UTRGV rallies past SFA in front of record-breaking crowd on Selena Night

1 day ago 40

EDINBURG — A wise philosopher once said, “Anything for Selenas”, and for UTRGV baseball on Saturday, that meant climbing out of an early hole to rally past Stephen F. Austin for a 9-7 win on Selena Night in front of a record-breaking crowd of 6,537 at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg.

“Our offense came right back at them after giving up four and got us right back in the game. Harrison Thayer ran a long game and really saved our bullpen for tomorrow,” UTRGV head coach Derek Matlock said. “Thanks to the Valley for coming out and supporting us with that kind of crowd. That was big and we’re really thankful for that and it helps the guys play better.”

UTRGV (24-10, 15-5 Southland Conference) found itself in a 4-0 hole after the top of first inning but wasted no time in putting together a response. The Vaqueros answered with five consecutive hits to tie things at 4-4 after one.

UTRGV used a three-run fourth to pull in front 8-5 off a bases-loaded walk to catcher Steven Lanica, a sacrifice fly by second baseman Thomas Williams and RBI-single by right fielder Hank Warren.

First baseman and PSJA High alumnus Jacob Sanchez capped the scoring for the Vaqueros with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 9-5 game.

“Coach harped on putting on a show for our home crowd. The game is bigger than us. We have to do it for our fans because it’s bigger than the game of baseball — it’s for the Valley,” Sanchez said.

UTRGV freshman Harrison Thayer (2-1) took over in the second and pitched 7.2 innings of relief to pick up the win. The Leander alumnus allowed three earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

“It was a battle and a great team win. I can’t thank my teammates enough for thanking me,” Thayer said. “I think this shows the character of what we have and we’re always gong to fight back. We’re never out of it.”

Lancia, Sanchez, center fielder Cameron Carter and designated hitter Armani Raygoza all finished with two hits apiece. Williams led UTRGV with three RBI.

The Vaqueros will go for the series sweep against SFA (9-25, 2-15 SLC) at noon Sunday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg. There is also a Book Drive taking place and fans can receive free general admission by donating a book. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at UTRGVTickets.com.

The post UTRGV rallies past SFA in front of record-breaking crowd on Selena Night appeared first on MyRGV.com.

Read Entire Article