Feb. 27, 2009

Baseball season is in full swing as the Broncs opened at home with the Al Ogletree Classic this Friday (Feb. 27) as they played host to Illinois and suffered an 8-0 setback at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium.

"They gave really good effort, but we are just killing ourselves in the beginning. We have a lot of work to do but we spoke to the guys about being competitive and making sure they work hard to make themselves better," said head coach Manny Mantrana.

The Broncs got off on a bad start as starting pitcher Scott Wingo (0-1), who received the loss for the contest, gave up four runs in the first. Wingo was relieved by sophomore David De Leon who pitched for four and two-third innings.

De Leon gave up two runs in his time on the mound while striking out two batters faced along with five hits.

Illinois collected their last two runs of the game in the seventh to shutout the Broncs.

Right-fielder Ryan Vest and shortstop Andrew Perez both were 1-for-3 with one double respectively.

The Illini's Pete Cappetta finished tonight's contest with a perfect 2-for-2 while driving in one run along with two runs.

The Broncs continue day two of the Al Ogletree Classic on Saturday, Feb. 28 as they face UT-Arlington at 7:00 p.m. The first game on day two will be begin at 3:00 p.m. with Illinois and SFA facing off.

UTPA Sports Information