First baseman Victor Garcia Jr. attempts to tag out Ben Haefner from the University at Buffalo Bulls during the game March 20 at the UTRGV Baseball Stadium. GABRIEL MATA/THE RIDER
You can’t win championships in the nonconference portion of a college baseball season. You can, however, create momentum and build confidence for a championship-caliber ball club.
That’s exactly what UTRGV baseball tried to create prior to WAC play. The Vaqueros owned a 16-8 record before conference play, while outscoring opposition 140-102.
On the pitching mound, the team has seen contribution both from starters, such as Carter Johnson and Andrew Garcia. Also contributing to a team 3.51 ERA is the bullpen. Austin Douglas, Austin Kufrovich, Luis Acosta and Zach Martinez are some of the strong relievers who keep teams from coming back.
“We’re looking for that championship at the end, that’s what we’re in it for,” Martinez said. “We don’t want to lose that last game of the season.”
He has made six appearances, throwing eight innings on his way to a WAC Pitcher-of-the-Week honor. The Vaqueros are 16-0 when leading after six innings of play.
“We train all week, all fall, pretty much just for that one moment, maybe for one batter,” Martinez said. “We’re there, we know what our duties are.”
Leading the offense again is left fielder and leadoff hitter Jose Garcia. The senior maintained a .405 batting average; he led the WAC in runs scored (27), total bases (54) and walks (24) during nonconference. As a whole, UTRGV was the WAC’s most patient team, drawing 136 walks, 34 more than second-place Seattle.
Speed and emphasis on manufacturing runs can be seen in the 14 sac bunts successfully laid down. Activity on the base pads has allowed 14 different Vaqueros to record RBI and six players had 10 or more.
“The chemistry is there. It’s just good how another teammate can come and pick you up when it’s not your day,” Garcia said, complimenting young hitters. “The new guys are just picking us up, the old guys. We’re not there and there they are; that’s the good thing about our team.”
Freshman Tyler Torres is second on the team with doubles, with eight, and sophomore Conrad McMahon has 18 hits and eight RBI.
Head Coach Manny Mantrana, who is in his ninth season, reached a milestone in the last home game before conference. He became the second coach in program history to reach 200 wins. He joked that he still has 900 games to catch Al Ogletree and his program record 1,084 wins.
He credited those around him for doing the heavy lifting.
“I am very, very fortunate, had some really good players, some good coaches and I’m blessed the good Lord has given me the opportunity to coach,” Mantrana said. “It’s an honor and a privilege. I don’t do much. The players do it and the assistant coaches.”
All of the Vaqueros’ wins so far have come at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. They are 16-4 at home. The team swept three series, against Texas Southern, Prairie View and Buffalo universities for four games.
Now they’ll move into WAC play, looking to do better than last season’s 10-14 record, which caused them to miss the conference tournament.
Seattle University was last year’s regular season champ but it was Utah Valley that came out of the conference tournament as champion. The Wolverines advanced to the NCAA tournament. That’s where UTRGV is trying to go, for the first time since the new university was established.
“Obviously, the boys are up, they’re confident. That’s always good when you’re going into any game but in particular the WAC. The WAC is really when our season begins. We’re heading in the right direction,” Mantrana said.
