For Immediate Release: April 6, 2002
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Director of Athletic Media Relations, (956) 381-2240

BRONCS EARN SPLIT WITH AGGIES

COLLEGE STATION, TX –The 100th career victory for The University of Texas-Pan American head baseball coach Reggie Tredaway is certainly one that he will remember.

His Broncs rallied to score two runs in the top of the sixth inning and defeated 16th-ranked Texas A&M, 3-2, in the seven-inning nightcap of their doubleheader at Olsen Field Saturday night.

UTPA trailed, 2-1, before rallying in the top of the sixth. With one out, junior designated hitter Skip Weast (Inola, OK/Inola HS/Crowder JC) led off with a single and moved to third on a double to left-center by freshman right fielder Tony Ortiz (Fort Worth, TX/Nolan HS). Senior third baseman Adam Farek (Crockett, TX./Crockett HS/Cedar Valley JC) singled up the middle, scoring Weast and Ortiz with the go-ahead runs.

The Broncs took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. With two out, Weast and Ortiz drew walks against starter and loser Ryan Warpinski. Farek beat out an infield hit, and Weast scored on third baseman Tim Petru’s throwing error.

Eric Reed led off the bottom of the first with a bunt single for TAMU and stole second with one out. Right fielder Neal Stephenson singled to right-center to score Reed. Petru hit a two-out homer in the second inning to put the Aggies ahead.

Sophomore righthander Justin Bogy (West Columbia, TX/West Columbia HS) allowed four hits, walked two and struck out five, pitching his second complete game of the season and improving his record to 3-2. Bogy retired the side in order in the sixth. He was charged with an error on Travis Wong’s leadoff pop fly that went off his glove in the seventh, allowing Wong to reach second. After a visit from Assistant Coach Johnny Johnson, he walked Ty Garner, but struck out Tim Petru and retired Erik Schindewolf and Cody Mavroulas on pop flies to end the game.

Warpinski fell to 1-2 with the defeat.

In the opener, the Broncs trailed, 6-1 entering the top of the seventh inning when freshman first baseman Carlos Gallardo (Mission, TX/Sharyland HS) led off by being hit by a pitch. Freshman center fielder John Lopez (Mission, TX/Mission HS) and junior second baseman Jerome McCoy (Fort Worth, TX/Eastern Hills HS/Northeast Texas CC) followed with singles, loading the bases.

Junior left fielder Bruce Kennedy (Mansfield, TX/Mansfield HS/Northeast Texas CC) then singled, scoring Gallardo and Lopez. Logan Kensing relieved Matt Farnum on the mound for the Aggies, and junior Jarrod Maddox (Houston, TX/Jersey Village HS/North Arkansas JC) pinch-hit and reached on Wong’s error. McCoy scored on a wild pitch, and Farek reached on an error, scoring Kennedy. But Kensing then struck out the side, fanning Weast, freshman catcher Matt Eichel (Grapevine, TX/Grapevine HS) and freshman shortstop Marco Garza (Mission, TX/Sharyland HS) in succession, preserving the lead.

UTPA scored their only other run in the fourth, when Eichel, Gallardo and Lopez singled. Designated hitter Rusty Meyer homered in the first for the Aggies, shortstop Matt Alexander walked with the bases loaded and Meyer followed with an infield hit in the second for two more runs, catcher Justin Pouk’s double produced a run in the third, Pouk singled in another run in the fifth and Stephenson doubled home a run in the sixth.

Farnum, who reliever started Khalid Ballouli after a three hour and 26 minute rain delay following the top of the first inning, earned the win, while Kensing picked up the save. Senior Frank James (Elgin, TX/Elgin HS/Navarro JC), who pitched the first five innings for the Broncs, took the loss and fell to 4-6.

“We played well the whole weekend, and we came back in the second game and battled, and scored some runs,” said Johnson. “Justin Bogy has really started to come into his own in his last four starts. Tonight, we got a couple of hits when we needed them, and, in the other games, they turned a bunch of double plays, and it killed us. Reggie has been saying all year that you have to pitch first, play defense second and hit third, and it all came together tonight.”

With the second game victory, UTPA broke a five-game losing streak and improved to 9-25. Texas A&M saw their seven-game winning streak end, and fell to 26-11. The Broncs will return to action when they host Texas A&M-Kingsville in a doubleheader Tuesday at 4:00 p.m.

BASETAMU23040602