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For Immediate
Release: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 BRONCS OUTLAST BEARKATS, 3-2 IN 10 INNINGS EDINBURG, TX- Monday night's game between The University of Texas-Pan American's baseball team and Sam Houston State came down to a battle of wills. The Broncs held fast, came from behind twice and scored the winning run in the 10th to defeat the Bearkats, 3-2, at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium. The game was tied at 2-2 when senior right fielder Jerome McCoy (Fort Worth, TX/ Eastern Hills HS/Northeast Texas CC) drew a one-out walk against losing pitcher Dustin Craig. Craig fanned senior designated hitter Bruce Kennedy (Mansfield, TX/Mansfield HS/Northeast Texas CC), but McCoy stole second base. Freshman shortstop Marco Garza then got his second big hit of the night, a single to left field. McCoy arrived home at the same time as the throw from SHSU left fielder Keith Hodges via shortstop Jeremy Holzbach. But Holzbach's throw was barely up the line, and McCoy slid home past catcher Andy Kasparek with the winning run. "The stolen base was huge, because without it, we wouldn't have been in position to score the winning run," said UTPA Head Coach Willie Gawlik. "Jerome was coming all the way, and we were going for the win. In that situation, we were going to go for it, and the guy made a pretty good throw, but we got a favorable bounce, and that was the ballgame." Garza got his first big hit of the game in the eighth inning, tripling down the left field line to score freshman second baseman T.J. Gilmer (Forney, TX/Forney HS) to tie the score at 2-2. SHSU had taken a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth on a double by first baseman Jonathan Hamilton and Holzbach's single. The Bearkats grabbed the lead in the fourth inning when right fielder Jeremy Locke got his first of three hits, a two-out double to left field off starting pitcher Ricky Anderson (Corinth, TX/Lake Dallas HS/North Central Texas College). Hamilton followed with a single to left to make it 1-0. The Broncs tied it in the fifth. Sophomore center fielder Jonathan Mason (San Antonio, TX/Jay HS) led off with a bunt single, and Gilmer sacrificed him to second. Mason stole third and scored when catcher Andy Kasparek's errant throw sailed into left field. Freshman left fielder Louie Alamia (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North HS) recorded a hit in his 13th consecutive game. He doubled to left with two outs in the ninth, but was stranded. Alamia has now hit in 14 of the 16 games he has played this season. Anderson allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, his longest outing of the season. Sophomore Juan Saenz (Mission, TX/Mission HS) relieved and allowed a run in 2 1/3 innings of work. A pair of juniors, lefthander Tommy Sorden (Austin, TX/Bowie HS/Navarro College) and righthander Johnny Gibson (Sachse, TX/Naaman Forest HS/Colin County CC), finished up, with Gibson earning the win and improving to 3-2. Zach Adkisson started and allowed one earned run in 7 1/3 innings, and Craig, who finished, took the loss and fell to 0-2. "We were trying to get five or six innings from Ricky, then we went with Juan, and in the ninth, we went with Sorden and then with Gibson, according to the situation," said Gawlik. "Their starting pitcher did a great job. It was a great game, fate was on our side at the end." The Broncs improved to 10-11 with the win, while SHSU fell to 7-10. The two teams will conclude their two-game series Tuesday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium. BA-40-03031103
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