Baseball (12-12, 4-4)
- Thursday night 2-10 defeat vs. (RV) Dallas Baptist in Dallas
Fifth and seventh inning explosions aided the Patriots in the first game of the series against the Vaqueros.
Junior right fielder Freddy Rojas Jr. solo homered for the fifth-straight game by taking sophomore right-handed pitcher Zach Heaton deep to left field in the ninth.
The other run for the Vaqueros came in the top of the third when graduate first baseman Conrado Diaz went deep to right field for his third home run of the season.
- Friday night 2-4 defeat vs. (RV) Dallas Baptist in Dallas
Junior DH Freddy Rojas Jr.’s home run streak continued as he belted one to right field in the top of the eight to even the score at two apiece.
The Patriots would hit a walk off homerun off of Vaquero senior closer Chase Bridges to go up in the series 2-0.
The Vaqueros’ other lone run came in the seventh with the bases loaded as junior third baseman Deandre Shelton took a four ball walk that brought in senior right fielder Jacob Hirsh.
- Saturday afternoon 5-6 defeat vs. (RV) Dallas Baptist in Dallas
The Vaqueros got on the board early with an RBI double from graduate center fielder Coleman Grubbs in the second inning and a sophomore first baseman Angel De La Cruz RBI groundout that scored graduate second baseman Andy Atwood.
The Patriots would score a run in the bottom of the seventh to trail by one, but the Vaqueros responded with a three-run moonshot to left field from De La Cruz in the eight.
Despite the 5-1 lead, the game would slip away from the Vaqueros in the final innings as the Patriots put up two runs in the eight to trial 3-5 and walked it off, for a second night in a row, with a two RBI-double to left center after scoring a run earlier in the inning on a RBI-fielder’s choice.
- Sunday afternoon 5-4 victory vs. (RV) Dallas Baptist in Dallas
After trailing 3-0, the Vaqueros were able to get on the board in the sixth inning with a graduate shortstop Christian Sepulveda fielder’s choice-RBI to trail by two.
In the following inning, graduate catcher Conrado Diaz bought a runner home on a single to make the score 3-2.
Ultimately, the Vaqueros broke through in the eight as junior catcher RJ Ochoa hit a two-RBI double and later scored on a senior left fielder Jacob Hirsh single to take a 5-3 lead.
Junior pitcher Zach De Leon, entered in the eight and earned his first career save with only allowing one hit, run and walk and striking out two Patriots.
Graduate relief pitcher Ricky Arrevalo was credited with the win after taking over in the seventh pitching 0.2 innings, getting two batters to groundout.
Men’s Golf
- 2nd place finish out of 11 at The Big Texas Invitational in Kerrville, Texas
The Vaqueros finished in the runner-up spot with a three-day score of 865, only five strokes behind Abilene Christian and one ahead of WAC opponent New Mexico State.
Graduate Luca Portelli was the highest placing Vaqueros, in fourth with a score of 214, by shooting a +1, -3 and even at the 72-par course.
Freshman Leonardo Novella tied for fifth with a 215 three-day score and graduate Alex Summers, after shooting a 76 in round one, shot a -2 and even to finish tied for ninth.
Graduate Euan Gill and freshman Rhaasrikanesh Kanavathi tied for 17th and 29th, respectively, in the field of 55.
Men’s Soccer (4-0-2, 4-0-2)
- Friday afternoon 3-1 victory vs. Air Force
The Vaqueros remain unbeaten as senior forward William Akio and junior forward Reshaun Walkes found the back of the net in the 38th, 62nd and 81st minute.
Akio notches his third multi-goal performance of the season with his fifth and sixth goals to lead the WAC in goals (6) and points (13).
Women’s Soccer (8-5-2, 5-5-1)
- Thursday night 1-0 victory vs. California Baptist University
The Vaquero freshman duo of forward Mari Liis Lillemae and goalkeeper Macie Blohowiak stood out in the hard-fought victory against the WAC-leading Lancers.
Lillemae scored her first goal as a Vaquero in the 84th minute off an assist from junior forward Emily Zapata and sophomore defender Shi’Anne Swift.
With junior goalkeeper Maile Lunardi serving a red card suspension, Blohowiak made her first career start making six saves, with one in the closing seconds to seal the win.
- Saturday afternoon 0-1 defeat vs. California Baptist University
The Vaqueros split the season series with the Lancers after giving up a goal in the 19th minute to junior forward Ari Coronado.
UTRGV only recorded one shot in the second half and were outshot for the match 8-14 but held the advantage on goal at 4-3.
