Texas Border Business
HOUSTON, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros baseball team hit three home runs but fell to the University of Houston Cougars 16-10 in game one of a doubleheader on Sunday at Schroeder Park.
The Vaqueros (5-1) and Cougars (3-3) start game two at approximately 5:40 p.m. on ESPN+.
The Vaqueros have now hit eight home runs in six games, their best total since 2018, when they also had eight home runs at this point in the season.
On the sixth pitch of the game, junior Brandon Pimentel launched a solo shot to right, his third home run of the season, to put the Vaqueros up 1-0.
Graduate student Bryan Sturges belted a two-run shot to center in the second, his first of the season and the 10th of his career, to put the Vaqueros up 4-0.
Graduate student Freddy Rojas Jr. then broke a 4-4 tie in the fourth with a three-run blast to right, his first of the season and the 11th of his career, to put the Vaqueros up 7-4.
Rojas and Pimentel each finished a career-high tying 3-for-5. Rojas added a double, a season-high three RBI and a career-high tying three runs scored. Pimentel scored twice. Sophomore PSJA alum Jacob Sanchez went a career-high tying 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Sophomore Alex Kelch doubled in each of his two at-bats during his third multi-hit and first multi-double game.
The Vaqueros also scored on a pair of sacrifice flies by junior Diego Ramirez, one in the first and one in the sixth, an RBI-groundout by graduate student Cameron Blake in the sixth, and an error that scored sophomore Spencer Serven, who had previously tripled, in the ninth.
The Vaqueros led 9-4 in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, though, Zach Arnold hit a two-run home run to bring the Cougars within three.
Then, in the seventh, the Cougars put two on with one out, setting up a two-run triple by Malachi Lott. Brandon Uhse followed with an RBI-double and then Arnold and Ryan Hernandez hit RBI-singles off graduate student Max Balderrama Jr. (1-1) to give the Cougars an 11-9 lead.
That made a winner of Maddux Miller (1-0), who pitched 1.1 innings of perfect relief.
The Cougars added five runs in the eighth on an error, a two-run single by Cameron Nickens, and RBI-singles by Samuel Tormos and Anthony Tulimero.
Down 4-0, the Cougars scored three times with two outs in the second as, with the bases loaded, Lott and Uhse walked, and Arnold was plunked.
The Cougars tied the game in the third on a two-out RBI-single by Ian McMillan.
Edged In Game Two Of Doubleheader At Houston
HOUSTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros baseball team fell to the University of Houston Cougars 3-1 in game two of a doubleheader on Sunday at Schroeder Park.
Junior J.C. Ariza started for the Vaqueros (5-2), going 6.0 innings and striking out three while allowing one run on two hits (both singles) and three walks.
The Cougars (4-3) scored their run against Ariza in the first on a groundout by Rey Mendoza.
The Vaqueros tied the game in the third, as with one out, graduate student Bryan Sturges was plunked, setting up an RBI-double by junior Brandon Pimentel.
That was it against Cougars starter Logan Clayton, who pitched 7.0 innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five.
Sophomore Hunter Rosenbaum (0-1) made his Vaqueros debut out of the bullpen in the seventh, retiring the first four batters he faced, striking out three. The next three batters walked, though, setting up RBI-singles by Alex Lopez and Samuel Tormos to put the Cougars up 3-1.
Thatmade a winner of Ben Sears (2-0), who pitched 2.0 scoreless innings to close out the game.
The Vaqueros put two runners on against Sears in the ninth, as graduate student Freddy Rojas Jr. led off with a single. Then, with two outs, junior Diego Ramirez singled.
Rojas finished 2-for-4 in the game and 5-for-9 in the doubleheader.
UTRGV visits Texas State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
