RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team dropped the finale of a three-game series to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders 5-2 as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, on Sunday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
Sophomore
Mason Engel and senior
Steven Oliva led the Vaqueros (14-14, 9-6 SLC) on the mound, pitching 5.1 scoreless innings of relief. Engel pitched 3.0 innings, striking out one while scattering three singles. Oliva pitched a season-high 2.1 hitless innings, erasing a walk with a double play.
Offensively, two Vaqueros had multi-hit games, including junior
Armani Raygoza, who hit a pair of doubles while going 2-for-5 with a run scored, and graduate student PSJA alum
Diego Villescas, who finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The Islanders (13-14, 3-8 SLC) loaded the bases with nobody out in the first against senior Sharyland alum
Kike Cienfuegos (4-1).
Jarrett Flaggert hit a sacrifice fly to deep right center, allowing all the runners to advance.
Max Towchick followed with a two-run single to put the Islanders up 3-0.
The Islanders opened the fourth by putting runners at second and third with one out.
Isaiah Afework hit a sacrifice fly and then
Jackson Smith hit an RBI-double to make the score 5-0.
The Vaqueros got two runs back in the bottom of the fourth. Raygoza hit a one-out double and junior
Easton Moomau hit a two-out RBI-double. Villescas followed with an RBI-single to bring the Vaqueros within 5-2.
Luke Robertson (1-1) pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief, allowing three hits and a walk, for the win.
Chase Mayer pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.
UTRGV visits Rice Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on
ESPN+.
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