BOX SCORE

EDINBURG, Texas – The University of Texas-Pan American baseball team stayed unbeaten on the young 2011 season, pounding out seven runs in the eighth to blast past the University of Illinois Chicago 9-1 in the fifth game of the 2011 Al Ogletree Sunday morning at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.

The Broncs got on the score board in the first inning as Tom Sicking walked to lead off the inning and later scored on the Matt Salemi wild pitch to give UTPA the 1-0 lead.

Neither team was able to get a run across until the sixth inning when the Flames tied the game. Jason Ganek homered into the left-field bullpen with nobody on to tie the game at 1-1. That was he only run the Broncs would surrender the remainder of the game.

The Broncs re-claimed the lead in the bottom half of the sixth as Angel Ibañez homered to left off of UIC reliever Eric Wyman to re-claim the lead for UTPA at 2-1.

Timely hitting and three Flame errors resulted in a seven run eighth for the Broncs. Ibañez and Bernal reached to lead off the inning on a single and throwing error respectively. Following a Vinnie Mejia intentional walk, Stuart MacInnes lined the 2-2 Ganek offering to right, scoring Ibañez, making the score 3-1 UTPA. The next batter up was Mike McCarthy doubled over the head of the left fielder to drive in a pair and push the game out of reach at 5-1.

Junior right-hander Jonathan Sa (W, 1-0) battled for seven strong innings of one-run ball striking out four Flames earned the victory. Arnoldo Franco pitched a pair of scoreless innings, striking out two for his first save of the season. Wyman took the loss for the Flames allowing the go-ahead run in his only inning of work in the sixth. UIC starter Matt Salemi pitched five innings and allowed one earned with a trio of walks and a pair of strikeouts in his first start of the season.