April 9, 2010
Final Stats
A six-run second for the Northern Colorado Bears set the Broncs back for an 11-6 loss on H-E-B Night this Friday (April 9) afternoon at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.
Northern Colorado's six-run second was enough for Cody Plunk to be tagged with his second loss of the season. Plunk gave up eight runs, all earned, on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings of work.
Alex Carnall finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while Garrett Bivone added a 1-for-5 plate appearance with two RBIs, a run scored, and a home run.
"Our pitching wasn't on key today, but our offense was more alive. One bad inning can set the tone for the entire game, which affected us," said head coach Manny Mantrana.
"(Alex) Carnall is getting back into the swing of things and was a big contributor in tonight's game. Garrett's home run was also huge for us."
Friday's contest was the conference opener for both the Broncs and Bears, but along with it being the conference opener, tonight's game was sponsored by H-E-B. Noelia Romero, Director of Customer Service and Advertising, Eddie Ruiz, Central Operations Manager for Edinburg-Closner, and local managers presented Director of Athletics Chris King with a $5,000 sponsorship. In addition to the check presentation, H-E-Buddy was in attendance cheering on the Broncs and passing out present H-E-B promotional items.
UTPA would like to thank H-E-B for its continued support of over 10 years.
As Texas-Pan American saw themselves trailing early on, four runs in the third through fifth frames put the Broncs back on the playing grounds as UTPA trailed by four runs.
Garrett Bivone's two-run jack in the fourth lifted the Broncs spirits as they saw themselves behind by three at the bottom of the fourth. Bivone drove in Vincent Mejia from first after Mejia was walked.
Northern Colorado put up a three-run sixth to extend their lead to 11-4 and would be the final time the Bears would score for the night.
The final runs for the Broncs came in the eighth. Angel Ibanez scored on a throwing error by Northern Colorado's Casey Coy. Four batters later, and bases loaded, Ryan Vest scored on an Abraham Garcia fielder's choice.
Keeping the Bears scoreless in the final three innings of play was Doug Roth. Roth struck out the side in the seventh and struck five consecutive batters. In three innings of work, Roth gave up no runs, one hit, and walked one.
Northern Colorado's TJ Berge went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and one run. Starting pitcher Joe Sawicki notched his third win of the season in 6 1/3 innings of work on the hill. Sawicki gave up four runs on seven hits, while striking out five and walking four.
The loss drops the Broncs to 10-13 for the season and 0-1 in conference play, while improving the Bears to 9-15 and 1-0 in conference play.
The Broncs continue on with the weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday. Game one is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.
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