SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior Angelo Cabral struck out nine in a career-high 8.0 innings to lead the UTRGV baseball team to a 7-5 victory over the Sacramento State Hornets on Saturday at John Smith Field.
Cabral (9-1) didn’t walk anybody while allowing four runs on 10 hits.
The Vaqueros (25-20, 11-12 WAC) started the scoring in the third. With one out and junior Kade York on second, senior Zerek Saenz hit an RBI-double against Tyler Stewart (0-2). One out later, graduate student Brandon Pimentel greeted reliever Noah Lucchesi with an RBI-single to make the score 2-0.
The Vaqueros plated five runs in the fifth. Senior Vela alum RJ Ochoaopening the inning with a double. One out later, Saenz hit an RBI-single. Then, with two outs and runners at first and second, senior Roberto Gonzalez hit an RBI-single and graduate student Montclair Cain launched a 3-run home run to make the score 7-1.
Cain now has six home runs this season and 15 in his career, tied for the 12th-highest career total in program history with Richard Messer (1987-88) and Tommy Supak (1980-81).
Pimentel went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. Saenz finished 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two RBI and two runs scored. Ochoa went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored. Gonzalez finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
The Hornets (24-23, 10-13 WAC) scored against Cabral in the fourth on a JP Smith single, the eighth on a Josh Rolling home run, and the ninth on a Cesar Valero double and a Jacob Cortez single. The Hornets added one more in the ninth when Jorge Bojorquez grounded into an RBI-fielder’s choice.
UTRGV and Sacramento State conclude this 3-game series at 2 p.m. Sunday. Fans can watch domestically on ESPN+.