Men’s Tennis (3-14, 0-2)
- Friday afternoon WAC Cluster 3-4 defeat vs. Seattle U in Phoenix
In the first conference match of the season, the Vaqueros were able to take a victory in doubles with sophomore Te Kani Williams and senior Mateo Schmit before surrendering the first point by taking losses on court No. 1 and 3.
Despite playing shorthanded and losing by default on court No. 5 and 6 to trail 0-3, the Vaqueros picked up victories with junior Carlo Izurieta, sophomore Samuel de Felipe Garcia and Williams before surrendering the clinching point on court four.
- Saturday afternoon WAC Cluster 0-7 defeat vs. New Mexico State in Phoenix
The Vaqueros once again competed shorthanded and defaulted on three points as they were swept by the Aggies.
The lone victory of the match came in doubles as the duo of sophomore Samuel de Felipe Garcia and junior Carlo Izurieta beat senior Nicolas Buitrago and freshman Jordy Visser 6-4 on court No. 1.
Women’s Tennis (3-10, 1-1)
- Sunday morning match vs. Houston
The Vaqueros matchday against the Cougars was canceled, according to a news release from UTRGV Athletics Saturday afternoon, due to expected inclement weather.
The match is set to be rescheduled for 9 a.m. Monday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
- Sunday afternoon vs. Houston
The Vaqueros matchday against the Cougars was canceled, according to a news release from UTRGV Athletics Saturday afternoon, due to expected inclement weather.
The match is set to be rescheduled for noon Monday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
Men’s Track and Field
- Four first place, two second place and seven third place finishes at the Victor Lopez Classic in Houston
The team of junior Mariano Hernandez, junior Max Carmona, freshman Jermarrion Stewart and graduate Yariel Matute placed first in the 4×400 meter relay with a time of 3:18.52.
Matute would also place third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.75.
Graduate Paul May took home a pair of first place finishes by setting a program record in the shot put with a distance of 17.80m and in the discus with a throw of 51.47m. May also place third with a hammer throw of 56.79m.
In the discus event, freshman Michael Campbell placed second with a distance of 49.69m.
The Vaqueros also placed first and third with a time of 1:52.65 for Carmona and 1:53.40 for graduate Ricardo Mendoza, respectively, in the 800-meter run.
In the 400-meter hurdles, graduate Wes Franklin placed second with a time of 54.12 and right behind him in third was junior Roel Renteria with a time of 54.96.
Junior Harry Barthelemy set a new program record in the triple jump with a mark of 15.39m for a third-place finish.
In the high-jump, sophomore Noah Trevino placed third by clearing 1.92m.
Senior Abraham Chirchir would round out the day for the Vaqueros with a time of 14:47.79 in the 5,000-meter run for a third-place finish.
Women’s Track and Field
- Five first place, two second place and five third place finishes at the Victor Lopez Classic in Houston
Junior Alexandria Hurst set the program record with a throw of 16.04m in the shot put event for a first place finish. Hurst also placed third in the discus with a distance of 45.41m.
Graduate Desirea Buerge came in first in the discus with a mark of 50.60m and placed third in the shot put with a toss of 14.69m.
The Vaqueros also picked up a first-place finish on the field with a 1.71m mark high jump from graduate Aviana Goode. She also won on the track, topping the podium in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.02.
In the long jump, junior Zarrey Sams earned a second-place finish with a distance of 5.89m. Sams would also record a time of 12.25, good for third place, in the 100-meter dash.
Freshman Josefine Eriksen placed first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.16.
UTRGV placed second in the 200-meter dash with a 24.62 time from sophomore Tamara Woodley.
In the 4×400-meter relay, the team of Eriksen, sophomore Diamond Lilly, junior Natalie Garza and Woodley would finish in third with a time of 3:52.93.
Lastly, freshman Samantha Garza finished her 5,000-meter run in 18:07.04 for third place.
Volleyball (2-14, 2-12)
- Monday night 0-3 defeat vs. Tarleton in Stephenville, Texas
The Vaqueros struggled on the attack as they hit .052% for the game being swept in straight sets by the Texans (17-25, 15-25, 13-25).
Outside hitters junior Yasmim Da Silva and sophomore Victoire Nama finished the game with eight kills each.
- Tuesday night 1-3 defeat vs. Tarleton in Stephenville, Texas
After dropping the first set, the Vaqueros battled in a back-and-forth second frame, killing at a .313% rate to take the second set to even the match.
The Texans then proceeded to take the third and fourth sets to close out the regular season on a winning note (25-14, 25-27, 16-25, 15-25).
In a season that has seen this UTRGV squad battle through lack of practices, injuries and brutal back-to-backs, the program finishes with its worst win percentage since the 1992 season when the team went 1-27.
Twitter: @Radio_Rubio
