The UTRGV baseball team beat the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders 4-3 on Tuesday at Chapman Field in Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union.
The middle of the Vaqueros (25-23) lineup combined to reach base six times and score all four runs, as graduate student CJ Valdez and freshman Armani Raygoza each went 1-for-3 with a walk and junior Hank Warren finished 2-for-4. Valdez scored twice while Raygoza and Warren each scored once.
The Islanders (21-31) led 1-0 in the first on a Garrett Gruell groundout.
That was it against sophomore Wyatt Wiatrek, who struck out four in 3.0 innings
The Vaqueros tied the game in the second on a sacrifice fly by freshman Edinburg Vela alumnus Rudy Gonzalez before taking the lead in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by graduate student Adrian Torres.
The Islanders regained the lead against junior Anthony Tejada (2-2) in the fifth as Issac Webbhit an RBI-single and Sebastian Trinidad laid down a suicide squeeze to make the score 3-2.
The Vaqueros struck back in the sixth, loading the bases with one out against Joshua Flaugher (0-3). A wild pitch brought home Valdez and freshman Evan Janner hit a sacrifice to give the Vaqueros a 4-3 lead.
Five Vaqueros relievers combined for four scoreless innings to close out the game. Junior Jack Quinn struck out two in a perfect sixth. Junior Tyler Davis struck out one in a scoreless seventh. In his season debut, junior Bobby Loya struck out one while getting two outs in the eighth. Senior Sebastian Mejia recorded the final out of the eighth. Junior Jack Lopez struck out one a scoreless ninth for his second save.
UTRGV opens a three-game series against Sacramento State at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg.
Come enjoy a special taste of barbecue, including the launch of Vaqueros Gourmet BBQ Sauce, created by The Jank, at a pregame tailgate presented by G3 Scrap Metal and Vaquero Outfitters. Setup begins at 12:30 p.m. The tailgate begins at 3 p.m. with free barbecue, music, Vaqueros Gourmet BBQ Sauce samples from The Jank, Vaqueros Especial Salsa samples from Tio Pelon, free wings from Wing Barn, a t-shirt giveaway from 7 Day Addiction.
During the game, there will be a best decorated apron contest with prizes from Vaquero Outfitters.
The game also features the Cane’s Challenge. If the Vaqueros win, all fans in the stadium will receive coupons for buy one, get one free box combos at Raising Cane’s on their way out.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at GoUTRGV.com/Tickets. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with their student ID. All fans need to follow the clear bag policy, details of which can be found at GoUTRGV.com/ClearBag. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.
Fans can watch domestically on ESPN+ or internationally via WAC International.
