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For Immediate Release: March 19, 2002 BRONCS, JAMES BLANK KANSAS, 4-0
EDINBURG,
TX –It would have taken a famous artist to craft a better masterpiece
than senior lefthander Frank James (Elgin, TX/Elgin HS/Navarro JC) did
in the baseball game between The University of Texas-Pan American and
Kansas Tuesday night. James
shackled the Jayhawks on five hits, walked none and struck out nine in a
4-0, complete-game victory at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium. He retired
the side in order three times, but permitted more than one baserunner in
an inning only more than once. That was in the seventh, when first
baseman Kevin Wheeler led off with a single, and advanced to second on a
hit by shortstop Brandon Shepard one out later. Freshman catcher Matt
Eichel (Grapevine, TX/ Grapevine HS) then pounced on a slow roller by
pinch-hitter Matt Van Alsburg and threw him out at first base, while the
runners moved up to second and third. James then struck out pinch-hitter
Travis Metcalf to end the inning. James
then retired the Jayhawks in order in the eight. Wheeler singled with
one out in the ninth, but Casey Spanish flied to deep center field, and
Shepard grounded out to end the game. Twelve
KU batters were retired on infield ground balls, one lined out to James,
and another was picked off by the UTPA southpaw. The Broncs recorded
only four putouts that were hit out of the infield, and one of those was
on a catch of a foul pop fly by freshman first baseman Carlos Gallardo
(Mission, TX/Sharyland HS), who leaned into the stands to retire
designated hitter Ryan Baty in the top of the eighth. While
James took care of the pitching, his teammates ably supported him at the
plate. Junior shortstop Jerome McCoy (Fort Worth, TX/Eastern Hills
HS/Northeast Texas CC) led off the bottom of the first inning with a
single, and stole second. Junior left fielder Bruce Kennedy (Mansfield,
TX/Mansfield HS/Northeast Texas CC) followed with a booming triple to
the wall in left center field, scoring McCoy. Kennedy crossed the plate
moments later on a sacrifice fly by sophomore shortstop Matt Sisk (Fort
Worth, TX/Arlington Heights HS/New Mexico). The
Broncs scored again after Sisk doubled to left to lead off the sixth. A
single by freshman right fielder Tony Ortiz (Fort Worth, TX/Nolan HS)
moved him to third, and junior designated hitter Skip Weast (Inola, OK/Inola
HS/Crowder JC) drove Sisk home with a sacrifice fly to the warning track
in center field. UTPA scored its final run in the eighth. With one out, freshman center fielder Jonathan Mason (San Antonio, TX/Jay HS) bunted for a single, then stole second and third. McCoy singled to left to make it 4-0. “Frank stayed ahead of the hitters, he had confidence, and he believed in what he was doing,” said UTPA Head Coach Reggie Tredaway. “He was exceptional tonight. He pitched well against Notre Dame, and he’s pitched well all year.” James
improved his record to 4-3 with the victory, while Chris Smart, the
first of three KU pitchers, was the loser and fell to 1-1. UTPA
won for the third consecutive time, and improved to 5-15. Kansas lost
their seventh game in succession and dropped to 10-7. The Broncs and Jayhawks will complete their two-game series Wednesday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium
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