RIO GRANDE VALLEY – In the first home game to be televised on a linear national network in department history, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team beat the Southeastern Lions 8-6 on Friday in front of a sellout crowd of 6,473 at UTRGV Baseball Stadium, the third-largest in program history and a potential audience of millions on ESPNU.
This was the first time a Southland Conference baseball game had ever been on national TV, and it featured the two teams to earn a share of the Southland Conference Championship in 2025. ESPNU is available in approximately 36 million households nationwide in additional to digital options such as the ESPN app.
The Vaqueros (17-20, 11-11 SLC) trailed 6-5 entering the seventh.
Logan Freche (1-3) retired the first two batters before graduate student PSJA alum
Diego Villescas singled and moved to second on a bobble in center. Junior
Rene Galván singled to tie the game. Two pitches later, senior
Hank Warren launched his first home run of the season 380' on to West Vaqueros Drive beyond the left field wall to put the Vaqueros up 8-6.
That made a winner of graduate student
Colton Vercoe, who pitched 3.0 scoreless innings, striking out five, to end the game.
Graduate student
Sergio Lopez struck out seven without walking anyone over the first 6.0 innings.
The Lions (23-16, 12-7 SLC) jumped on the board right away, as
Alex Perry led off the game with a single and
Ben Robichaux hit an RBI-triple.
Brody Capps followed with a sacrifice fly to make the score 2-0.
In the second,
Brooks Wright homered into the left field bullpen to put the Lions up 3-0.
Junior
Easton Moomau responded with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the second. Villescas followed with a double. Two batters later, graduate student Vela alum
Rudy Gonzalez hit an RBI-single to bring the Vaqueros within 3-2.
In the third, junior
Armani Raygoza led off with a 394' home run, his 12
th of the season, to tie the game at 3.
Wright homered again in the fifth to put the Lions up 4-3.
The Vaqueros answered back in the bottom of the inning. Gonzalez led off by reaching on an error. Junior
Rocco Garza Gongora tripled to tie the game. One out later, Raygoza hit into a fielder's choice, but the throw home got away, allowing Garza Gongora to score to give the Vaqueros their first lead at 5-4.
Garza Gongora, Moomau, Villescas, and Warren all finished 2-for-4.
The Lions loaded the bases with one out in sixth, setting up a
Blaise Priester two-run single to make the score 6-5.
UTRGV and Southeastern complete the series with a doubleheader Saturday with games scheduled for 2 and 6:30 p.m. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive rally towels, courtesy of Vaquero Outfitters.
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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