|
For Immediate Release: February 22 2002 BRONCS FALL TO ILLINOIS
EDINBURG, TX –Prior to Friday night’s baseball
game against Illinois, The University of Texas-Pan American Head Coach
Reggie Tredaway did not want his team to fall behind the Fighting Illini
early. What Tredaway feared came to pass, as Illinois
scored seven times int heir first three at-bats and went on to an 8-3
victory over the Broncs at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium. The Illini scored three times in the top of the
first. After a pair of walks, right fielder Joe Parenti singled home one
run, third baseman Luke Simmons singled home another, and a third scored
on the front end of an attempted double steal as UTPA junior catcher
Sean Flynn (Bradenton, FL/Bradenton Christian Academy) gunned down
Patrick Arlis at second base. Junior shortstop Jerome McCoy (Fort Worth,
TX/Eastern Hills HS/Northeast Texas CC) got UTPA on the board in the
first. He tripled down the right field line and scored on an infield out
by freshman left fielder John Lopez (Mission, TX/Mission HS). Illinois increased its lead in the next inning.
Center fielder Brandon Cashman singled, and second baseman Brian Raymond
and shortstop T.F. Meagher were hit by pitches to load the bases. First
baseman Andy Schutzenhofer walked to score one run, and Parenti’s
singled accounted for another pair. The Fighting Illini scored twice more, and took an
8-1 lead into the ninth before UTPA rallied. Flynn led off with a double
and was replaced at second base by senior pinch-runner Marvin Manns
(Okmulgee, OK/Okmulgee HS/Crowder JC). Freshman designated hitter Tony
Ortiz (Fort Worth, TX/Nolan HS) followed with a walk, and freshman first
baseman Chris Jones (Colleyville, TX/Colleyville Heritage HS) was hit by
a pitch to load the bases. Freshman Juan Saenz (Mission, TX/Mission HS)
bounced into a double play to score a run, and reliever James Morris’
wild pitch allowed Ortiz to score before reliever Josh Lane came in and
retired Lopez on an infield grounder to end the game. Lefthander Andy Dickinson, the Big Ten Pitcher of
the Year in 2001, allowed a run on five hits in seven innings to earn
the victory in Illinois’ first game of the 2002 season. Junior
righthander Travis Parker (Brownsville, TX/Homer Hanna
HS/UT-Brownsville) was the loser, and saw his record fall to 0-4. “You have to give their lefthander credit,”
said UTPA Head Coach Reggie Tredaway. “He threw three pitches for
strikes, and is a premier pitcher in a good league. We do have to be a
little more disciplined at the plate. Travis struggled early, and then
settled down, and I’m glad he was able to stay out there and gain some
confidence. After the second inning, we played pretty well. We’ve got
to show more discipline at the plate, and our pitchers have to do a
better job early in the game. UTPA
dropped to 1-8 with the defeat, while Illinois improved to 1-0. The
Broncs and the Illini will meet Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in the
middle game of the series. BBILLINOIS1022202
|