|
For Immediate
Release: Saturday, February 22, 2003 BRONCS SWEEP ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO EDINBURG, TX-The University of Texas-Pan American's pitching staff piled up the zeroes Saturday evening. Bronc pitchers threw 15 shutout innings in their doubleheader against Arkansas-Monticello. The Boll Weevils scored in the top of the seventh and final inning of the second game, forcing Texas-Pan American to rally in the bottom of the seventh to earn a sweep of their doubleheader by scores of 15-0 and 2-1 at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium. Arkansas-Monticello's run in the top of the seventh broke a streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings by the Bronc pitching staff. Texas-Pan American's pitchers have yielded just 10 hits in their last 26 innings of work. UTPA junior righthander Ben DiOrio (Canon City, CO/Canon City HS/Seward County CC) limited the Boll Weevils to no runs on a single hit through the first six innings of the nightcap. He took a 1-0 lead into the top of the seventh, thanks to a run-scoring double by sophomore first baseman Tony Ortiz (Fort Worth, TX/Nolan HS) that scored sophomore shortstop Marco Garza (Mission, TX/Sharyland HS) in the third. Second baseman Nick Domenico opened the seventh for UAM with a single, advanced on a balk and a wild pitch, and scored when Ken Merrill singled to center. Merrill was caught stealing, but Justin Byrd doubled to center, and reliever Johnny Gibson (Jr. Sachse, TX/Naaman Forest HS/Collin County CC) got Clint Baxter to fly out to end the threat. Senior second baseman Jerome McCoy (Fort Worth, TX/Eastern Hills HS/Northeast Texas CC) led off the bottom of the seventh and was hit by a pitch from reliever Jason Johnson. He moved to second on a wild pitch, and Garza sacrificed him to third. Senior left fielder Bruce Kennedy (Mansfield, TX/Mansfield HS/Northeast Texas CC) drew an intentional walk, then stole second, forcing Johnson to walk junior designated hitter Matt Sisk (Fort Worth, TX/Arlington Heights HS/New Mexico). Ortiz then beat out an infield hit to shortstop to score McCoy with the winning run. Gibson improved to 1-1 in relief of DiOrio, who allowed a run on four hits in 6 2/3 innings. Johnson, who relieved starter Josh McClain in the seventh, took the loss and fell to 0-1. In the opener, sophomore lefthander John Lopez (Mission, TX/Mission HS) pitched seven scoreless innings to earn the victory, combining with sophomore righthander Juan Saenz (Mission, TX/Mission HS) for the Broncs' second shutout in a row. The Broncs scored once in the second inning when sophomore catcher Matt Eichel's (Grapevine, TX/Grapevine HS) sacrifice fly scored Ortiz, and twice more in the fourth on Eichel's RBI double and a run-scoring single by McCoy. Texas-Pan American broke the game open a few innings later. They scored three times in the sixth. McCoy singled home freshman Louie Alamia (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North HS), sophomore center fielder Jonathan Mason (San Antonio, TX/Jay HS) came home on an infield out, and McCoy scored when freshman second baseman T.J. Gilmer (Forney, TX/Forney HS) broke from second base and was caught in a rundown for the third out. UTPA added nine runs in the seventh. Ortiz doubled home one run, Eichel drove home another with a bases-loaded walk, Mason singled home a pair, McCoy drove home a run with a sacrifice fly, and Garza capped the inning with a two-run homer into the visiting bullpen. Lopez earned the victory in his first-ever start as a Bronc, and improved to 1-0. UAM starter Brandon Goswick took the loss and fell to 2-1. The Broncs improved to 7-6 with the sweep, while the Arkansas-Monticello fell to 4-5 with the losses. The teams will meet again in a single game Sunday afternoon. BA-28-03022203
|