Box Score

EDINBURG – In his first start of the season, senior Kyle Tokunaga (1-2) pitched seven innings of two-hit ball to lead the University of Texas-Pan American Broncs baseball team past the Arlington Baptist College Patriots 5-2 in game one of a doubleheader on Saturday at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.
 
Tokunaga allowed a two-out single in the first, and then retired 11-straight batters. He struck out three and walked three while inducing 14 groundouts, two of which were double plays. The only two balls hit in the air were an infield pop out in the fourth and a lineout to left in the seventh.
 
The Broncs (8-7) gave Tokunaga all the support he needed in the third.
 
Senior Shane Ammon led off the inning with a flair down the left field line that was out of the reach of a diving Trevor Moon. The ball rolled down the line and Ammon motored around the bases for an inside the park home run, the first home run of his career.
 
Sophomore Jacob Huckabay followed with a single, and that set-up redshirt junior and Edinburg alum Lee Rios' first-career home run, a two-run shot into the Broncs bullpen beyond the left field wall, to make it 3-0.
 
Tokunaga walked the first two batters he faced in the eighth before giving way to junior Blake English. Kevin Schulz singled to load the bases and then Zachary Thompson grounded into a fielder's choice to drive in a run. English plunked Moon to reload the bases, and then Josh Eatherly hit a grounder to short. Moon took out junior Jesus Garcia after he stepped on second, making the throw to first off line and allowing a run to score to make it 3-2.
 
The Broncs got that run back in the eighth. Patriots (10-11) starter and McAllen alum Armando Garza walked senior Alex Howe on four pitches to start the inning. Devin Patton came in from the bullpen and allowed a single to sophomore PSJA alum Bryan Ramirez and an RBI-single to Ammon. One out later, after a wild pitch, Rios came up with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2.
 
That was it against Garza, who struck out five while allowing three hits and seven walks in seven innings.
 
Freshman Nikki Rowe alum Andrew Padron pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save.
 
The Broncs and Patriots play game two of this doubleheader in approximately 30 minutes.

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