot over the head of Garza Gongora.
 
Garza Gongora corralled the ball on one hop, hit Ruedas, who then relayed the ball to senior Edinburg Vela alum Rudy Gonzalez to tag Chapa out at the plate and prevent the game's first run.
 
Delgadillo brought home sophomore La Joya Palmview alum Mateo Garcia with a lined shot that landed in shallow left field and rolled into the gap. Garcia rounded third as Delgadillo hustled through a double to give Orange an early 1-0 lead after the first.
 
Second Inning
 
Gray responded quickly in the top of the second as Ramirez hit a double into deep right center field to leadoff the inning. After a Gonzalez walk, Warren hit a hard grounder that just got past the glove of Orange's third baseman to score Ramirez. Graham struck out the next two batters to escape the jam and preserve the 1-1 tie.
 
Freshman La Joya alum Matthew Ortiz led off the second inning with a 103 mph grounder that was nearly scooped by Gray first baseman, resulting in a single to start the bottom of the second.
 
With a 3-1 count, senior McNeese transfer DJ Pinkerton worked a full count, but stunned the crowd as he tapped his head, signifying an ABS challenge. The technology enters the Rio Grande Valley for the first time as the Southland Conference voted to allow ABS challenges in conference play this season. The crowd turned to the videoboard and cheered as the ball appeared just above the strike zone, advancing Pinkerton to first on a walk.
 
Then, Chapa hit his second single of the game, this time through the left side which scored Ortiz from second base and moved Pinkerton to third. Gray escaped the inning with a pop up in the infield, and Orange leading 2-1.
 
Third Inning
 
Gutierrez stepped up to the mound for the first time, but Ruedas worked a full count and advanced to first on a walk; however, Orange catcher Delgadillo immediately popped up, tapping his head to signify yet another ABS challenge. The crowd waited in anticipation, watching the videoboard, and cheering as Ruedas walked back to the Gray dugout after the strikeout. Gutierrez worked a perfect third inning, striking out Ramirez for the final out.
 
Meanwhile, for Gray, sophomore Hutchinson CC transfer Merek Yeager made his first appearance on the mound, striking out Raygoza for the first out of the inning.
 
However, Delgadillo continued his hot streak with a walk before Salinas moved him to third with a double down the left field line. With two outs in the inning, junior Santa Ana College catcher Carlos Morales stepped into the batter's box and ripped a single to the same spot, scoring both Delgadillo and Salinas to give Orange a 4-1 lead.
 
Fourth Inning
 
Gutierrez continued to dominate from the mound, striking out junior Santa Ana College transfer Nate Williams and Gonzalez to start the top of the fourth. Gutierrez recorded the final out himself as Warren hit a slow roller down the first base line that Gutierrez scooped up and tagged Warren just before he reached first base.
 
Yeager settled in for Gray in the bottom of the fourth, working a clean 1-2-3 inning on just six pitches. Yeager struck out Pinkerton on three pitches, forced Chapa into a pop up on the first pitch, and on a 1-0 count, forced Garcia into a flyout to center field.
 
Fifth Inning
 
Junior Texas Tech transfer Jorden Espinoza stepped up to the mound to start the fifth inning, striking out graduate student Angelo State transfer Christopher Bernal and forcing a fly out from Garza Gongora to earn a quick two outs. Then, Ruedas reached with a bloop single into right center, junior Easton Moomau walked, and Ramirez hit a grounder just off the glove of the Orange second baseman to load the bases. Williams stepped up to the plate and worked a full count walk to cut the Orange lead to 4-2. Gonzalez worked yet another full count before Espinoza retired him with a swinging strikeout on his 31^st pitch of the inning.
 
Graduate student St. Edward's transfer Marley Bernal entered the game for Gray. Raygoza, who had been quiet all night, stepped up to the plate for Orange and hit a 103 mph liner just over the left field wall that traveled 349 feet and into the Gray bullpen to extend Orange's lead to 5-2.
 
Bernal then forced Delgadillo into a groundout before Salinas reached on a walk and Ortiz reached on an error to second base, moving Salinas to third. A failed pickoff scored Salinas and moved Ortiz to second. Bernal settled in, striking out Morales and Houston to end the fifth with Orange leading 6-2.
 
Sixth Inning
 
Espinoza returned to the mound in the sixth and quickly struck out Warren for the first out. Bernal drew a walk before Garza Gongora hit a fly out into center field. Down to their final out, Ruedas grounded into a fielder's choice to Orange shortstop, Chapa, who scooped up the grounder and beat Bernal to second to record the final out of the game.
 
Orange leads the series 1-0 as the Vaqueros will conclude the annual Orange & Gray World Series Friday at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free for all fans, and the gates will open at 5:30 p.m.
 
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