EDINBURG — The UTRGV baseball team boasts a .336 batting average in Western Athletic Conference play, ranking No. 1 in the WAC. One through nine, each hitter in the Vaqueros’ starting lineup has contributed offensively to propel the team to winning five of its last seven games.
Two of those bats belong to Rio Grande Valley high school baseball products in Edinburg Vela alum Isaac Lopez and PSJA High grad Jacob Sanchez.
The two spent their first year with the UTRGV baseball program mostly learning during the 2021 campaign. Lopez redshirted, while Sanchez came on late during the season for the Vaqueros, appearing in 14 games.
Now in Year 2 with the team, Lopez and Sanchez have earned their way into the lineup to become everyday starters at shortstop and first base, respectively.
“They’ve done an unbelievable job of being blue-collar and working hard at it everyday. It’s not easy when you don’t get to play, when you’ve been a star your whole life in high school, and you’re in here playing with guys from all over the country, it takes some character,” UTRGV head coach Derek Matlock said. “Those two said, ‘I’m going to stay and fight. I’m going to earn it.’ They stayed here and fought, worked their butt off in the summer and now they’re getting a great result. They’re getting to be the starters and they deserve to be the starters.”
The Vaqueros (16-12, 6-6) complete the first round of WAC play with a three-game series against Stephen F. Austin (8-20, 4-8) beginning at 7 tonight at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg. Games 2 and 3 are scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday, respectively.
Sanchez spent his high school career dominatining on both the diamond and the gridiron. A standout linebacker and catcher during his days suiting up for the PSJA High Bears, he’s found a spot playing first base for the Vaqueros this season. He’s started 22 games and appeared in 25 of UTRGV’s 28.
| UTRGV’s Jacob Sanchez (19) tags out a Lamar runner after a catch from pitcher Jesus Aldaz (24) at Edinburg baseball field Sunday ,March,27,2022 in Edinburg. (Delcia Lopez/The Monitor | [email protected]) Delcia Lopez |
After hitting .143 as a freshman in 2021, Sanchez ranks third on the team with a .342 batting average and has 27 hits, 19 RBIs, 17 runs and three home runs. Entering this weekend’s series against Stephen F. Austin, he’s posted multi-hit games in six of his last eight.
“To have my family and friends here, people that have been watching me since high school, it’s really an honor to play for them,” Sanchez said. “It’s really eye-opening that I can be a help to this lineup and to this team. The way we’ve been swinging it has been great.”
Sanchez made strides with his game during the offseason. During fall ball, he began to come into his own at the plate and felt he was ready to contribute at a high level.
“Jacob’s a guy we always knew was really offensive and spent a lot of the offseason working his butt off in the batting cages,” Matlock said of his sophomore first baseman. “He’s just a big, strong athlete that’s got a really great make up — tough kid. … First base gave Sanchez a place to get comfortable and go play with a lot of at-bats, and he’s doing an outstanding job.”
While the Edinburg Vela alum Lopez didn’t play as a freshman, he gained valuable experience learning from fifth-year middle infielders and team leaders Andy Atwood and Christian Sepulveda.
Now, Lopez has started the last 10 games at shortstop for the Vaqueros. In 12 games played this year, he’s hitting .314, sixth on the team, with 11 hits, six RBIs, one home run and a 1.000 fielding percentage. He’s also riding a five-game hitting streak entering the weekend with a pair of three-hit games during that span.
“At first, the nerves were there, I’m not going to lie. But the more I got my starts, I got more comfortable and started playing the game I grew up playing.” Lopez said. “Gotta remember it’s a kid’s game. Just go out there and have fun. It’s a blessing to be on this team and in this lineup, one through nine.”
Matlock said Lopez earned his spot at shortstop by grinding everyday since arriving at UTRGV in 2021.
“We knew Isaac from a defensive standpoint was outstanding all last year,” Matlock said. “We always loved the way he played on the defensive end. He went away to summer ball, worked really hard on the offensive end to come back in and fight some guys that have some stock in the company. It takes a while to beat the guys out that have been in there, played for a championship in the (WAC) tournament. Over time, watching and watching (Lopez), it was like we have to play this guy. He’s been really offensive right now.”
| UTRGV’s Isaac Lopez shortstop throw a ball to second during practice at Edinburg Baseball Field April,7,2022 in Edinburg. (Delcia Lopez/The Monitor | [email protected]) Delcia Lopez |
Both Lopez and Sanchez recorded RBIs during a 13-5 nonconference loss against No. 6 Texas on Tuesday. Now, the Vaqueros seek their third consecutive WAC series win as they welcome Stephen F. Austin for a three-game set.
“It doesn’t matter who you play. If we play good, we’ll win; it doesn’t matter if it’s Texas. We didn’t pitch good in there Tuesday and got beat because of the first inning. If we have a better first inning, that whole game is different,” Matlock said. “It doesn’t really matter who we play, we can play with anybody, we just have to play good. We got to pick the ball up in the right moment, got to have a quality at-bat in the right moment, got to make pitches in the right moment. If we do that, it’s going to be a good weekend. If not, it’ll be a bad weekend.”