Feb. 11, 2007
Box Score
The University of Texas - Pan American baseball team found its offense in the final game of the Citrus Tournament to surge past McNeese State by a score of 9-7 at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium on Sunday (Feb. 11).
The Broncs finished the tournament with a 2-1 mark, improving to 4-3 on the season with the win over the Cowboys.
"The guys are playing hard and battling. When you do that, sooner or later things are going to happen. We had some big hits tonight, especially in the sixth inning when we had five hits. It was great to see us put up six runs in that inning," said head men's baseball coach Willie Gawlik.
Newcomer Cody Cisper (Peggs, OK/Northeastern State Univ.) started things off for UTPA by plunking the McNeese lead-off batter David Leatherwood who in turn stole both second and third bases before crossing home plate on a Taylor Faul single to left center, making the score 1-0 going into to bottom of the first inning.
The Broncs replied when UTPA lead-off man Roly Gonzalez (Miami, FL/UNC-Greensboro) made it to first base on a single to left field and proceeded to display his speed by stealing both second and third base before being plated by an Abraham Garcia (McAllen, TX/McAllen Memorial H.S.) sacrifice fly to knot the game at one run apiece.
The third inning didn't fair to well for the Broncs as the Cowboys scored two runs on four hits before freshman Bryce Smolen (Houston, TX/Lamar H.S.) had to enter the game to collect the final two outs to retire the side, putting the score at 6-2 going into the bottom of the third.
The UTPA offense warmed up in the bottom of the third stanza, but could only pick up one run on one hit and one error by its opponents while leaving one runner stranded on base to make the score 6-3.
The Bronc bats came alive in the fifth frame when they posted six runs on five hits and one error while only leaving one UTPA base-runner behind, putting the Broncs ahead 9-6.
Three Bronc batters posted RBI in the fifth inning in Patrick Brooks (Vallejo, CA/Santa Rosa J.C.) with one while Gonzalez and Osiel Flores () each posted two runs batted in.
Closing out the game for the Broncs was Ray Silva (Vallejo, CA/Santa Rosa J.C.) who pitched two innings only allowing one run in the eight batters he faced, and Steven Davila (Weslaco, TX/Weslaco H.S.) who picked up his second save of the season.
"Silva and Davila did a nice job for us. They came in and did what they needed to do to close out the game for us," said Gawlik.
Smolen earned the save for four inning effort in which he allowed four hits, three runs and one strikeout from the 18 batters he faced while opposing hurler Jona Conrad is pegged with the loss.
The Broncs return to action on Tuesday (Feb. 13) when they face perennial power house University of Texas with game time set for 2:30 p.m.
Oklahoma State vs. University of Illinois-Chicago
In game one of the final day of play at the Citrus Tournament, the Cowboys used a game-winning three-run homer by Rebel Ridling in the bottom of the seventh inning to move ahead of the Flames with the final score 8-5.
The Cowboys improve to 3-0 on the season while the Flames drop to 1-2.
IUC got on the scoreboard early to take a 1-0 lead when lead-off batter Chad Schroeder got on base when he was hit by a pitch followed by a Larry Gempp Jr. RBI single that drove him in.
OSU answered the call in its first at-bat of the game, scoring two runs on three hits while leaving two runners on base to put the Cowboys up by one with the score 2-1.
The Flames scored a run in each the third and fifth inning followed by a two-run sixth inning to reclaim the lead at 5-2.
Refusing to let the game get away from them, the Cowboys recorded a two-run sixth inning of their own to close the gap at 5-4.
The difference in the contest came in the seventh frame when Ridling hit a line drive home run over the leftfield wall, driving in Matt Mangini and Corey Brown with the score at 7-5. Ridling finished with a five RBI day and three hits in four appearances at the plate.
Cowboy closer Josh Neal (1-0) earned the win for his 2 2/3 inning performance in which he allowed just one hit from the eight batters faced.
Adam Worthington (0-1) of IUC received the loss after allowing the game-winning run on the seventh inning homer.
Cal State-Northridge vs. Lamar
Lamar earned a come-from-behind win on Sunday (Feb. 12) in game two of the final day of play at the Citrus Tournament against Cal State - Northridge by a score of 6-4.
The Cardinals jumped ahead early after scoring a run in each of the fourth and fifth innings to make it a 2-0 lead.
The Matadors responded with a run of their own in the top of the sixth stanza to close the gap at 2-1 before following up with a three-run seventh outing to take a 4-2 lead thanks to a three-hit, one error outing from Lamar.
The game was all but over going into the bottom of the ninth when the Cardinals reclaimed the lead with a trio of runs courtesy of a three-hit, one run inning from Mark Haderlein.
Haderlein (0-1) was tagged with the loss for his short stint in the eighth inning in which he allowed the winning after he walked Lamar catcher Jeff Vickers who would eventually score the game-winning run.
Cardinal hurler Brad Depoy earned the win for his two-inning effort, allowing zero hits while striking out two of the eight batters he faced.
UTPA Sports Information
