UTRGV baseball beats up Rice on the road

HOUSTON – The UTRGV baseball team, which is receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association polls for the fourth week in a row, set program records for runs scored and scoring margin against historic powerhouse rice to beat the Owls 20-5 on Wednesday at Reckling Park.

The 20 runs are the most the Vaqueros (20-8) have ever scored against the Owls (7-24), breaking the previous record of 14 accomplished in a road win on Feb. 23, 1990.

The last time UTRGV scored 20 runs in a game was April 4, 2023, a 20-2, 7-inning home win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

The last time UTRGV scored 20 or more runs in a road game was May 4, 2019, a 21-11, 8-inning win at New Mexico State.

The 15-run margin of victory is the largest ever by the Vaqueros against the Owls, breaking the previous record of nine from May 3, 1990 in a 9-0 home win.

The last time UTRGV won a game by at least 15 runs was April 28, 2024, a 16-0, 7-inning home victory over Stephen F. Austin.

The last time UTRGV won a road game by at least 15 runs was May 19, 2023, a 16-1, 7-inning victory at Stephen F. Austin.

The Vaqueros are tied for the ninth-best start in program history and off to their best start since 2012 (21-7).

Hitting cleanup for the first time in his career, senior Hank Warren posted his third-straight 3-hit game, going 3-for-4 with a career-high three walks, a career-high tying three RBI and a career-high three runs scored. Warren is 9-for-11 (.818) over the last three games. Graduate student PSJA alum Jacob Sanchez finished a career-high 4-for-6 with a career-high tying two doubles, season-high three RBI and two runs scored. Junior Thomas Williams went a career-high 4-for-5 with two doubles and a career-high three runs scored. Sophomore Armani Raygoza went 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, three RBI and a career-high tying three runs scored. Junior Rene Galván finished 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, a career-high five RBI and a run scored.

The Owls scratched across a run with two outs and two strikes in the first on a Tobias Motley RBI-single.

The Vaqueros got that run back in the second. Warren and Galván walked and then Sanchez hit a game-tying single.

Junior Sharyland alum Kike Cienfuegos (1-0) followed that up by returning to the mound in the second and striking out the side in a 1-2-3 inning, part of a string of 11-straight batters retired by Cienfuegos.

While earning his first-career win, Cienfuegos pitched a career-high 5.0 innings, scattering four hits and one walk while striking out a career-high five.

In the fourth, Sanchez doubled and Williams singled to knock out Nolan Roycraft (0-2). One out later, freshman Cameron Carter hit an RBI-single. Graduate student Vela alum Isaac Lopez followed with a walk to load the bases. Then, with two outs, Raygoza hit a bases-clearing double. Warren capped the inning with an RBI-single to put the Vaqueros up 6-1.

Carter drove-in another run with two outs in the fifth, hitting a groundball to bring in Williams from third to make the score 7-1.

The Vaqueros put runners on the corners to start the sixth, setting up a Warren RBI-single and a sacrifice fly by Galván. Two batters later, with runners at second and third and two outs, sophomore Vela alum Rudy Gonzalez hit an RBI-single to put the Vaqueros up 10-1.

The Owls got three back in the bottom of the inning on two-out RBI-singles by Jacob Devenny and Colin Robson and then a throwing error that allowed Devenny to score after a double-steal to make the score 10-4.

The Vaqueros plated 10 runs in the seventh inning, marking their third 10+ run inning of the season. The Vaqueros loaded the bases with nobody out. Lopez scored on a wild pitch. Warren walked to re-load the bases and then Galván and Sanchez hit back-to-back 2-run doubles. Three batters later, with the bases loaded and one out, Lopez hit an RBI-single and Moomau drew a run-scoring walk. One out later, Warren walked to force-in a run and Galván hit a 2-run single to cap the inning with the Vaqueros up 20-4.

The Owls completed the scoring in the bottom of the inning on a Barrett Eldridge RBI-single.

UTRGV opens a three-game series at Northwestern State Friday at 6:30 p.m. Fans can watch domestically on ESPN+ or internationally via Southland International.

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