The No. 7-seeded UTRGV baseball fell to the No. 1 Grand Canyon Lopes 3-1 in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Wednesday at Hohokam Stadium, the spring training home of the Oakland A’s, in Mesa, Arizona.
The Vaqueros (30-25) face No. 5 Abilene Christian in an elimination game at 2 p.m. today.
Fans can join other Vaqueros fans to watch the game at a watch party at Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar at 415 Trenton Rd. in Edinburg. The game will be broadcast domestically on ESPN+ and internationally via WAC International.
The Vaqueros broke a scoreless tie in the fourth. Sophomore Vela alum Isaac Lopez led off with a single. Graduate student Brandon Pimentel followed with a walk, setting up an RBI-single by senior Roberto Gonzalez to make the score 1-0.
Senior Colten Davis (4-3) was nearly untouchable for the first 5.1 innings, scattering two singles and two walks while striking out six and tossing just 69 pitches. With one out in the sixth, though, Zack Gregory homered to tie the game.
Then, with one out in the seventh, the Lopes (37-19) took the lead on a Cade Verdusco single to knock out Davis, who finished with seven strikeouts in 6.1 innings. Homer Bush Jr. followed with an RBI-double to put the Lopes up 3-1.
That made a winner of Grant Richardson (1-0), who pitched 1.1 scoreless innings of relief.
Nathan Ward recorded the final four outs for his third save.
Graduate student Montclair Cain went 2-for-3 with a career-high two triples. The Vaqueros hit a season-high three triples, including one by senior Zerek Saenz.