Vaqueros rally to comeback in the 9th

Freeman the hero in walk-off victory vs. Cardinals

_{Senior designated hitter Jalen Freeman waves the flag for the Vaqueros after a 5-4 walk-off victory tonight against the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals. Abigail Ollave/THE RIDER}

The Vaqueros (11-8, 1-3 WAC) rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to come from behind and defeat the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals (13-6, 0-0 Southland) by a final of 5-4 tonight at the UTRGV Baseball Stadium on the Edinburg campus.

Senior outfielder Jalen Freeman was the hero tonight. The moment was his, as he hit the RBI double that ended the game and sent the Vaqueros faithful home happy. He came into the game in the sixth inning, pinch-running for redshirt freshman designated hitter Armani Raygoza.

Vaqueros junior catcher Steven Lancia described Freeman’s walk-off single as “clutch.”

“[Freeman] has been battling, trying to get on the field,” Lancia said. “That just shows who he is and that he’s gonna get it done for us at the end of the day.”

Lancia (3-4, RBI) would also have an incredible night at the plate. He tied the game in the fifth inning and came around to score the winning run in the ninth.

Lancia said his mentality was to keep the lineup moving when the team needed it most.

“I’m not gonna go out there and do something big when we still have three outs to get,” Lancia said. “I’m just passing it to the next guy, letting him do his job and we keep going from there.”

Cardinals junior right fielder Dalton Beck (2-4, two RBIs) had a great night at the plate for his team, coming through in a couple of high-leverage situations.

Vaqueros senior reliever Nico Rodriguez (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth to record the victory. Cardinals senior reliever Walton Wells (2-1) took the loss.

“Anytime you win at home, you’re happy because I think we need to win at home,” said Derek Matlock, UTRGV Baseball head coach. “I think this [ballpark] is our baby and we got a good crowd; thanks to the [Rio Grande] Valley for coming out. You could hear the energy and you could tell it’s gonna be hard to get outs in the bottom of the ninth.”

_{Vaquero junior catcher Steven Lancia takes a lead at first base to steal second during tonight’s game against the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals. Lancia finished 3-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored. Abigail Ollave/THE RIDER}

The Cardinals got on the board in the top of the first inning after loading the bases. Junior designated hitter Ryder Hernandez walked and forced in senior center fielder Cameron Caley.

In the bottom of the second, the Vaqueros took a 2-1 lead on a two-RBI single by Raygoza.

The Cardinals rallied for two in the top of the fifth. With two on and nobody out, Beck lined an RBI single to tie the game at 2-2.

With one out, second baseman Tony DeJesus lined another RBI single to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom of that same inning, Lancia tied the game 3-3 on an RBI single, scoring junior first baseman Martin Vazquez from second.

The Cardinals retook the lead in the top of the eighth, as Beck hit an RBI single to left, scoring Cameron Kaylee from second, making it 4-3.

Entering the bottom of the ninth down by one, Vazquez reached base on an error by Cardinals third baseman Weldon Sherrell. Senior outfielder Damian Rodriguez pinch-ran for him.

After Lancia singled to get aboard and with one out, junior outfielder Hank Warren hit a sacrifice bunt to score Rodriguez and tie the game 4-4.

With two outs and the winning run at second, Freeman blasted the first pitch he saw into center field to walk off the Cardinals with a final of 5-4.

The Vaqueros look to gain ground in the conference in their next series with a three-game set at home against Grand Canyon University. The series begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday.