The UTRGV baseball team welcomed 3,962 fans to break the single-season program attendance record, now at 46,395, while falling to the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 11-10 in 10 innings on Friday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
The previous program record, set last year, was 45,461 fans.
UTRGV is averaging 2,017 fans across 23 home dates. If that average holds, UTRGV will break the current program record of 1,920 fans per date set across 20 dates in 1972.
UTRGV has five home games remaining with tickets on sale at GoUTRGV.com/Tickets.
Friday’s attendance is the seventh largest for UTRGV since moving into UTRGV Baseball Stadium in 2002. Four of the top seven attendance marks for UTRGV at UTRGV Baseball Stadium have been achieved this season along with the 6,044 against UT Arlington on April 6 (second), the 5,374 against Utah Valley on April 13 (third), and the 4,313 against Grand Canyon on March 23 (fourth).
Graduate student CJ Valdez led the Vaqueros (19-18, 8-11 WAC) offensively by going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, a hit by pitch, three RBI and three runs scored. Senior Sharyland High alumnus Martin Vazquez went a career-high tying 3-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored. Junior Steven Lancia went 3-for-6 with a double and two runs scored. Junior Hank Warren drove-in a career-high three runs.
On the mound, senior Edinburg Vela alumnus Nico Rodriguez racked up a career-high seven strikeouts in 2.2 innings of relief.
The Vaqueros trailed 11-8 entering the bottom of the 10th before putting runners at first and second with two outs. Senior PSJA North alumnus Damian Rodriguez and Valdez hit back-to-back RBI-singles to bring the tying run to third before Kade Parker (1-2) got a groundout to end the game.
The Lumberjacks (7-35, 3-19 WAC) took the lead by scoring three runs in the top of the 10th against junior Aaron Sanchez (0-4), including RBI-singles by Hunter Presecher and Cole Hill and a sacrifice fly by Peyton Parker.
The Lumberjacks led 1-0 in the first on a 2-out RBI-single by Brock Knoerr.
In the bottom of the inning, the Vaqueros scored four 2-out runs. The Vaqueros puts runners at second and third, setting up a 2-run single by senior Adrian Torres. Two batters, later, with the bases loaded, Warren hit a 2-run single to make the score 4-1.
In the third, the Vaqueros put runners at second and third with one out, setting up an RBI-fielder’s choice by Warren.
Vazquez hit an RBI-single in the fourth to put the Vaqueros up 6-1.
The Lumberjacks got two back in the fifth on an RBI-single by Hill and an RBI-groundout by Peyton Parker to make the score 6-3.
The Lumberjacks scored five runs in the seventh on a game-tying 3-run home run by Colton Griffin and RBI-singles by Tom Biggs and Nolan Brown to take an 8-6 lead.
Valdez tied the game at 8 with a 2-run home run in the bottom of the inning.
UTRGV and Stephen F. Austin play the middle game of the series at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium for Bark in the Park. The first 350 dogs in attendance receive free bandannas. It’s also Scouts Night. Boy scouts and girl scouts plus their friends and families can purchase discounted $6 tickets. Scouts dressed in their troop uniforms will receive a limited edition UTRGV patch.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at GoUTRGV.com/Tickets. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with their student ID. All fans need to follow the clear bag policy, details of which can be found at GoUTRGV.com/ClearBag. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.
Fans can watch domestically on ESPN+ or internationally via WAC International.