RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Graduate student
Sergio Lopez struck out a career-high 13 in 7.2 inning of three-hit ball to lead The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team past the New Orleans Privateers 10-0 in eight innings on Friday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in front of a crowd of 4,017.
Lopez (1-2) only got better as the game went on, as he retired the last nine of the last 10 batters he faced, striking out six of them. He allowed just three singles and one walk while facing the minimum three batters in five different innings.
Offensively, four Vaqueros (6-8, 1-3 SLC) had multi-hit games, led by junior
Armani Raygoza, who went a career-high tying 4-for-5 with a career-high tying two home runs and a season-high four RBI. Junior
Rocco Garza Gongora finished a triple short of the cycle while going a season-best 3-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored. Junior
Chayton Fischer went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Senior
Thomas Williams finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Raygoza's first home run was a two-run shot to dead center in the third to make the score 3-0. His second home run was a 406' blast to right to end the game. Raygoza now has six home runs this season and 29 in his career, breaking a tie for second in program history and leaving Raygoza just two home runs shy of the record of 31 held by
Brandon Pimentel (2022-23).
The Vaqueros took a 1-0 lead in the second on a two-out RBI-single by Fischer against
William Andrade (0-1).
The Vaqueros scored twice on wild pitches in the fourth to go up 5-0.
Raygoza added an RBI-single in the fifth after a Garza Gongora double to make the score 6-0.
In the sixth, Garza Gongora homered into the Privateers' (6-8, 1-3 SLC) bullpen to make the score 7-0.
In the seventh, the Vaqueros put two on with one out, setting up RBI-singles by Fischer and junior
Austin Stracener to make the score 9-0.
UTRGV and New Orleans play the middle game of this series on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at UTRGV Baseball Stadium for Catch 'Em All Night. Fans are encouraged to dress up as their favorite Pokémon or Pokémon trainer and take part in the costume contest. Fans will be able to take part in other Pokémon-themed activities throughout the game, including a Victory Vaquero card giveaway, and Pokémon battles.
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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