The UTRGV baseball team defeated the Rhode Island (URI) Rams 13-3 in game two of a doubleheader on Sunday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg.
Junior Edinburg Vela alum Isaac Lopez led the Vaqueros (1-1) offensively by going 2-for-3 with two walks, two RBI and two runs scored. Senior Kade York went 2-for-6 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. In his first collegiate game, freshman Edinburg Vela alum Rudy Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Senior PSJA North alum Damian Rodriguez finished 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored.
The Vaqueros scored six runs in the fourth. With one out, graduate student CJ Valdez and junior Hank Warren singled. Gonzalez followed with an RBI-double. One out later, York hit a 2-run double. After a strikeout with a wild pitch and a walk loaded the bases, ending the day for Trystan Levesque (0-1), freshman Armani Raygoza greeted reliever Jeremy Urena with a 3-run double, his first-career hit, to put the Vaqueros up 6-1.
The Vaqueros added seven more runs in the eighth. The Vaqueros loaded the bases with nobody out to set-up a Lopez 2-run single. In his first-career plate appearance, freshman Easton Moomau followed with an RBI-single. Junior SHalum Martin Vazquez then walked to load the bases, setting up a run-scoring walk for Valdez and a run-scoring hit by pitch for senior Marc Schavone in his first UTRGV plate appearance. Freshman PSJA alum Julius Randle then made his collegiate debut and drove-in a run with a groundout to cap the inning.
After junior Jacob Limas struck out four in 3.0 scoreless innings, the Rams (1-1) broke through against senior Tyler Valdez (1-0) in the fourth as Brody Levin drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a single by Jack Hopko.
The Rams pushed across additional runs in the sixth on a 2-out single by Reece Moroney and the ninth on a Hopko 2-out single.
Junior Francisco Hernandez pitched 2.0 scoreless innings, striking out two, in his UTRGV debut.
UTRGV and URI complete their three-game series on 6:30 p.m. Monday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
