EDINBURG — No. 6 Texas made its first trip to the Rio Grande Valley in 51 years and handed the UTRGV Vaqueros a 7-2 loss Tuesday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg. The game was played in front of a sold out crowd of 6,418 fans.
“There’s no doubt the atmosphere was off the charts. That’s a top five atmosphere in the country. Gotta thank the Valley for coming out and supporting us,” UTRGV head coach Derek Matlock said.
“First of all, I’m just really proud of the Rio Grande Valley inviting us down. The atmosphere was unbelievable, we have a lot of fans down here, as well,” said Texas head coach David Pierce. “South Texas is so well known for their baseball and the love of baseball and they really expressed it tonight.”
“We want Nixon” chants broke out during the eighth and ninth innings as fans called for McAllen High alum and current Texas sophomore closer Aaron Nixon to be inserted into the game. They got their wish as Nixon entered during the ninth inning and secured the final out to seal the game for the Longhorns
“It was an awesome experience. They really support me down here and they really support their kids from down here,” Nixon said. “I love the Valley, I’ll always be a Valley boy at heart. … I appreciate the coach putting me in there. It’s an experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
UTRGV redshirt freshman starter Randy Garza held the Longhorns to two hits and one run over the first three innings before their lineup came to life. Three walks, a hit-by-pitch and a two-run single by Ivan Melendez plated four runs as Texas pulled ahead 5-0 during the fourth.
Texas starting right-handed pitcher Zane Morehouse carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning before the bottom of the Vaqueros’ lineup came through with a pair of hits.
UTRGV’s Chris Mondesi broke up the no-hitter with a liner to left field but was thrown out at second during the bottom of the sixth. Edinburg Vela alum Isaac Lopez followed with a base hit to right field for the Vaqueros’ second hit of the game and inning. After a walk to designated hitter Cameron Blake, second baseman Diego Ramirez singled to left center to bring in Lopez from second and put the Vaqueros on the scoreboard.
Morehouse finished with six strikeouts while allowing one run on two hits and one walk across 5.2 innings.
The Vaqueros added another run during the ninth inning off a wild pitch to make the score 7-2.
“Thank you to the whole community for coming out tonight. It was a special night,” said Lopez. “We’re dogs and we’re going to fight no matter who they put in front of us. We’re going to grind it out.”
The Vaqueros are back in action at 6 tonight against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Chapman Field in Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown rivalry series. UTRGV is slated to resume Western Athletic Conference play with a three-game series against Tarleton beginning at 7 p.m. Friday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
