March 5, 2010
Final Stats
A late rally by the Bulldogs lifted LA Tech (7-2) to a 10-8 victory over the UTPA baseball team (4-2) this Friday (Mar. 5) evening at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium.
"No loss is fun, but it's these losses you learn from that will help you in the future. We fell behind early, but the boys were able to come back to tie the game," said head baseball coach Manny Mantrana.
Texas-Pan America was off to a slow start as they scored a lone run in the third on a ground out to second by Vincent Mejia driving in centerfielder Stuart MacInnes.
By the third inning, the Broncs had given up six runs and another two in the top of the fourth. Starting pitcher Scott Wingo retired after pitching a wild third inning and allowing four runs to score.
The Broncs spirits were lifted in the bottom of the fifth as Vincent Mejia homered to left over the bullpen wall to drive in Alex Carnall and Stuart MacInnes to make the score 8-4.
"Mejia's homerun changed the game for us. One swing and three runs to put us back in the game was big for us," said Mantrana.
UTPA was back in the game in the bottom of the sixth as the Broncs drove in two runs. On a single up the middle by Mejia, the third baseman drove in MacInnes and Jose Mendoza.
Down by two runs heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Broncs pulled through to tie the score at eight runs apiece. On a RBI single by MacInnes, catcher Mike McCarthy crossed the plate. Two batters later, Carnall drove in Bryant Elliot from second on a single to left.
The two runs forced the Bulldogs to pull Caleb Dudley on the mound and replaced him with Josh Barrett. Barrett was able to close out the inning on a fly ball to third.
With spirits high, the Broncs entered the ninth inning with left-handed pitcher Doug Roth on the mound. Roth faced two batters and gave up one hit in the ninth before being pulled out and replaced with Guadalupe Barrera with one out on the board.
Barrera gave up a triple which scored two runs for LA Tech and secured the win for the Bulldogs.
LA Tech's Mike LeBreton notched his first win of the season, while Doug Roth is now 1-1 for the season.
Stuart MacInnes finished the evening 2-for-3 with three runs and an RBI, while Vincent Mejia finished 2-for-5 with six RBI, a run, and his first homerun of the season.
The Broncs face the Bulldogs in game two of the three game series tomorrow (Mar. 6) afternoon at 6 at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium.
"We feel comfortable tomorrow night with Cody Plunk (1-0) on the mound. He'll keep us in the game and keep us competitive," Mantrana added.
UTPA Media Relations
