Senior Zach Tjelmeland pitched a career-high tying 6.0 scoreless innings to lead the UTRGV baseball team past the Oakland Golden Grizzlies 8-3, clinching a 2-1 series victory, on Sunday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg.
Tjelmeland (2-1) struck out four while scattering four hits and two walks. He retired the final eight batters he faced.
Junior Sharyland High alumnus Martin Vazquez led the Vaqueros (8-6) offensively by going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and three RBIs. Junior Steven Lancia went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Junior Erick Martinez doubled and walked twice while scoring a career-high three runs.
Brandon Decker (1-2) retired the first six Vaqueros he faced. In the third, however, Martinez walked and junior Hank Warren was plunked. Two outs later, with the runners at second and third, Decker uncorked back-to-back wild pitch to score Martinez and Warren.
The Vaqueros loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, at which point senior Kade York was plunked to force-in a run. One out later, Vazquez hit a bases-clearing double to put the Vaqueros up 6-0.
In the sixth, the Vaqueros put together 3-straight 1-out hits, a Lancia single, a Martinez double, and a 2-run Warren double to go up 8-0.
The Golden Grizzlies (4-10) scored three runs in the ninth on a Lucas Day RBI-double and a 2-run double by Brandon Heidal.
UTRGV is back in action at 6 p.m. at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union. Fans can watch on ESPN+.
