Nolan Naranjo 2 2-28-12
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Nolan Naranjo

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Baseball Returns to Action Against Northern Colorado Saturday

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Game Notes

EDINBURG, Texas -- The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs baseball team (26-15, 13-7 Great West Conference) returns home for the first time since April 17 to open up a four-game series against the University of Northern Colorado Bears (22-25, 12-8 GWC) with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.

Game one is scheudled to last seven innings while game two is scheduled to last the full nine.

The Broncs will be hosting a blood drive from 12:00-to-3:30 p.m. at Edinburg Baseball Stadium in honor of Nolan Naranjo, a young boy from Brownsville with a rare bone marrow disease known as Aplastic Anemia.

All donors will receive a free ticket to the doubleheader.
 
Donors are reminded to eat a hearty meal in advance and to bring their photo ID. It is also important to stay hydrated before donating. United Blood Services will have free snacks and water for all donors. 

The Broncs and Bears occupy second and third place in the Great West Conference standings. With a sweep, the Broncs could clinch the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, depending on how NJIT and Houston Baptist do this weekend. A complete breakdown of elimination numbers can be found on page 39 of the game notes.

What You Need to Know
  • These are the 26th and 27th meetings all-time between the Broncs and the Bears in a series dating back to 2006. The Broncs have five wins in that time, four of which have come at home.
  • The Broncs last beat the Bears to win the National Independent Tournament, 7-4, on May 23, 2009 at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.
  • With 26 wins, the Broncs have their highest win total since 2000, when the Broncs won 31 games under Reggie Tredaway.
  • The Broncs are 18-1 at home this season.
  • The Broncs are 7-3 in game one of doubleheaders and 6-4 in game two. They have swept all five of their home doubleheaders.
  • This series was supposed to get underway on Friday, but due to severe thunderstorms late Thursday night/early Friday morning, the field was unplayable. The game will made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday.
  • Roger Bernal is sixth in the NCAA in hitting with a .420 batting average. Chicago State's Albert Carpen in fourth at .426 while Utah Valley's Goose Kallunki is 10th at .313. The Great West Conference is the only conference that boasts three of the top 10 hitters in the nation.
  • Roger Bernal has hits in 35-of-40 games, including 24 multi-hit games. He has had 14 two-hit games, seven three-hits games and three four-hit games.

NCAA Leaderboard

Individual Batting Average
  1. Ralph Rhymes, LSU, .497 (86-173)
  2. Danny Poma, Hofstra, .441 (90-204)
  3. Trenton Moses, Southeastern Mo. St., .428 (77-180)
  4. Albert Carpen, Chicago State, .426 (63-148)
  5. Michael Felton, Campbell, .424 (89-210)
  6. Roger Bernal, UTPA, .420 (73-174) (.41954)
  7. D.J. Peterson, New Mexico, .419 (83-198)
  8. Andrew Deeds, Morehead State, .418 (79-189)
  9. Thomas Brown, Grambling, .414 (67-162)
  10. Goose Kallunki, Utah Valley, .413 (78-189)
  11. Royce Bolinger, Gonzaga, .408 (80-196)
  12. Alex Yarbrough, Ole Miss, .404 (80-198)
  13. Jared Hammer, Hofstra, .400 (72-180)
  14. Brock Hebert, Southeastern Louisiana, .400 (74-185)
  15. James Ramsey, Florida State, .400 (68-170)
  16. Jayce Boyd, Florida State, .399 (75-188) (.39894)

Last Time Out

Broncs @ NJIT Highlanders (5/6/12)
  • The Broncs clinched their first winning season in 12 years with a 2-1 victory over the Highlanders. The Broncs last had a winning season in 2000, when they went 31-19-1.
  • It was the Broncs' third-straight one-run game and ninth of the season. The Broncs are 6-3 in one-run games this season.
  • Michael Zouzalik went a career-high 8.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits and four walks while striking out two.
  • Dylan Badura recorded the final two outs for his first-career save.
  • Roger Bernal made his second start in the cleanup spot, going 3-for-4.
  • Shane Klemcke hit leadoff for the first time, going 1-for-5 with an RBI.

Next Up

The Broncs and Bears conclude this four-game series with a doubleheader of nine inning games on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.
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