The Vaqueros stormed out of the gates hot. They begin 2017 with a perfect 4-0 record after defending home field against Texas Southern University last weekend.
Newcomer and leadoff man Casey Danley was happy with the team’s play early, hoping they can ride momentum.
“I think we played really well,” Danley said. “We’ve been practicing a lot, we gelled well together. Hopefully, this keeps going.”
Sunday was the most dramatic contest. It took extra innings for the Vaqueros to prevail, but they did after a walk-off RBI single by junior Cris Castillo in the 10th. The final Sunday was 5-4.
UTRGV trailed 4-0 after two innings, but freshman Anibal Leal’s fourth inning RBI and sixth inning scored run shrunk the gap to 4-2.
Senior Jose Garcia tied the game with a two-run blast in the home half of the seventh. Garcia, UTRGV’s top hitter a season ago, recorded 10 hits and six RBIs during his 10 at-bats over the weekend.
The bullpen pitched 8.2 innings of scoreless relief after UTRGV starter George Lamb was pulled after a rough appearance (four ER, 1.1 IP). Senior Eddie Delgado pitched 5.2 innings and notched seven strikeouts. The winning pitcher was senior Austin Douglas, who pitched out of a bases-loaded, one out top of the 10th.
On Saturday, UTRGV exploded offensively during a doubleheader. In Game One, Jose Garcia’s cycle (single, double, triple, homer) was the exclamation point of the 12-2 thumping. The game only went seven innings due to the 10-run rule. Danley also hit a home run; UTRGV had four homers in the series.
In Game Two, UTRGV prevailed 9-0. Six different Vaqueros recorded a hit, including three players with multi-hit performances. Ivan Estrella led the team with three RBIs on the day. Iowa transfer Connor Grant recorded his first win after pitching six scoreless innings.
The season opener on Friday set the tone of dominance that continued all weekend. The third inning, where UTRGV put up five runs, was the turning point. That inning included a rare occurrence–three consecutive triples. Estrella started the parade; his triple brought in two runs. La Joya alum Leal followed up with one of his own, bringing in Estrella. Then it was catcher Austin Oakes who brought in Leal.
It was Danley’s first game with UTRGV and he said the home dugout loved it.
“I’ve never seen that in my life before,” said Danley, who hit .600 over the weekend. “It was getting wild in there after that happened.”
Vaquero Head Coach Manny Mantrana repeated those thoughts as the veteran coach admitted it was a rarity. He credited speedy additions to the roster.
“In my entire coaching career, 21 years at the college level, five years at the high school level, I’ve never seen three triples in a row,” ninth-year coach Mantrana said. “In order to hit triples you need speed and, obviously, guys who can run a little bit more will do that.”
UTRGV hopes to continue a strong start as it hosts Prairie View A&M University in the Al Ogletree Classic. The series is slated to start 7 p.m. Friday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
At 6 p.m. Friday, UTRGV Athletics will unveil the Coach Al and Joan Ogletree Plaza in honor of the legendary University of Texas-Pan American coach.
