Socorro graduate Brandon Pimentel finds success at UT-Rio Grande Valley
Brandon Pimentel's college baseball career has been nothing but successful. Now he's trying to finish the final chapter of this part of his life with a strong postseason run.
Pimentel has been a leader UT-Rio Grande Valley, which begins play in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday against UT-Arlington at Hohokam Stadium in Arizona.
The 2018 Socorro graduate enters the double elimination tournament with a .401 batting average, 18 home runs, 69 RBI and a .488 on-base average. In two years with the Vaqueros he has hit a school-record 30 round trippers and his 18 homers in a single season ranks third highest in school history.
"All the hard work has paid off and I've enjoyed the process," said Pimentel, who plays outfield and first base. "I've been hitting the ball the past few weeks, I've just tried to stay within myself and be consistent."
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Pimentel was a Junior College All-American in his one year at Howard College, driving in 70 runs and hitting 14 homers. Then it was off to Mississippi State in the SEC where he started 13 games in the COVID shortened year of 2020 and in 2021 he was a reserve player on the 2021 national title team.
He transferred to UTRGV after the 2021 season and it was a home run fit for him and the team.
"It's been a great learning experience here and I've grown as a person and a player," said Pimentel, who helped the team to a 29-24 regular season record. "Being a part of this program has been a great experience and hopefully we can make a run in the WAC Tournament. We're playing good baseball."
The Vaqueros swept Stephen F. Austin over the weekend to earn a spot in the WAC Tournament. Pimentel is another in a long list of great Socorro High School players, who have achieved greatness in the sport. While at SHS, he helped the Bulldogs to two bi-distirct titles and an area title. Some of the greats in Socorro High School baseball history include Omar Quintanilla, Cory Falvey, Kyle Anson, Jesse Estrada, Lauro Felix, Ruben Felix and Albert Montes.
"To be part of the great Socorro history means a lot to me," Pimentel said. "There have been so many great teams and players that have done big things."
Pimentel isn't the lone El Pasoan on the roster. Former Americas baseball players Adrian Torres and Erick Martinez and Montwood graduate Bobby Loya have contributed to the team this year. Torres has four homers and 30 RBI, Martinez hit his first homer of the season against Stephen F. Austin and Loya has a win and 20 strikeouts on the mound. Two other Americas graduates, Armani Raygoza and Ruben Gonzalez are on the roster.
And more El Pasoans are headed to UTRGV, including high school standouts Orlando Samaniego (Riverside) and Easton Moomau (Americas).
"Having teammates from El Paso has been great and they've contributed in different ways," Pimentel said. "It's nice to see the El Paso connection here and to see others coming here in the future is a great opportunity for them."
Pimentel owns a Masters Degree in Finance Planning, but he hopes to play professionally after his college career is finished.
"I'm hopeful of playing somewhere at the pro level," Pimentel said. "That would be a dream come true."
Socorro baseball coach Joe Alvarez coached Pimentel in high school and isn't surprised by his success.
"Brandon is hard working and he wanted to play in college and be successful," Alvarez said. "He's a great example for others and what it takes to be successful. He's earned everything he's gotten."
More: Americas sees season end UIL baseball: Americas baseball season comes to end with loss to Byron Nelson
Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on Twitter
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Socorro graduate Brandon Pimentel finds success at UT-Rio Grande Valley
