SAN MARCOS – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team rallied for three runs in the ninth to tie the game before giving up a run in the bottom of the inning in an 8-7 loss to the Texas State Bobcats on Tuesday at Bobcat Ballpark.
With the Vaqueros (13-12) down 7-4 in the top of the ninth, graduate student
Austin Stracener struck out but reached on a wild pitch by
Wade Cooper (2-0). Junior
Chayton Fischer followed by getting hit by a pitch. One out later, senior
Thomas Williams hit a fly ball to deep left that was dropped, loading the bases for junior
Armani Raygoza, who hit a sacrifice fly. Junior PSJA alum
Julius Ramirez and junior
Easton Moomau followed with RBI-singles to tie the game.
In the bottom of the inning, though,
Clayton Namken reached on an error. As senior
Steven Oliva (0-1) struck out
Chase Mora on a 95 mile per hour fastball, pinch-runner
Austin Munguia stole second. During the next at-bat, Munguia took off for third as
Brady Boyles hit a grounder up the middle. Graduate student PSJA alum
Diego Villescas made a diving stop and made a perfect throw home from the ground, but Munguia narrowly beat the tag to score the winning run.
Villescas finished 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. Raygoza went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, and two RBI.
In the first, Williams drew a one-out walk, stole second, and scored on a Raygoza RBI-single to put the Vaqueros up 1-0.
With two outs in the second, Villescas doubled. In his first plate appearance at UTRGV, sophomore Sharyland Pioneer alum
Andy Chapa was plunked. Graduate student Vela alum
Rudy Gonzalez followed with an RBI-double to extend the lead to 2-0.
Chapa reached base in each of his first three plate appearances, getting plunked twice and walking once.
Junior
Rocco Garza Gongora started the third with a walk and stole second. Three batters later, with two on and two out, the runners took off. The throw to second bounced into center field, allowing Garza Gongora to come around to score, making the score 3-0.
Graduate student
Robert Bonilla retired 11 of the first 13 hitters he faced, striking out five. With two outs in the fourth, though,
Dawson Park homered. Then, after
Jaquae Smith was plunked,
Ethan Farris hit an RBI-double to bring the Bobcats (16-8) within 3-2.
Bonilla finished with a career-high tying six strikeouts in a season-high 4.0 innings.
In the fifth, the Bobcats put two on with one out.
Rashawn Galloway hit a two-run double, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a
Manny Salas groundout to put the Bobcats up 5-3.
Villescas homered to right center in the sixth to bring the Vaqueros within 5-4.
Jackson Cotton answered with a two-run home run in the seventh to push the Bobcats' lead to 7-4.
UTRGV returns home for seven of its next eight games starting with the opener of a three-game Southland Conference series against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at UTRGV Baseball Stadium as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union. Fans will receive #BeatCorpus t-shirts 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.
Support UTRGV Baseball |
Become a Fan on Facebook |
Follow us on Twitter |
Follow us on Instagram |
Follow us on YouTube
