Shane Truskolaski/UVU Athletics
Mike McCarthy (#29), Vincent Mejia (#16) and Angel Ibanez (#13)

Baseball

Broncs Face Northern Colorado in Must-Win Game Thursday

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Game Notes

Bracket

OREM, Utah -- The second-seeded University of Texas-Pan American Broncs baseball team (30-21, 16-12 Great West Conference) faces the fourth-seeded University of Northern Colorado Bears (26-32, 15-13 GWC) in an elimination game during day three of the Great West Conference Tournament, hosted by Utah Valley University, on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. CT at Brent Brown Ballpark.

This is the first of up to five consecutive elimination games the Broncs can play on the road to the championship.

What You Need to Know
  • The Broncs are 3-4 all-time in the Great West Conference Tournament, going 1-1 so far this year, 2-1 in 2010 and 0-2 last year.
  • Including their time in the American South Conference (1988-91), the Sun Belt (1992-98) and the Great West (2010-Present), the Broncs are 6-11 all-time in conference tournaments.
  • The Broncs were 1958 Co-Big State Conference Champions when they were still a part of the NAIA.
  • The Broncs have made 13 NCAA Tournament Appearances and one College World Series appearance.
  • Broncs head coach Manny Mantrana has led his teams to five conference championships.
  • This is the 30th meeting all-time between the Broncs and the Bears in a series dating back to 2006. The Broncs have six wins in that time, five of which have come at home.
  • This is the Broncs' third game against the Bears in Great West Conference Tournament play. Last year in North Dakota, the Bears eliminated the Broncs on day two, 7-5. The Broncs also faced the Bears on day two of competition in 2010, losing 10-0 in eight inning in Edinburg.
  • The Broncs also faced the Bears in the 2009 National Independent Tournament going 1-1 in Edinburg.
  • With 30 wins, the Broncs have their highest win total since 2000, when the Broncs won 31 games under Reggie Tredaway.
  • Roger Bernal is fourth in the NCAA in hitting with a .426 batting average. Utah Valley's Goose Kallunki is fifth at .425 and Chicago State's Albert Carpen is eighth at .416. The Great West Conference is the only conference that boasts three of the top eight hitters in the nation.
  • Roger Bernal is trying to become the fifth Bronc to ever hit .400 or better in a season. The last Bronc to do it was Garrett Blvone, who hit .428 in 2010, the second highest mark in program history.
  • Roger Bernal has hits in 45-of-50 games (89.8%), including 30 multi-hit games. He has had 19 two-hit games, nine three-hits games and three four-hit games.

NCAA Leaderboard

Individual Batting Average
  1. Ralph Rhymes, LSU, .470 (94-200)
  2. Danny Poma, Hofstra, .435 (97-223)
  3. Michael Felton, Campbell, .430 (101-235)
  4. Roger Bernal, UTPA, .426 (92-216)
  5. Goose Kallunki, Utah Valley, .425 (94-221)
  6. Trenton Moses, Southeastern Mo. St., .421 (85-202)
  7. D.J. Peterson, New Mexico, .422 (94-223)
  8. Albert Carpen, Chicago State, .416 (74-178)
  9. Thomas Brown, Grambling, .410 (71-173)
  10. Adam McClain, Memphis, .405 (89-220)
  11. Matt Honchel, Miami (OH), .400 (88-220)

Last Time Out

#2 Broncs vs. #6 North Dakota Fighting Sioux (5/23/12)
  • The Broncs fell to the Fighting Sioux 18-7 in a game that was stopped after seven innings due to the 10-run rule. The Broncs are 8-2 in games decided by 10 runs or more.
  • Vincent Mejia hit his first home run since April 14, also against the Fighting Sioux, with a two-run shot, his sixth of the season.
  • Luis Flores entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the first, stranded the bases loaded and retired the first 10 batters he faced as part of a 4.2 inning outing.
  • The Broncs scored exactly seven runs in a game for the first time this season.

Season Series vs. Northern Colorado

Broncs vs. University of Northern Colorado Bears (2) (5/13/12)
  • The Bears shutout the Broncs for the second day in a row, 4-0.
  • After leading the Broncs in complete games last season, Luis Flores made his first start of the season, pitching six scoreless innings before allowing four runs while recording two outs in the seventh. He allowed five hits while striking out three.
  • Jonathan Delgado had his best outing of the season, pitching two scoreless innings of relief.
 
Broncs vs. University of Northern Colorado Bears (1) (5/13/12)
  • In the Broncs' second longest game of the season, they fell to the Bears 7-5 in 14 innings.
  • Chris Torres recorded his fifth three-hit game and seventh of at least three hits, going 3-for-6 with two runs scored.
  • Hitting leadoff the first time, Will Klausing went 2-for-6 with two RBI.
  • Michael Zouzalik allowed just one earned run (four total) in seven innings, striking out six while allowing one walk and six hits.
  • Zach Zouzalik pitched 5.2 scoreless innings before allowing two runs while recording one out in the 14th.
 
Broncs vs. University of Northern Colorado Bears (2) (5/12/12)
  • The Broncs dropped a conference home game for the first time this season, 3-0.
  • It was the first time the Broncs were shutout at home since May 27, 2010, a game that was also against the Bears.
  • All three runs scored before an out had been recorded.
  • Jonathan Delgado pitched at home for the first time this season, recording two outs.
  • Batting second for the first time this season, Riley Goulding went 2-for-4 and was the only Bronc with multiple hits.
 
Broncs vs. University of Northern Colorado Bears (1) (5/12/12)
  • The Broncs scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to walk-off with a 4-3 victory.
  • The Broncs scored all of their runs in the seventh without recording an out. Mike McCarthy was hit by a pitch to tie the game and Riley Goulding hit a walk-off RBI-single.
  • Jonathan Sa pitched his third complete game in his last four starts, and second in a row, going seven innings and striking out five.

Next Up

The winner of this game plays the winner of the game between fifth-seeded Houston Baptist and seventh-seeded Chicago State in an elimination game on Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT. The winner of that game will then play the loser of Thursday's semifinal match-up between top-seeded and 27th-ranked Utah Valley and sixth-seeded North Dakota at 7:00 p.m. CT for the right to play for the championship on Saturday.
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