Vaqueros eliminated from WAC tournament
UTRGV REPORTS
Sacracamento State defeated UTRGV 9-5 on Thursday, eliminating the Vaqueros from the Western Athletic Conference double-elimination baseball tournament in Mesa, Arizona.
The Hornets were the No. 3 seed in the Southwest Division and the Vaqueros were seeded No. 2 in the West Division. UTRGV defeated Sacramento State in the first round of the tournament.
Freddy Rojas Jr. led the Vaqueros (33-25) by going 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored. Jacob Hirsh went 2-for-4 with a home run, a triple, two RBIs and one run scored. Brandon Pimentel finished 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.
Rojas’ home run came during the fourth to tie the game at 2. It was his 11th home run of the season, tied with Hall of Famer Joe Hernandez (1975) for the ninth-highest single-season total in program history.
It was Rojas’ 21st-career home run, tying Jesse Gutierrez (2000) for second in program history, behind only Hall of Famer Mitchell Moran (27, 1981-83).
Then, with the Vaqueros down 6-2 during the sixth, Rojas hit a leadoff single and scored on a two-out triple from Hirsh against Max Pettey (4-1).
The Vaqueros trailed 9-3 entering the ninth. With one out, Hirsh homered. Then, after back-to-back singles, Pimentel hit a two-out single to make it a four-run game.
The Vaqueros initially scored in the third, when trailing 2-0, freshman Vela alum Isaac Lopez singled, moved to second on a groundout, and scored on a single by Pimentel.
Pimentel finished the season with 89 hits, passing Moran (1983) for third in program history. He also broke a tie for second in total bases with 146.
The Hornets (32-25) got on the board against graduate student Colten Davis (4-4) with two outs in the second on RBI singles by Josh Walker and Josh Rolling.
