EDINBURG, Texas – With the game all tied up at 2-2 in the last of the 10th inning, UT Rio Grande Valley's Angel De La Cruz belted out a walk-off grand slam down the leftfield line to lift UTRGV to a 6-2 extra-inning win over Utah Valley on Sunday afternoon at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
 
With the victory, the defending WAC champion Vaqueros take three of four to claim the WAC series and improve to 16-17 overall and 8-8 in conference play. UVU falls to 6-23 overall and 4-12 in league play with the setback.
 
The Wolverines loaded the bases in the top of the 10th but couldn't push the go-ahead run across as UTRGV reliever Chase Bridges managed to escape the jam with a strikeout to send the game to the bottom of the 10th still tied at 2-2. The Vaqueros then quickly loaded the bases in the last of the 10th after the international tiebreaker runner on second base Coleman Grubbs advanced to third on a fly out and UVU then intentionally walked the next two batters in hopes of a double play ball with one out in the frame. But UTRGV's De La Cruz had other ideas as he delivered the walk-off grand slam to left to propel the Vaqueros to the extra-inning victory.
 
UTRGV struck first in the contest with a run an unearned run in the third and solo homer in the fourth from Andy Atwood to take a 2-0 advantage.
 
The Wolverines then responded with two runs of their own in the fifth to tie the score at 2-2. Following a one-out double Andrew Hacker, Garrett Broussard got UVU on the board with an RBI single to center to drive in Hacker and make it 2-1. After an error advanced Broussard into scoring position, Mitch Moralez then delivered an RBI single of his own to right to bring in Broussard and tie the game. 
 
UVU threatened to score in both the sixth and eighth innings, but both times the Vaqueros managed to get out of it. With two on and two out in the sixth, Tavyn Lords singled through the left side and Mick Madsen tried to score from second but was thrown out at the plate to end the threat that inning. Then with two runners aboard with two outs once again in the eighth, UTRGV reliever Deryk Serbantez drew an inning-ending flyout off the bat of Hacker to keep the game tied. 
 
The Vaqueros also threatened offensively in both the eighth and ninth innings, but UVU reliever Dylan Cook and the Wolverine defense managed to get out of each jam to send the game to extras. 
 
In the top of the 10th, Moralez was placed on second base to start the inning and Alexander Marco promptly drew a walk to put two runners on with nobody out. Kade Poulsen then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Drew Sims was then issued an intentional walk to load the bases with one away. UTRGV's Bridges then responded by getting a fielder's choice ground ball off the bat of Kyle Coburn to cut Moralez down at the plate trying to score for the second out. With the bases still full, Pacen Hayes then pinch hit for UVU but Bridges managed to strike out him out to send the game to the last of the 10th. 
 
The contest marked UVU's second consecutive extra-inning ballgame, as the Wolverines previously defeated UTRGV by a score of 6-5 in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday. 
 
Broussard and Moralez led UVU offensively on Sunday by each going 2-for-5 with an RBI apiece while Lords went 2-for-4. Atwood finished 3-for-4 for the Vaqueros with an RBI and two runs scored while De La Cruz went 2-for-5 with four RBIs and a run scored.
 
Starter Mason Gray pitched well for UVU on the day by striking out seven and giving up just one earned run (two total) on four hits in 6.0 innings of work. The reliever Cook then came on and too had a strong outing for the Wolverines by tossing over three innings of scoreless relief before giving up the 10th-inning grand slam. Cook suffered the loss to drop to 0-1 on the year while UTRGV's Bridges earned the win to improve to 4-1. 
 
The Wolverines will now return home to welcome WAC newcomer for a four-game league series to UCCU Ballpark next weekend, April 16-18. The series will begin on Friday at 6 p.m.