Victoria Gonzalez | Vaquero Radio
UTRGV Baseball fans stayed at the edge of their seats as the Vaqueros pulled off a close 5-4 win against the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals Tuesday at home.
The Vaqueros were tied 3-3 in the fifth inning after an RBI single from junior catcher Steven Lancia. Lancia described how he felt trying to keep the team moving toward victory.
“Honestly, I’m just passing it to the next guy,” Lancia said. “Like, I’m not going to go out there and try to do something big when we still have three outs to get.”
The Cardinals, however, fought back. Junior outfielder/left-handed pitcher Dalton Beck hit an RBI single to put runners at first and second, putting the Cardinals ahead 4-3.
UTRGV tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth after a sacrifice bunt by junior outfielder Hank Warren to bring in senior pinch runner Damian Rodriguez.
Vaquero senior outfielder Jalen Freeman followed up by finishing the night with a walk-off single to grant UTRGV a victory.
Lancia said Freeman’s play was big.
“I mean, Jalen had to come up clutch there at the end, and I know he’s been battling, trying to get on the field, and that just shows who he is, and he’s going to get it done for us at the end of the day,” he said.
UTRGV head baseball coach Derek Matlock expressed how he felt after the game.
“You know, anytime you win at home, you’re happy because I think we need a win at home,” Matlock said. “You can hear the energy and you can tell it’s going to be hard to get out to the bottom of the ninth. We had a good night on offense. Overall, that was just a good night.”
The Vaqueros will begin a three-game series against the Grand Canyon University Antelopes at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
This is Victoria Gonzalez for Vaquero Radio.
