Vazquez powers Vaqueros past Mavs in series opener

Junior Sharyland High alumnus Martin Vazquez hit a pair of no-doubt home runs to lead the UTRGV Vaqueros past the UT Arlington Mavericks 8-2 on Friday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg.

In his first-career multi-home run game, Vazquez hit a laser-liner 2-run shot over the left field wall in the third before belting a towering solo shot into the Vaqueros Performance Center construction site in the seventh.

Vazquez now has 10 home runs this season, tied for the 12th-highest single-season total in program history with Andy Atwood (2021), George Williams (1991), and Tommy Supak (1980).

Vazquez finished a career-high tying 3-for-4 with a career-high tying three RBI and two runs scored. Junior Steven Lancia went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Junior Erick Martinez finished a career-high tying 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Junior Edinburg Vela alumnus Isaac Lopez went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Lancia’s home run tied the game at 1 in the second.

The Vaqueros (15-12, 5-5 WAC) scored three runs in the fourth on a squeeze by junior Hank Warren, a Martinez RBI-double, and an RBI-single by senior Adrian Torres to make the score 6-1.

After Vazquez’s home run in the seventh, Lancia doubled and freshman PSJA High alumnus Julius Ramirez came up with his first-career hit, a pinch-hit RBI-single to make the score 8-1.

Graduate student Isiah Campa (2-0) made the runs stand up, pitching a career-high 6.1 innings of 2-hit ball. He retired the nine of the final 11 batters he faced, finishing with a career-high tying six strikeouts. He walked just two while throwing 64 of his 99 pitches (64.6%) for strikes.

The Mavericks’ (13-17, 8-5 WAC) run came in the second, when Ryan Ellis led off with a double and scored on a 1-out single by JD Moreno to make the score 1-0.

Senior Edinburg Vela alumnus Nico Rodriguez pitched 1.2 perfect innings of relief, striking out two.

The Mavericks added a run in the ninth on a one-out RBI-single by Ellis.

UTRGV and UT Arlington play the middle game of this 3-game series at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. It’s 956 Night. The first 1,956 fans through the gates will receive Puro 956 t-shirts. There will be best decorated sombrero and grito contests. Fans must bring their own sombreros. The top three sombreros and the top grito winners receive gift cards to Vaquero Outfitters

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at GoUTRGV.com/Tickets. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with their student ID.

Fans can watch domestically on ESPN+.

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