RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team won the series against the Central Michigan (CMU) Chippewas with an 8-1 victory on Sunday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
UTRGV (6-2) took three-of-four from the Chippewas (4-4) over the weekend. Junior shortstop
Kade York went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a double, and senior centerfielder
Zerek Saenz was 3-for-5 with two doubles and one RBI. Redshirt sophomore second baseman
Isaac Lopez and graduate student right fielder
Montclair Cain each went 2-for-3. Lopez recorded one double and one RBI while Cain added two RBI on a double and a triple.
York and Lopez have both knocked at least one hit in all eight games this season.
Graduate student RHP
Colten Davis got the start and the win for the Vaqueros as he struck out a career high tying seven batters in six innings of work, allowing one run on four hits with two walks. Junior RHP and Edinburg Vela alum
Nico Rodriguez earned the save, tossing three scoreless innings with five strikeouts, two hits and one walk.
CMU starter
Ben Vitas took the loss after giving up two runs on six hits with one walk and one strikeout in 4.1 innings.
Davis fanned two batters to work a clean top of the first. Lopez recorded the first hit of the conteest in the home half of the frame, roping a single to center in his first at-bat. The Chippewas put a runner on third in the top of the second, but Davis fielded a popped-up bunt and drew a 4-3 putout to strand him.
The Chippewas jumped on top 1-0 after a two-out RBI single up the middle by
Christian Mitchelle in the fourth. Davis' sixth strikeout of the game stranded two runners in scoring position.
Lopez made the defensive play of the young season to end the top of the fifth. The second baseman dove to his right to reel in a hard-hit grounder, and while on his stomach flipped the ball with his glove to second. York caught the ball with his bare hand and quickly fired it over to first for the double play.
The play ignited the dugout and the crowd, and UTRGV turned that excitement into offensive momentum. Senior left fielder
Roberto Gonzalez knocked a leadoff single then reached third following a wild pitch and sacrifice by junior third baseman
Jacob Sanchez. York tied the game with an RBI single to short, then came around to score on an RBI double to left by Saenz. After a walk to Lopez, Cain – the RBI machine – drove in two runs with a triple to deep centerfield. Pimentel scored Cain with an RBI groundout to short, making it 5-1 in favor of the Vaqueros heading to the sixth.
Rodriguez took the mound to start the seven and quickly struck out the side. In the home half of the frame, Saenz and Lopez roped back-to-back doubles to right and left field, respectively, with Lopez recording an RBI to grow the lead to 6-1.
UTRGV put its first two batters of the eighth inning on base as senior catcher
RJ Ochoa worked a walk and sophomore designated hitter
Steven Lancia singled through the left side. York continued his massive day at the plate with a two-RBI standup double to right-centerfield, giving the Vaqueros an 8-1 cushion heading to the ninth.
Rodriguez recorded his fifth strikeout of the day and drew two popouts to end the game and secure the series victory for the Vaqueros.
UTRGV's next games will be Friday-Sunday as the Vaqueros host Houston for a three-game series as part of the Al Ogletree Classic at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
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