Austin, TX
Baseball Knocks Off (RV) Texas for First Time in 53 Years – UTRGV Athletics
AUSTIN – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros baseball team scored in each of the first eight innings to beat the Texas Longhorns, a team receiving votes in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll, for the first time since 1971, 17-9 on Tuesday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
History
The win snaps a 48-game losing streak for the UTRGV (18-15) against Texas (22-16). The last time UTRGV beat Texas was in the 1971 NCAA District Championships, winning game one 1-0 and game two 4-0.
This is UTRGV’s second-ever true road win against Texas, and first since May 30, 1968, a 2-1, 10-inning victory in game two of the NCAA District Championships. UTRGV had lost 44-straight road games against Texas since then, including its first 39 games at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
The 17 runs are the most ever scored by UTRGV against Texas. The previous record was 12, set on May 27, 1973.
This is UTRGV’s largest-ever margin of victory over Texas, with the previous record being four on May 22, 1971.
This is UTRGV’s highest-scoring output since dropping 20 runs on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on April 4, 2022 at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
Celebratory Ticket Offer and T-Shirt Giveaway
In celebration of this historic victory, UTRGV is offering fans the chance to purchase a package containing ticket to all four of next week’s home games for just $20 at GoUTRGV.com/WeBeatTexas. The ticket package includes games against No. 24 Lamar on Monday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m. and the 3-game series against Stephen F. Austin on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m., as well as Sunday, April 28 at 12 p.m.
The first 1,000 fans in attendance at the 6:30 p.m. game against Stephen F. Austin on Friday, April 26 will receive commemorative t-shirts celebrating UTRGV’s historic victory over Texas.
Climbing the Home Run List
Junior Sharyland alum Martin Vazquez hit his 12th and 13th home runs of the season, including a solo shot in the first to put the Vaqueros up 1-0 and a solo shot in the third to put the Vaqueros up 3-1. Vazquez is now sixth in single-season program history, passing Brandon Pimentel (2022), Andy Ness (1999), Rafael Barbosa (1983), and Bobby Joe Williams (1983), all of whom hit 12.
While posting his second-multi home run game of the season, Vazquez finished 2-for-5 with a walk, three RBI and two runs scored.
Big Day for CJ
Graduate student CJ Valdez went a career-best 5-for-6 with a season-high two doubles, an RBI, and a career-high four runs scored.
How it Happened
Jared Thomas (0-1), who started the game for the Longhorns, gave up Vazquez’s first home run and then responded by hitting a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first against junior Francisco Hernandez (3-3) to tie the game.
The Vaqueros got that run back in the second, loading the bases with two outs to knock out Thomas. Senior Kade Yorkfollowed by getting hit by a pitch to force-in a run, making the score 2-1.
After Vazquez’s second home run, the Vaqueros loaded the bases with two outs, setting up freshman Evan Janner‘s first-career RBI on a bases-loaded walk to make the score 4-1.
In the fourth, the Vaqueros put runners on the corners with one out, setting up an RBI-single by freshman Armani Raygoza and a Valdez RBI-double. Raygoza later scored on a wild pitch. Two batters after that, with the bases loaded again, York walked, senior Adrian Torres was plunked, and Vazquez walked to force-in runs, putting the Vaqueros up 10-1.
The Vaqueros loaded the bases against in the fifth. Janner was hit by a pitch and York walked to force-in runs. Torres capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to make the score 13-1.
Janner reached base five times by walking three times and getting plunked twice, driving in two runs and scoring one in his collegiate debut. York finished with three RBI.
Junior Vela alum Isaac Lopez crushed a 2-run home run in the sixth to put the Vaqueros up 15-1.
After the leadoff home run, Hernandez was dominant for 5.0 innings, striking out a career-high seven while scattering five hits.
In the sixth, Hernandez issued his first two walks to start the inning and end his night. A hit batsman loaded the bases and then Sam Ardoin drew a walk to force-in a run. Oliver Service followed with a 2-run double. One out later, Tommy Farmer IV hit an RBI-single, Jack O’Dowd lifted a sacrifice fly, and Porter Brown hit an RBI-double to make the score 15-7.
The Vaqueros got one back in the seventh, as with the bases loaded and one out, junior Steven Lancia hit into a fielder’s choice to score Janner, making the score 16-7.
In the eight, Valdez led off with a double and later scored on a wild pitch to make the score 17-7.
Senior Vela alum Nico Rodriguez halted the scoring by striking out a career-high six in a season-high tying 3.0 innings of relief.
Junior Jack Quinn struck out a career-high two in the ninth, giving UTRGV pitching 15 strikeouts for the game.
