Texas Border Business
BEAUMONT – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros baseball team beat the Lamar Cardinals 6-1 on Sunday at Vincent-Beck Stadium to clinch both a weekend (2-1) and season (4-2) series victories.
The Vaqueros (29-20, 14-10 WAC) and Cardinals (29-19, 14-10 WAC) are now tied for second place in the Western Athletic Conference Southwest Division standings with six games remaining.
Graduate student Bryan Sturges led the Vaqueros offensively by going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, a career-high tying five RBI and one run scored. Graduate student Cameron Blake went a career-high tying 3-for-4 with an RBI and a career-high tying two runs scored. Junior Brandon Pimentel finished 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
Sturges launched a three-run home run off Daniel Cole (2-3) to give the Vaqueros a 3-0 lead in the first. Sturges now has a career-high eight home runs this season.
Blake hit a two-out RBI-single in the second to make the score 4-0.
This was it until the fifth, when Sturges hit a two-run double to make the score 6-0.
That made a winner of freshman Randy Garza (2-1), who struck out two while scattering two hits and three walks in a career-high 7.0 innings.
The Cardinals scored their run in the ninth when Kelby Weyler hit into a fielder’s choice.
UTRGV plays its final three home games against first place Sam Houston in a series presented by G3 Scrap Metal starting Friday at 7 p.m. at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. It’s Community Heroes Night. All frontline workers, first responders and teachers receive free general admission This game is also part of the Cane’s Challenge. Whenever the Vaqueros win a Friday home game, all fans in the ballpark receive coupons for buy one, get one free box combos at Raising Cane’s on their way out. Gates open at 6 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at UTRGVTickets.com. Those unable to attend the game in person can watch in the United States on ESPN+ or internationally at WACSports.com/Watch.
