EDINBURG, Texas - The Golden Grizzlies fell in the final game against UTRGV, 8-3, this afternoon at the UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (4-10, 0-0 HL) were led by Brandon Heidal who brought in two runners off a double, while Lucas Day tallied a pair of doubles. Both Trent Rice and Day led the team with a trio of hits as Brandon Decker, the teams starting pitcher, struck out three batters.
 
The Vaqueros (8-6, 0-0 WAC) saw Martin Vazquez drive in three runs off two hits as both him and Steven Lancia held a team-high of two hits. Six Vaqueros grabbed at least a hit as Zach Tjelmeland led the team with six strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched.
 
Brandon Decker struck out two of the first three batters in the bottom of the first and kept the Vaqueros hitless through the first three innings. Oakland nearly got on the board in the third as Trent Rice and Aidan Orr found themselves on the base pads, but Rice got caught stealing as the Vaqueros left the inning with no runs allowed. Although the Vaqueros were hitless through three, it still tacked on a pair of runs in the third of back-to-back wild pitches to go ahead, 2-0.
 
The Golden Grizzlies struggled offensively as the Vaqueros locked down to remain ahead. UTRGV forced three-straight outs in the fifth and proceeded to open the game up after a three hit, four run bottom of the fifth. A hit by pitch, followed by a bases clearing double, grew the Golden Grizzlies deficit to six. Time was starting to run out for an Oakland comeback as it was left hitless once again in the sixth, followed by a two-run triple by the Vaqueros to increase its lead more.
 
Lucas Day looked to start something for the Golden Grizzlies as he hit a leadoff single off a new pitcher, but couldn't beat out the throw to second on the next at bat for a double play, followed by a pop out, to remain scoreless with six outs to play. The following inning, Rice put himself in scoring position and 120 feet from home after a single and steal but was left stranded to force an 8-run comeback with three outs left.
 
The team started to rally in the ninth as Ian Cleary and Brandon Nigh singled, followed by a Lucas Day double off a full count to send Cleary home. With two runners in scoring position, Brandon Heidal answered the bell and ripped a double to make it an 8-3 ballgame. Jack Lux waited out a full count and walked his way towards first as both him and Heidal moved up a base off a wild pitch. The Golden Grizzlies needed a two-out rally to get things going but UTRGV forced the next out to grab the win, 8-3.
 
The Golden Grizzlies once again outhit the Vaqueros, 10-8, as neither team committed an error on the day. Oakland left seven scores on the base pads and tallied one more double than UTRGV with three. The Vaqueros struck out six total batters, while the Golden Grizzlies had five.
 
The Golden Grizzlies return back to Michigan for its home opener Tuesday as it faces off against Rochester Christian University, with first pitch from the Oakland Baseball Field set for 2:30 p.m.