RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team stranded the bases loaded in the ninth to drop the series finale to the Kansas Jayhawks 8-7 on Sunday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in front of a crowd of 2,291, the largest Sunday crowd in program history.
Including the crowds of 5,862 on Friday and 5,040 on Saturday, UTRGV welcomed a program record 13,193 fans for the weekend series. They previous record was 11,029 for a three-game conference series against Houston Christian University March 21-23, 2025.
With the game tied at 6 in the seventh, junior PSJA alum
Julius Ramirez launched a 1-0 pitch from
Boede Rahe (1-0) 366' over the left field wall to give the Vaqueros (1-2) the lead.
The Jayhawks (2-1) responded with two runs in the eighth as junior Edinburg alum
Daren Barrera (0-1) plunked the first two batters of the inning and later allowed sacrifice flies to
Brady Ballinger and
Augusto Mungarrieta to make the score 8-7.
In the bottom of the inning, graduate student
Diego Villescas led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a fly ball before being stranded.
Then, in the ninth, junior
Rocco Garza Gongora led off with a single. One out later, Ramirez singled. Then, with two outs, senior
Thomas Williams walked to load the bases, but
Caleb Deer bounced back to get a strikeout, his third of the inning, to earn the save.
Ramirez finished 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, two RBI and two runs scored. Junior
Armani Raygoza finished 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run, two RBI and three runs scored.
The Vaqueros trailed 4-1 entering the third. Raygoza drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a wild pitch before scoring on an RBI-double by Ramirez. Junior
Easton Moomau came up next and blasted a home run into the right field bullpen to tie the game.
Then, with two outs in the fourth, Garza Gongora walked and Raygoza launched a no-doubter past the corrals beyond the right field wall to put the Vaqueros up 6-4.
Josh Dykhoff hit an RBI-single in the fifth and
Cade Baldridge homered in the sixth to tie the game at 6.
In the first, Raygoza hit a one-out single, moved to second on a groundout, to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a passed ball to put the Vaqueros up 1-0.
The Jayhawks plated four runs in the second, as with the bases loaded and nobody out, Baldridge hit into an RBI-fielder's choice and
Landen Lozier lifted a sacrifice fly.
Jordan Bach followed with a single to right. The throw to the infield got away, allowing a run to score. Ballinger capped the inning with an RBI-single to make the score 4-1.
UTRGV hosts Texas Tech Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to conclude
#RallyTheValley Week, presented by McAllen International Airport. Fans are encouraged to wear orange to support an orange out. Fans will also receive orange rally towels, courtesy of McAllen International Airport, while supplies last.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at
UTRGVTickets.com. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with a digital ticket that can be acquired at
GoUTRGV.com/StudentTickets while also showing their student ID. Fans can learn more about game day, including parking information, maps, and the clear bag policy, by visiting
RallyTheValley.com.
Fans can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
Southland International.
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