EDINBURG — The UTRGV baseball program released its 2022 season schedule Wednesday which features 56 games and is headlined by a non-conference matchup against the Texas Longhorns on April 26 at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg.
It is Texas’ first trip to the Rio Grande Valley since 1971, when Pan American won three out of four games from the Longhorns. Pan American went on to sweep Texas later that season for the District Championship to earn a berth to the College World Series.
“It’s a full schedule with some great midweek (games) with Texas State, Houston, Incarnate Word, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UTSA,” UTRGV head coach Derek Matlock said. “But of course the one that jumps out is the University of Texas coming here, the first time in 51 years to have the Longhorns come to Edinburg, so that’s definitely a big one.”
UTRGV opens the regular season on Feb. 18 with the Al Ogletree Classic — a three-game series against George Washington at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. The games are part of a weekend during which UTRGV will welcome back the 1971 College World Series team while honoring the 2022 Athletics Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor inductees, according to a UTRGV release.
Key non-conference games on the schedule include a road trip to Houston on Feb. 26, a road game against Texas in Austin on April 5, the home game against the Longhorns scheduled on April 26 and a trip to San Antonio for a matchup against UTSA on May 3.
“The Texas game is unique because it means more about the Broncs,” Matlock said. “This program back in the day was the Broncs, and they were unbelievable. They set a lot of records and did a lot of great things nationally, so for us to get Texas back down here, that’s a great honor, because to me it brings back the Broncs. It’s a little bit about the tradition of what the Broncs did, and that’s why we’re having them come back.”
The Vaqueros are slated to open Western Athletic Conference play March 11-13 with a three-game series against Abilene Christian at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
The biggest change from last year’s WAC schedule to this season’s is the introduction of two divisions, which splits the conference down the middle. UTRGV is in the Southwest Division along with Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin and Tarleton. Each team will play a three-game home-and-home series during conference play.
The top four teams from each division advance to the WAC Tournament, which runs May 25-28 at Hohokam Stadium, the spring training home of the Oakland Athletics, in Mesa, Ariz. The WAC Tournament Champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
UTRGV is scheduled to close out WAC competition against Stephen F. Austin from May 19-21 in Nacogdoches. The Vaqueros will host WAC opponents Lamar on March 25-27, Stephen F. Austin on April 8-10, Tarleton on April 29-May 1 and Sam Houston on May 13-15.
“I think it’s exciting for Texas schools to have three games home-and-home to get to see all the conference teams. This year, everybody on our side of the conference is coming here, so that’s going to be exciting for our fans,” Matlock said.
For ticket information, visit UTRGVTickets.com, or by contacting the UTRGV Ticket Sales and Operations team of Seth Jones (956-665-3877), Carlos Munoz (956-665-3747) and Eddie Galvan (956-665-3415) over the phone or through email at [email protected].
