EDINBURG, Texas - The Golden Grizzlies nearly came back against the Vaqueros but fell late, 6-4, tonight at UTRGV Baseball Stadium
 
The Golden Grizzlies (3-9, 0-0 HL) were led by Ian Cleary who led the game with three hits and tied a game-high in RBI with two. Hunter Pidek struck out four batters and gave up six hits in 5.1 innings pitched.
 
The Vaqueros (7-5, 0-0 WAC) had seven players record at least a hit as a pair of players tallied two RBI. Two of the Vaqueros six runs came off home runs Tyler Valdez, the teams starting pitcher, struck out five.
 
The Golden Grizzlies got off on the right foot as Reggie Bussey got things started with a single, followed by a Cleary single, but the Vaqueros got out of the inning. UTRGV also tallied a hit in the first, but left its runner stranded. It was the Vaqueros, however, who struck first as it hit a leadoff home run in the second and followed it up with a single that drove in a pair of runners to take an early 3-0 lead.
 
The teams went hitless in the third before the Golden Grizzlies answered as Brandon Nigh trotted to first off a walk. He eventually advanced to second off a wild pitch as Aidan Orr tallied the sole run of the inning after he smacked a double to left field to drive Nigh home. The Vaqueros, however, would keep pace with its three-run lead as it drove in a run off a single.
 
The Golden Grizzlies followed it up in the fifth as Sam Griffith singled to center and made his way towards second from an error. A two-out rally for the Golden Grizzlies nearly began as Cleary knocked Griffith home, followed by a Nigh single, but the Vaqueros got out of the jam with just one run earned. Each team was left hitless in its next at-bats, but the Vaqueros pushed the two-run lead back to three in the sixth from a sacrifice bunt.
 
There was no quit in the Golden Grizzlies though as it started another two-out rally as Trent Rice got things started. Cleary cleared Rice to go home after he sped to third on a triple to put himself 90 feet from the plate. With no strikes to spare, Nigh found a sweet spot and drove Cleary home as Oakland cut its deficit to one with two innings to go.
 
The defense came up big as it left the Vaqueros hitless in the bottom of the frame as Oakland was due up and loaded the bases with only one out. Oakland hoped to bring in some runners, but the Vaqueros got out of the inning unscathed as it forced the next two outs. UTRGV rang off another leadoff home run to make it 6-4 as Oakland had three outs to make a comeback. Cleary got on the pads off a full-count walk, but the next three batters were put away as Oakland fell to UTRGV, 6-4.
 
Both teams threw a trio of pitchers as the Vaqueros struck out eight Golden Grizzlies in total, as Oakland struck out five from UTRGV. The Vaqueros led the game in the home run category, while Oakland held the game-lead with a triple and a pair of doubles.
 
The Golden Grizzlies return to the diamond tomorrow (March 9) as it looks to even the series against the Vaqueros, with first pitch set for 2:00 p.m. ET. Tomorrow's game will be streamed live on ESPN+.