The UTRGV baseball team lost to the New Mexico State Aggies 9-5 in the opener of a three-game series Friday at Presley Askew Field in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Montclair Cain led the Vaqueros (10-11, 1-6 WAC) offensively by going 2-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored. Junior Adrian Torres went 2-for-5 with a run scored. Graduate student Brandon Pimentel and senior Zerek Saenz also went 2-for-5.
After Meza Treyjen (1-4) retired the first two Vaqueros in the first, sophomore Vela alum Isaac Lopez was hit by a pitch, Pimentel singled and senior Roberto Gonzalez reached on an error that allowed Lopez to score to make the score 1-0.
In the second, sophomore Steven Lancia led off with a single. He scored on an RBI single by junior Kade York. A Cain RBI double made the score 3-0.
Sophomore Randy Garza retired the first four batters he faced, striking out two. Then after allowing a double, Garza set down the next eight batters, striking out seven, including all six batters he faced during the third and fourth innings.
The Aggies (4-15, 2-5 WAC) broke through in the fifth. After a leadoff single, the Aggies put the runner in motion. As York went to cover second base, Keith Jones II hit a grounder through the vacated shortstop position for a base hit. Nick Gore followed with a three-run home run to tie the game. Two outs later, Mitch Namie homered to give the Aggies the lead.
Garza finished with a career-high nine strikeouts in a season-high five innings.
The Vaqueros tied the game in the sixth on York’s RBI groundout.
In the bottom of the sixth, though, Christian Perez hit a two-run home run off junior Zach Tjelmeland (0-1) to give the Aggies a 6-4 lead.
The Vaqueros got one back in the seventh on a Lopez sacrifice fly to make the score 6-5.
The Aggies plated three runs during the seventh.
Tjelmeland finished with two strikeouts. Graduate student Kris Massey struck out one.
UTRGV pitching recorded 12 strikeouts and no walks during the first seven innings, completing a span of 16 innings with 23 strikeouts and no walks.
Freshman Edinburg High alumnus Daren Barrera made his collegiate debut in the eighth, pitching a scoreless inning.
UTRGV and New Mexico State play the middle game of this three-game series at 3 p.m. today.