HOUSTON – Junior
Armani Raygoza launched his 31
st career home run, tying the program record, to give The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team a lead they never gave back in a 10-7 victory over the Houston Christian University (HCU) Huskies on Friday at Husky Field.
The Vaqueros (11-11, 6-4 SLC) trailed 3-2 entering the third. Junior
Rocco Garza Gongora and senior
Thomas Williams started the inning with singles off
Trent Barnes (0-2). Raygoza came to the plate and fell behind in the count 0-2. After fouling off the next two pitches, Barnes missed twice. Raygoza fouled off the next pitched before another ball brought the count to 3-2. Then, on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, Raygoza launched his eighth home run of the season 386 feet. Junior PSJA alum
Julius Ramirez followed with a 410' blast to left, his sixth home run of the season, to put the Vaqueros up 6-3.
Raygoza is now tied with former teammate
Brandon Pimentel (2022-23) for the program home run record.
The Huskies (11-10, 4-3 SLC) pulled within a run in the fifth against graduate student
Sergio Lopez (2-2), as with two on and one out,
Rhett Hendricks hit an RBI-single and
Jack Walker hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 6-5.
Lopez struck out five while allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks in 5.0 innings.
With two outs in the sixth, graduate student PSJA alum
Diego Villescas hit his first home run as a Vaquero 426' to left center. The next two batters reached and then Williams hit a 3-run blast 429' to right, his second of the season, to put the Vaqueros up 10-5.
Villescas finished a season-best 3-for-5 with a home run, a triple, two RBI, and a run scored. Garza Gongora went a season-high tying 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Williams finished 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored. Ramirez went 2-for-5 with a home run. Senior
Hank Warren finished 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.
The four home runs are the most by the Vaqueros since May 4, 2025, when they hit four at UIW.
The Huskies put two on with two out in the first.
Jack Walker hit an RBI-single and
Preston Curtis followed by reaching on an error that allowed a run to score to put the Huskies up 2-0.
The Vaqueros got both runs back in the second as with one out, junior
Easton Moomau walked and then Warren singled. A fielding error in center allowed Moomau to come all the way around to score while Warren advanced to second. One out later, Villescas hit an RBI-triple to tie the game.
The Huskies put a runner at third with out in the bottom of the second, setting up an RBI-groundout by
Jeremy Rader to put the Huskies up 3-2.
Walker added a home run in the eighth to bring the Huskies within 10-6.
Senior
Steven Oliva came on with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth to get the save. Curtis hit an infield RBI-single to make the score 10-7 before Oliva struck out
Levi Castilleja to end the game.
UTRGV and HCU play the middle game of this series on Saturday at 2 p.m. on
ESPN+.
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