The Longhorns scored their final runs in the ninth on a 2-out infield-single by Service and a bases loaded walk by Farmer.
Next Up
UTRGV plays the first of three games at Tarleton State on Friday at 6 p.m. Fans can watch domestically on ESPN+ or internationally via WAC International.
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AUSTIN, Texas – State and federal agriculture officials said highly pathogenic avian flu has been found in a herd of dairy cows in Texas.
What we know:
Officials said the H5N1 virus was confirmed with laboratory tests in late May after cows at an unspecified farm became sick and milk production dropped. The dairy has since been quarantined and an investigation is underway.
This is the first case of avian flu in a Texas dairy herd this year, officials said.
What they’re saying:
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is confident that pasteurization is effective at inactivating H5N1, and that the commercial, pasteurized milk supply is safe,” officials at the Texas Animal Health Commission said in a statement.
A dairy cow is seen at a farm on June 1, 2026. (Tim Evans/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
Dig deeper:
H5N1 has a high rate of severe disease and death in animals that become infected.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk to the general public from avian flu is low. Some sporadic human infections have been reported around the world since 1997. There have been no known cases of person-to-person spreading of avian flu.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Animal Health Commission, the USDA, the FDA and the CDC.
AUSTIN, Texas — Self-driving cars have become a common sight on Austin streets, but a new Texas law is adding tougher requirements for the companies behind the wheelless vehicles.
Senate Bill 2807 imposes stricter rules on autonomous vehicle companies operating in the state, including state authorization, emergency response plans for law enforcement, and a public portal where residents can verify operators and file safety complaints.
The changes come as Austin continues to track incidents involving autonomous vehicles. The city’s autonomous vehicle dashboard shows 75 incidents in 2026, including a collision, eight near misses, and seven incidents of ignoring police direction.
Attorney Drew Gibbs, a partner at Slingshot Law, said one crash involved a Waymo vehicle.
“There was a T-bone collision. A pretty serious T-bone collision where a Waymo just crashed into the side of my client’s vehicle,” Gibbs said.
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One of the incidents of ignoring police direction happened during the mass shooting on West Sixth Street back in March, when three people died, and 15 others were injured.
Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said autonomous vehicles can struggle in unusual situations.
“It didn’t impede on anything in the moment, but it’s not necessarily uncommon where these vehicles don’t quite know how to deal with these one-off scenarios,” Bullock said.
The new law requires autonomous vehicle companies to be authorized by the state, to provide an emergency response plan for law enforcement, and to participate in a public-facing portal that allows the public to verify operators and submit safety complaints.
Kara Kockelman, a professor of transportation and engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, welcomed the added oversight.
“I’m glad that the state is taking this a bit more seriously now,” she said. “It’s important not to just let others slip in without kind of meeting those basic minimums.”
Bullock said the emergency planning requirement may not make a major difference in fast-moving situations. Asked how impactful it is to have a fully laid out emergency response plan, Bullock said, “These plans are great, but it takes time to work through all of those versus the immediacy of having someone behind the wheel.”
The four autonomous vehicle companies operating in Austin — Waymo, Zoox, AV-Ride, and Tesla — are all state-authorized.
The Texas DMV said an autonomous vehicle company can lose its authorization to operate in Texas if the agency deems the vehicles are operating in a way that endangers public safety.
Waymo was contacted for comment, but had not responded.
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson said Tuesday she will leave the post next month.
What we know:
In a statement, Nelson said her resignation will be effective July 17 but did not provide a reason for the departure.
“It has been an honor to serve the people of Texas in this role,” Nelson said. “My time as Secretary came at an important moment for Texas, and I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish as an agency in under four years.”
Nelson has served in the role since 2023.
Among other things, the Secretary of State oversees elections and business filings in the state and serves as the chief diplomat of Texas.
View of Texas State Senator Jane Nelson, during the 80th Texas Legislature, on the floor of the Senate at the Texas State Capitol, Austin, Texas, January 22, 2007. (John Anderson/The Austin Chronicle / Getty Images)
What they’re saying:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott described Nelson as extraordinary.
“I am deeply grateful for her long and loyal service and outstanding leadership. She has represented our state with grace and honor across the globe, and Texas is better because of it,” Abbott said. “Cecilia and I wish her all the best in the next chapter of her distinguished career.”
Dig deeper:
According to the Secretary of State’s office, Nelson has presided over seven statewide elections during her tenure with a cumulative 27 million ballots cast and broke a record with more than 3 million active business filers.
Nelson also served three decades in the Texas Senate, where she remains the longest-serving Republican in state history.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Secretary of State’s office.
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