The Vaqueros took home their first conference win of the season on Friday night, taking down New Orleans 10-0 by run-rule victory.

The story of the night was the performance of starting pitcher Sergio Lopez. The Vaqueros ace pitched 7.2 scoreless innings and finished with 13 strikeouts in a dominant performance on the mound.

“What a start by Sergio Lopez,” Vaqueros head coach Derek Matlock raved after the win. “I’ve been doing this a long time, almost 40 years. When you have that kind of fastball command, that’s our pitching philosophy… This is how we pitch at UTRGV and he executed it just like he was supposed to.”

“I was trusting my defense, trusting myself, trusting the coaches; it was just a good outcome,” Lopez humbly added.

In addition to Lopez’s big night, 2025 Southland Conference MVP Armani Raygoza continued to shine at the plate. The Vaqueros slugger launched two home runs on the night, including the win-sealing homer in the eighth to end the game by run rule. Raygoza finished with four hits and four RBI in the victory. Rocco Garza Gongora was also stellar with three hits and an RBI in the win.

UTRGV will face New Orleans for the second game of the series on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. from Edinburg.