HOUSTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team completed its second-straight Southland Conference series sweep by beating the Houston Christian University Huskies 16-5 in eight innings on Sunday at Husky Field.
Six Vaqueros (13-11, 8-4 SLC) posted multi-hit games, including senior
Hank Warren, who went a season-best 3-for-3 with a double, a career-high tying three walks, two RBI, and two runs scored. Warren has now been on base in 14-straight games. Graduate student PSJA alum
Diego Villescas went a season-high tying 3-for-6 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Junior PSJA alum
Julius Ramirez drove-in a career-high six runs while going 2-for-6 with a home run. Senior
Thomas Williams went 2-for-5 with a walk, two RBI, and a run scored to extend his hitting and on-base streaks to 14 games. Junior
Armani Raygoza finished 2-for-4 with two walks, an RBI and a run scored. Junior
Easton Moomau went 2-for-5 with two runs scored.
The Vaqueros sent 11 batters to the plate against
Ben Smith (3-2) in the first to score seven runs. After a single and two walks loaded the bases, junior PSJA alum
Julius Ramirez belted a grand slam 387' over the left field wall. The next three batters singled to reload the bases. One out later, graduate student Vela alum
Rudy Gonzalez hit into an RBI-fielder's choice, but the throw to second sailed high, allowing two runs to score. Junior
Rocco Garza Gongora capped the inning with a sacrifice fly.
With a runner at second and two outs in the second, Warren hit an RBI-double and Villescas hit an RBI-single to put the Vaqueros up 9-0.
In the bottom of the inning, the Huskies (11-12, 4-5 SLC) put two on with two out to set up a three-run home run by
Nico DeFazio to make the score 9-3.
Walker Bazile used a sacrifice fly to bring the Huskies within 9-4 in the fourth.
The Vaqueros got that run back in the fifth, as with Garza Gongora at second and one out, Raygoza hit an RBI-single to make the score 10-4.
In the sixth, the Vaqueros put two on with one out, setting up a Gonzalez RBI-single. One out later, Gonzalez stole second ahead of a Williams two-run single to make the score 13-4.
In the bottom of the inning, the Huskies put runners on the corners with two outs against senior Sharyland alum
Kike Cienfuegos (4-0) before an error allowed a run to score, making the score 13-5.
Cienfuegos struck out a career-high tying seven in 4.0 innings of one-hit relief.
The Vaqueros scored three more runs in the eighth on a two-run single by Ramirez and a bases loaded walk by Warren.
UTRGV completes this nine-game road trip by visiting Texas State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. on
ESPN+.
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