April 11, 2008

Game Notes - Texas Southern in PDF Format
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Game Information
× - The University of Texas-Pan American baseball team will look to rebounds from a six game skid when they take on Texas Southern in a three-game series beginning on Friday (Apr. 11) with game time slated for 3 p.m.

× - The Broncs will play game two on Saturday (Apr. 12) at 1 p.m. and the final game on Sunday (Apr. 13) at noon.

× - The Broncs are coming off a two-game setback against Southland Conference-foe Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday (Apr. 8).

× - With the setback, the Broncs fell to 9-22 on the season and dropped their eighth straight game.

× - The Broncs are led offensively by catcher Jordan Rutenbar who leads the team with a .352 batting average to go with 38 hits, 20 runs scored and 19 RBI's.

× - On the bases, senior Roly Gonzalez leads the team in stolen bases with 19 out of 22 attempts.

× - The match-up with the Broncs and Tigers will be the 22nd all-time meeting with the Broncs taking a 21-0 advantage. The last meeting was on May 3 with UTPA collecting a 5-4 victory and capturing a double-header sweep.

× - The Tigers are coming off a 9-5 setback against Southland Conference-opponent McNeese State on (Apr. 8).

× - The Broncs will be back at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium on Saturday (Apr. 19-20) in a double-header against Prairie View A&M with the first game slated for 3 p.m.

Broncs Drop Double-Header to TAMUCC
× - The Broncs dropped a pair of matches against Southland Conference-foe Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday (Apr. 8) in Corpus Christi, TX.

× - The Broncs fell 13-6 in game one and suffered a 6-4 setback in game two.

× - Philip Rodriguez took the loss in game one, pitching 2.0 innings, giving up four hits, allowing seven runs - all earned and dropping his overall record to 0-4.

× - The Islanders quickly led a charge on the Broncs collecting seven runs in the first two innings including a three-run homerun to center field in the bottom second by Trey Hernandez.

× - The Broncs started a surge in the final two innings scoring a run in the eighth on two hits. Ryan Vest singled to center field, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored when Gonzalez singled to center field, to make the score 13-3.

× - In the final inning, the Broncs battled from behind to record three runs on three hits but it wasn't enough, as the Islanders captured game one 13-6.

× - Game two had the same result for the Broncs as the Islanders recorded back-to-back runs in six innings which cost the Broncs game two and fell 6-4.

× - The Broncs recorded a run in third and three in the fifth but were held scoreless in the final four innings.

× - Broncs hurler Doug Roth took the loss for the Broncs, pitching 4.0 innings, allowing four hits and four runs - all earned.

× - Three Broncs recorded multi-hit performances including Jordan Rutenbar who went 3-for-5 to go with one RBI and Johnson who finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Four Broncs Earn All-Tournament Team Accolades
× - The UTPA baseball team were crowned co-champions of the Hillcrest Ford Classic Tournament and four Broncs were selected to the All-Tournament Team on Sunday (Mar. 9).

× - Newcomers Billy Donaho, Jordan Rutenbar, A.J. Franco and senior Roly Gonzalez were all-tournament team recipients for their outstanding performance in the three day tournament.

× - Donaho finished the tournament with a .545 batting average with four runs scored, four RBI's and a grand slam that came in the fourth inning in a 12-6 victory against Sam Houston State (Mar. 9).

× - Rutenbar recorded a .429 batting average to go with six RBI's and five runs scored in three games. In all three games, Rutenbar posted at least one hit while collecting two RBI's.

× - Gonzalez collected a .467 batting average to go with six stolen bases. The Broncs senior posted eight hits in 14 at bats to go along with six runs scored and a RBI.

× - The most impressive Bronc of the weekend was newcomer A.J. Franco who pitched a complete game in a 6-1 victory against Saint Louis on March 8. Franco improved his record to 2-1 while fanning five batters while only allowed one run.

Former Broncs Head to the Minors
× - After finishing their 2007-08 senior campaign, Osiel Flores, Ray Silva, Patrick Brooks and Chad Linder to the next step in furthering their dreams of playing in the major leagues as all they were signed to minor league contracts.

× - Flores was the first Bronc to sign a free agent contract with the Cleveland Indians and headed to the New York-Penn League which is a short-season Class "A" league.

× - Former third baseman Patrick Brooks signed a free agent deal with the Chicago Cubs and traveled to the Chicago Cub's rookie league in Mesa, AZ.

× - UTPA pitcher Ray Silva signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and made his debut with the Johnson City Cardinals this past summer.

× - Former UTPA pitcher Chad Linder signed with the River City Rascals which is a Division I Independent Baseball team in the Frontier League.

Broncs Host First Annual National Independent Tournament
× - Following the Broncs final three game series versus Texas Christian University, UTPA will close out the season with the National Independent Tournament in Edinburg, TX during the week of May 21-25.

× - Teams that will be featured in the NIT will be Northern Colorado, New York Tech, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Chicago State, and Le Moyne.

× - The tournament seeds will be announced on the Monday prior to the opening of the tournament. The seeds will be determined by record and NCAA RPI.

× - NCAA Regional selections take place on May 26 and the winner has an opportunity for a possible NCAA tournament bid.

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