RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros baseball team fell to the Sam Houston Bearkats, a team receiving votes in the latest NCBWA poll, 5-1 on Saturday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in front of a crowd of 1,804.
The Vaqueros (30-21, 15-11 WAC) scored their run against
Steven Beard (6-3) in the seventh on an opposite field solo home run by graduate student
Freddy Rojas Jr., his ninth of the season.
The Vaqueros went on to put runner on second and third with two outs in the inning before a strikeout ended the inning.
The Vaqueros had opportunities early, putting runners at first and second with one out in the first before hitting into a double play, runners on the corners with one out in the second before a pickoff and a groundout ended the inning, and runners on the corners with two outs in the third before a popup ended the inning.
The Vaqueros also put runners at first and second with one out in the eighth before a double play ended the inning.
Beard pitched 6.1 innings, scattering six hits and one walk.
Junior
Diego Ramirez finished 2-for-4 with a walk and nearly had a third hit, but
Clayton Chadwick made a sliding catch in center field to end the fifth and rob Ramirez of a hit.
Graduate student
Jesus Aldaz (5-5) got off to a good start, striking out four over the first two innings while retiring six of the first seven batters. The lone blemish was a solo home run by
Carlos Contreras in the second.
In the third, however,
Christian Smith and
Anthony MacKenzie led off with back-to-back doubles to plate a run. Two batters later,
Justin Wishkoski hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 3-0.
The Bearkats (28-21, 18-8 WAC) took a 4-0 lead on a two-out RBI-single by Smith in the fourth.
Aldaz went 6.0 innings, striking out seven while allowing seven hits and one walk.
The Bearkats added a run in the ninth on an RBI-fielder's choice by Contreras.
UTRGV and Sam Houston play the finale of this three-game series, presented by
G3 Scrap Metal, on Sunday at 12 p.m. at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. It's RGV Appreciation Day. General admission tickets are $1 each. There will be a ceremony honoring the seniors and graduate students playing their final home game at approximately 11:30 a.m. Gates open at 11 a.m. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at
UTRGVTickets.com. Current UTRGV students, including those graduating this weekend, get free general admission by showing their student ID. Gates open one hour prior to scheduled game time. Those unable to attend the game in person can watch in the United States on
ESPN+ or internationally at
WACSports.com/Watch.
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