April 19, 2009

After trailing 5-1 in the first eight innings of play, the University of Texas-Pan American Broncs rallied in bottom of the ninth to score five runs to come from behind and defeat the Texas Southern Tigers 6-5 this Sunday (April 19) afternoon at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.

The win improves the Broncs record to 9-32 while the Tigers are now 16-21 for the season.

"We had some quality bats today in the ninth," said head coach Manny Mantrana. "Their pitching got a little tight in the end and we took advantage of it."

The Broncs remained scoreless in the first seven innings as they gave up five runs in three frames of play to give the Tigers a 5-1 advantage heading into the bottom of the ninth.

With one last chance to put runs on the board, the Broncs started the ninth with a double down the left field line by Jose Salmon. Jordan Rutenbar then singled to right allowing Salmon to cross the plate for the Broncs.

With another two runners on base, the Broncs forced the Tigers to pull starting pitcher David Arrendondo and placed Shawn Peoples, who was tagged with the loss, on the bump.

With bases loaded, Rutenbar scored the second run of the ninth on a RBI single to left by Ryan Vest. Garrett Bivone drew in the tying run for the Broncs as he singled up the middle allowing Bonham Hough and Jose Mendoza to score with one out on the board.

The Broncs then had one more chance to score a run as Abraham Garcia made his way to the plate with two outs on the board.

Garcia then singled to center driving in Ryan Vest for the winning run to defeat the Tigers 6-5.

In the rubber match against Texas Southern, Jose Mendoza went 2-for-4 with two runs and a double, while Ryan Vest added a 2-for-5 plate appearance with one RBI and one run. Anthony Garcia, who took the mound in the top of the eighth, snagged the win with no strikeouts and three walks.

The Broncs next host Texas-San Antonio on Tuesday, April 21 at Edinburg Baseball Stadium with first-pitch slated for 3:00 p.m. CT.

UTPA Sports Information