Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros baseball team scored four runs in the seventh to come from behind and beat the Kansas State University Wildcats 5-3 on Saturday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
This is the first time the Vaqueros (2-0) have had multiple wins over the same Big 12 team in a season since 2000 when the team had three wins over Texas Tech and two over Texas A&M. The Vaqueros had three wins against three different Big 12 opponents last season.
Down 3-1 in the seventh, the Vaqueros loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman. Junior Jacob Hirsh got plunked by Eric Torres (0-1) to force in a run. One out later, junior Freddy Rojas Jr. came up with an infield single to tie the game and senior Andy Atwood hit a two-run single to give the Vaqueros the lead.
Atwood finished 2-for-3 while junior Darian Luper went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.
That made a winner of junior Deryk Serbantez (1-0), who struck out two in two perfect innings of relief.
Graduate student Max Badlerrama Jr. struck out two in two hitless innings for his first save.
After being held to one hit on Friday, the Wildcats (0-2) opened the game with three-straight hits, including a two-run home run by Caleb Littlejim.
The Vaqueros got a run back on a single by senior Coleman Grubbs in the third, but the Wildcats extended their lead to 3-1 on an error in the fourth.
UTRGV and Kansas State play the third game of this four-game series on Sunday at 2 p.m.
For the eighth-straight year, UTRGV is teaming up with the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley to strike out hunger. Fans that donate five non-perishable food items at any Sunday home game receive a free ticket. Donations support the Food Bank RGV.
Gates open at 1.
Last year, UTRGV Athletics donated more than 2,537 pounds of food in conjunction with Strike Out Hunger among other community service initiatives.
It is estimated that one in four people in the Rio Grande Valley are food insecure, which means they either skip meals and/or buy less expensive, less nutritional foods due to financial struggles. Half of all children in the Rio Grande Valley are estimated to go to bed hungry.
“UTRGV student-athletes have provided more than 326 hours of service at the food bank, which has helped provide 35,208 meals,” Food Bank RGV CEO Stuart Hannif said. “UTRGV is the future and we are working together to make that future hunger free!”
