The UTRGV baseball team scored five runs during the fourth inning to ignite the offense and beat the Houston Cougars 9-1 in nonconference play Tuesday at Schroeder Park in Houston.
Up 1-0 entering the inning, the Vaqueros (18-14) put two on with one out, setting up an RBI double by second baseman DeAndre’ Shelton. Freshman Edinburg Vela alum Isaac Lopez brought home junior Diego Ramirez by reaching on an error. Designated hitter Cameron Blake capped the inning with a three-run home run to make the score 6-0. Blake finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs and two runs scored while finishing a double short of the cycle.
He drove-in the Vaqueros’ next two runs with a two-out triple during the fifth and he also scored the Vaqueros’ first run on a bases-loaded walk by center fielder Brett Cain against Nathan Medrano (4-3) during the first.
Shelton also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Lopez scored two runs, as well. Catcher Bryan Sturges added a solo home run during the sixth, his fourth home run of the season, to make the score 9-0.
In his first career start, freshman Randy Garza pitched a career-high 2.1 scoreless innings against his former team. Senior Ricky Gerik Jr. (2-2) followed with 2.2 scoreless innings of relief, striking out three. Junior J.C. Ariza and graduate student Max Balderrama Jr. each pitched a scoreless inning to close the game.
The Vaqueros are back in action with a three-game Western Athletic Conference series against New Mexico State beginning at 7p.m. Friday. Game 2 is slated for a 3 p.m. start Saturday, followed by the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday. All three games will stream online at WACSports.com/Watch.
