RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team scored four runs in the sixth inning to beat the UIW Cardinals 7-5 on Saturday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in front of a crowd of 4,131.
Down 5-2, the Vaqueros (23-25, 16-13 SLC) loaded the bases with nobody out to start the sixth. A wild pitched scored senior
Hank Warren.
Josh Bludau (2-1) came out of the bullpen and junior
Rocco Garza Gongora greeted him with a two-run single. One out later, junior
Armani Raygoza was intentionally walked. Graduate student
Austin Stracener responded with an RBI-single on the next pitch to give the Vaqueros a 6-5 lead.
The Vaqueros added a run in the eighth on a pinch-hit RBI-single by junior
Andrew Taylor.
That made a winner of senior
Kike Cienfuegos (7-2), who pitched 4.2 innings of scoreless relief, striking out six while scattering two singles and two walks.
Garza Gongora led the Vaqueros offensively by going 2-for-3 with two walks, two RBI, and two runs scored. Warren went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Junior PSJA alum
Julius Ramirez finished 2-for-2 with a run scored.
The Cardinals (18-26, 8-18 SLC) put runners at second and third with one out in the first, setting up an RBI-groundout by
Cris Enriquez to take a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, senior
Thomas Williams tied the game with a 363' home run to right. Later, with the bases loaded and two outs, Warren was plunked to force-in a run and give the Vaqueros a 2-1 lead.
The Cardinals batted around in the third while scoring four runs. With the bases loaded and one out, Enriquez hit a two-run single. Two batters later, with the bases loaded and two outs,
Tony DeJesus hit a two-run single to put the Cardinals up 5-2.
UTRGV and UIW complete the series Sunday at 1 p.m. in UTRGV's last scheduled home game of the regular season. It's Autism Acceptance Day, presented by Driscoll Health Plan. A sensory room will be available and music will be played at a lower volume throughout the game. It's also Public Employee Appreciation Day all city, county, state, and federal employees receive free general admission tickets by showing their employee ID. Sundays are Family Fun Day, when fans can get four general admission tickets, four drinks, and four hot dogs for $44. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the senior day ceremony which starts at 12:15 p.m. Gates open at 12 p.m.
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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