For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 12, 2003
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

BRONCS SLATE FINAL GAMES OF SEASON AT NMSU

EDINBURG, TX-After nearly two weeks of inactivity, The University of Texas-Pan American's baseball team will play their final four games of the season when they visit New Mexico State this weekend. The Broncs and Aggies will meet in consecutive day-night doubleheaders at NMSU's Presley Askew Field, with games scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. CDT both Friday, May 16th, and Saturday, May 17th.

The Broncs will take a 21-29 record into the NMSU series. They have been idle since dropping two of three games at Southeastern Louisiana May 2nd through the 4th.

NMSU is 38-14, and will end their regular season this weekend before heading for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament next week at Louisiana-Lafayette. The Aggies had a nine-game winning streak broken when they were swept at South Alabama last weekend.

"Due to exams, we've only had a handful of practices," said UTPA Head Coach Willie Gawlik. "We took off Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (today), and people could hit on their own. We'll take batting practice Wednesday, and we'll leave Thursday."

The time off has given the Broncs the chance to recover from some nagging injuries. "We've had a lot of bumps and bruises, and this may be the healthiest we've been in two or three weeks," said Gawlik. "We've had some time to heal up."

Texas-Pan American will have a formidable task this weekend. The Aggies are 27-3 at home, are ranked fourth nationally in scoring, averaging 10 runs per game, and are 10th in hitting at .333. First baseman Billy Becher has a chance to win the Triple Crown. He leads the nation with 27 home runs and 102 runs batted in, and is eighth in hitting at .432. Ten Aggies are hitting .300 or better.

"We'll approach it just as we approach any other games," said Gawlik. "We'd like to go to New Mexico State, play well, and finish off the season on a high note. You want to be able to play well late in May, and we want to do that this weekend."

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