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For Immediate Release: April 29,
2002 BRONCS,
INCARNATE WORD SPLIT
EDINBURG,
TX –The University of Texas-Pan American’s baseball team turned in a
strong performance in the first game of their doubleheader against
Incarnate Word at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium Tuesday. Unfortunately
for the Broncs, the Crusaders turned the tables on them in the second
game. The result was a split, with Texas-Pan American taking the first
game, 11-3, and Incarnate Word winning the nightcap, 8-3. UTPA
jumped ahead in their first at-bat of the doubleheader. Junior second
baseman Jerome McCoy (Fort Worth, TX/Eastern Hills HS/Northeast Texas
CC) walked, stole second, and scored on a double to left-center by
junior left fielder Bruce Kennedy (Mansfield, TX/Mansfield HS/Northeast
Texas CC). Sophomore third baseman Matt Sisk (Fort Worth, TX/Arlington
Heights HS/New Mexico) beat out an infield hit, and a sacrifice fly by
freshman right fielder Tony Ortiz (Fort Worth, TX/Nolan HS) made it 2-0. The
Broncs added three more runs in the second. Freshman center fielder John
Lopez (Mission, TX/Mission HS) beat out an infield hit, and scored on
McCoy’s homer over the left field fence. One out later, Sisk reached
on an error by third baseman Justin Kraweitz, stole second, and scored
on Ortiz’ single. UTPA
added six runs in their final two at-bats. Junior designated hitter Skip
Weast (Inola, OK/Inola HS/Crowder JC) led off the fifth with a double
and freshman shortstop Omar Pena (Mission, TX/Mission HS) walked.
Freshman first baseman Carlos Gallardo (Mission, TX/Sharyland HS) bunted
for a hit, loading the bases. Lopez walked to force in one run, McCoy
singled to drive in another, and Kennedy hit a sacrifice fly to score a
third. Ortiz
and Weast led off the sixth with back-to-back doubles. A fly out and a
walk left runners on first and third. Lopez singled home one run, and
Kennedy walked with the bases fill to drive home another. Senior
lefthander Frank James (Elgin, TX/Elgin HS/Navarro JC) made his final
start at home a memorable one. He pitched his fourth complete game of
the season, scattered eight hits, walked two and struck out seven in
improving his record to 6-7. John Ruebsahm (7-4), the first of four
Crusader pitchers, took the loss. Incarnate
Word had 13 hits and stole eight bases in the nightcap. Fikac stole four
bases and broke the Incarnate Word single-season record for steals. He
now has 33 stolen bases in 36 attempts. The
Broncs struck first in the nightcap, as Kennedy’s solo homer in the
bottom of the first gave UTPA a 1-0 lead. The Crusaders countered with
four runs in second. Two crossed on Krawietz’ two-run homer, his
second of the doubleheader. The other two scored on Fikac’s double.
Fikac singled home a run in the fourth, and designated hitter Jason
Pfluger drove home a run with a hit in the fifth. Singles by right
fielder David Gingrich and first baseman Will Carbonara drove home
UIW’s final two runs in the sixth. The Broncs scored twice in their
half of the inning on Kennedy’s single, Sisk’s RBI double and an
infield grounder by pinch-hitter Juan Saenz (Fr. Mission, TX/Mission
HS). Hector
Delgadillo pitched a four-hitter for the Crusaders, walking one and
striking out four to improve his record to 8-5. Senior righthander Jacob
Pierce (Longview, TX/Longview HS/Navarro JC), who made his first start
as a Bronc, took the loss and fell to 1-3. “In
the first game, we outpitched them and we out hit them, and, in the
second game, they outpitched us and outhit us,” said UTPA Head Coach
Reggie Tredaway. “It’s always easier to pitch when you’re ahead.
We got some runs for Frank in the first game, and he pitched well. In
the second game, we gave up eight runs and 13 hits, we made a few
errors, and we didn’t do a good job holding people on base. We’ve
got to become more consistent.” The
Broncs are now 15-32 after the split, while Incarnate Word is now 29-22.
UTPA will return to action in their penultimate series of the 2002
season when they visit Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday and Sunday.
The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday at
Islander Field, with the action both days beginning at 1:00 p.m. BASEUIW043002
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