Alexander lifts UTRGV over Utah Valley

UTRGV outfiedler Elijah Alexander hit a pair of two-run home runs to power the Vaqueros past the Utah Valley Wolverines 6-1 on Friday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg.

Alexander hit his first home run into the left field bullpen during the fourth to make the score 3-0. His second home run, to center, knocked Jesse Schmit (1-5) out of the game with the score 6-0.

This was Alexander’s first-career multi-home run game. The home runs were his first two of the season. Alexander finished with a career-high-tying four RBIs.

Graduate student Conrado Diaz also had a pair of run-scoring hits, making the score 1-0 with a single during the third and 4-0 with a double during the fifth.

The Vaqueros (14-16, 6-7 WAC) didn’t have a hit the first time through the order, going 0-for-8 with a walk. The second time through, though, the Vaqueros went 6-for-9 with three runs scored.

Senior Kevin Stevens (3-4) made the runs stand up, pitching a career-high eight innings of two-hit ball while racking up a career-high-tying 12 strikeouts.

Stevens allowed a hit during the first and an infield single following an error to give the Wolverines (5-21, 3-10 WAC) two on with no one out. Stevens responded by getting a double play, starting a string of 11 straight batters retired. Stevens struck out the side in the second, going on to strikeout four in a row and six out of seven.

Stevens issued a leadoff walk during the fifth but bounced back by retiring the next 10 batters he faced.

The Wolverines put runners on second and third with two outs during the eighth, setting up an error to allow their run to score.

UTRGV and Utah Valley play a doubleheader at 1 p.m. today at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. The first game is scheduled for seven innings while the second game is scheduled for the full nine. UTRGV Athletics is capping capacity at UTRGV Baseball Stadium at approximately 1,200 fans. Single-game tickets can be purchased online at UTRGVTickets.com. For more information about game day, visit GoUTRGV.com/game-day.

Fans can also watch at WACDigitalNetwork.com.