Stevens get first win of the season with a 10 K performance
An explosive fourth inning propels UTRGV Baseball (4-4) to a 11-1 victory over Northern Illinois (1-3) in the first of a four game series earlier today at the UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
The Huskies got on the board first as freshman second baseman Jack Blazevich drove in freshman DH Jacob Schroeder from second on a fielding error by graduate third baseman Andy Atwood in the top of the second.
The Vaqueros quickly countered in the bottom half of the inning as graduate shortstop Christian Sepulveda took a breaking ball to left centerfield for a three-run homerun, his second three run shot of the season.
Sepulveda would finish the day with three hits and three RBI to go along with two runs and one walk.
In a postgame news conference via Zoom, UTRGV Head Coach Derek Matlock spoke to the improvement Sepulveda has made over the last three years against the breaking ball.
“He’s failed a lot with the breaking balls in the dirt and missed them,” Matlock said. “[Associate Head] Coach [Russell] Raley and [Volunteer Assistant] Coach [Kyle] Kilgo have done a great job coaching him. I’m so proud of him, he’s played really well.”
In the bottom half of the fourth, graduate DH Joe Impedugila would drive in sophomore second baseman Diego Ramirez on a RBI-single that flew over the outstretched glove of Blazevich to give the Vaqueros a 4-1 lead.
Two batters later junior catcher RJ Ochoa hit an RBI-double down the left field line past Huskie junior third baseman Kam Smith to bring Impeduglia home and advance Sepulveda to third.
The Vaqueros continued to put the ball in play as senior leftfielder Jacob Hirsh reached first on an error by senior shortstop Dylan Lonteen that saw Sepulveda touch home plate to give UTRGV a 6-1 lead.
With the bases loaded, Atwood hit a single past Lonteen bringing Ochoa home.
Northern Illinois Head Coach Mike Kunigonis had seen enough from junior starting pitcher Michael Lasiewicz and went to the mound to make a change.
Lasiewicz day would end with the loss after three innings of work having allowed nine hits, 10 runs, nine earned with two strikeouts on 72 pitches.
Senior Patrick Kirkpatrick came in relief as he inherited the game in an impossible situation with the bases loaded and zero outs.
UTRGV would continue to add to their lead as graduate first baseman Conrado Diaz safely reached first on an RBI-double, followed by a Ramirez RBI-single to left and an Impeduglia RBI sac fly to right.
The Vaqueros in the fourth inning scored eight runs on seven hits, their most in any game this season, to lead 11-1.
In the sixth inning, UTRGV would load the bases with a five-pitch walk issued by freshman relief pitcher Spencer Hill to Hirsh.
Hill would get out of the inning cleanly by getting freshman left fielder Spencer Serven to fly out to right.
The game would come to a close in the seventh innings as the 10-run rule was enacted.
UTRGV senior starting pitcher Kevin Stevens recorded his first win of the season going six innings throwing 92 pitches allowing four hits and two walks and striking out 10.
The Vaqueros will be back in action 2 p.m. Saturday at the UTRGV Baseball Stadium against the Huskies.
When asked what UTRGV will have to do in Saturday’s matchup to take a 2-0 series advantage, Matlock provided the blueprint for success.
“The biggest thing you got to be good at all the time is pitching and defense. You can’t let that change on you.”
Fans can attend the game as UTRGV will be capping attendance at 1,000 with gameday protocols that include social distancing, face coverings and temperature checks before entering.
Fans can also follow the game live at the WAC Digital Network.
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