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For Immediate
Release: Sunday, March 2, 2003 ISLANDERS DOWN BRONCS EDINBURG, TX-Texas A&M-Corpus Christi took an early lead and held off a late rally to defeat The University of Texas-Pan American's baseball team, 7-3, at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium Sunday afternoon. The Broncs scored early, then fell behind, 7-2, before rallying for a run in the eighth inning and falling short. Texas-Pan American had their best chance to rally in the bottom of the eighth inning. Sophomore catcher Matt Eichel (Grapevine, TX/Grapevine HS) drew a walk from the second Islander pitcher, Mike Garcia, and advanced to second on a single by freshman left fielder Louie Alamia (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North HS). Junior third baseman Matt Sisk (Fort Worth, TX/Arlington Heights HS/New Mexico) singled to left to load the bases. Sophomore pinch-hitter Juan Saenz (Mission, TX/Mission HS) greeted reliever Jorge Huerta with a sacrifice fly to left field, but freshman second baseman T.J. Gilmer (Forney, TX/Forney HS) flied to center and senior right fielder Jerome McCoy (Fort Worth, TX/Eastern Hills HS/Northeast CC) grounded out to end the inning and the threat. The Broncs took the lead in the bottom of the first inning. Senior designated hitter Bruce Kennedy (Mansfield, TX/Mansfield HS/Northeast CC) led off with a triple to right field, and scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore shortstop Marco Garza (Mission, TX/Sharyland HS). The Islanders took the lead for good in the third. Left fielder Michael Schlekewy singled home Jaime Landin, who had reached on an infield hit, and first baseman Humberto Aguilar followed with a three-run home run over the wall in right-center field. UTPA countered in the fifth. With one out, Garza doubled, and came home on a single to right by sophomore first baseman Tony Ortiz (Fort Worth, TX/Nolan HS). TAMU-CC extended their lead in the sixth. With one out, designated hitter Bobby Mora drew a walk against Bronc starter Ben DiOrio (Canon City, CO/Canon City HS/Seward County CC). Third baseman James Garner reached on Gilmer's error, and center fielder Michael Bruner singled to right to load the bases. Senior righthander Travis Parker (Brownsville, TX/Hanna HS/UT-Brownsville) relieved and Landin bunted, but Eichel threw wildly in an attempt to get an out at home plate, and two runs scored. Shortstop Hector Garanzuay followed with a single to center to score Bruner, but Bronc center fielder Jonathan Mason (So. San Antonio, TX/Jay HS) threw out Landin at the plate to prevent another run from scoring. "We didn't play good fundamental baseball today," said UTPA Head Coach Willie Gawlik. "We didn't get a bunt down when we should have, we didn't hit with runners in scoring position, and our hitters had a lot of strikeouts and pop-ups. We depend on our speed, so popping up when we have runners in scoring position isn't going to help us. We did win two out of three ballgames this weekend from a pretty good team, so that's something positive that we can build on." TAMU-CC starter Jimmy Hamon, who allowed two runs in five innings, earned the victory and improved to 3-1. DiOrio took the loss and fell to 2-1, while Huerta earned his second save of the season. The Broncs dropped to 9-8 with the defeat, while the Islanders improved to 8-4. Texas-Pan American will return to action when they host the Reynosa Broncos in an exhibition game Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. BA-33-03030203 |