UTRGV Baseball Drops Series Opener at California Baptist

GoUTRGV.com
May 10, 2024
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team fell to the California Baptist Lancers 6-5 on Friday at James W. Totman Stadium.
Junior Hank Warren led the Vaqueros (23-21, 12-13 WAC) offensively, going 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBI, and a sliding catch in right field.
The Vaqueros trailed 4-0 entering the sixth. PSJA North alum and graduate student Damian Rodriguez led off with a bunt-single and then senior Kade York and freshman Easton Moomau followed with singles to load the bases. Junior Sharyland alum Martin Vazquez hit with a sacrifice fly to knock out starter Lukas Pirko. Junior Steven Lancia greeted reliever Nathan Hemmerling (5-3) with an RBI-single. One batter later, graduate student Adrian Torres walked to load the bases, setting up a 2-run single by Warren to tie the game.
The Lancers (31-19, 15-10 WAC) took the lead back in the bottom of the inning, as Julian Alvarez and Connor McGuire led off with doubles to knock out senior Zach Tjelmeland (5-3) and bring home a run. One batter later, with McGuire at third, Matthew Darr hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 6-4.
Graduate student CJ Valdez launched a no-doubt home run in the eight to bring the Vaqueros within one. Warren drew a 2-out walk to end Hemmerling’s night, but Ryan Hetzler recorded the final four outs for his fourth save.
Tjelmeland struck out seven while walking just one and allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits in 5.0 innings.
The Lancers initially broke through in the third on a 2-run home run by Shayne Simpson.
Garret Ostrander hit an RBI-single in the fourth and Michael Carpentier followed with one in the fifth to put the Lancers up 4-0.
UTRGV and California Baptist play the middle game of this 3-game series on Saturday at 7 p.m. Fans can watch domestically on ESPN+ or internationally via WAC International.