March 3, 2007
The University of Texas-Pan American baseball team was able to hang on to an early lead as they defeated the University of Illinois by a score of 5-3 on Saturday (Mar. 3) in day two of the Al Ogletree Classic at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium.
The Broncs improved to 6-12 on the season and 1-1 at the tournament while the Fighting Illini dropped to 1-4 on the season and 1-1 at the tournament.
The Broncs jumped out to a quick two-run lead in the first inning when Roly Gonzalez (Miami, FL/UNC-Greensboro) and Leighton Autrey (Stephenville, TX/Navarro J.C.) each crossed home plate after Osiel Flores (Mission, TX/UT-Brownsville) and Dominic Tognietti (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.) sacrificed themselves at first base to put UTPA up 2-0 on the Illini.
UTPA added to their lead in the second inning on a Jeremy Johnson (League City, TX/Alvin Junior College) single to center field that sent Abraham Garcia (McAllen, TX/McAllen Memorial H.S.) from second base to make it a 3-0 ball game.
Bronc pitcher Josh Wymer (Fort Worth, TX/Foster Ridge H.S.) pitched four scoreless innings before the Fighting Illini were able to get on the scoreboard with a base-hit RBI off the bat of Brandon Wikoff that plated Kyle Hudson, closing the gap to 3-1.
Illinois continued to add to their run total in the sixth frame, posting two runs to even the score at three runs apiece. The Illini finished the inning with two hits and two runs on one UTPA error while leaving two runners stranded on base.
The Broncs responded by going back on top in the bottom of the sixth inning when Tognietti hit an RBI single up the middle of the infield, scoring Autrey from second base to make it a 4-3 game. UTPA was able to convert a run on the two hits recorded in the inning.
A Flores RBI in the bottom of the eighth inning put the Broncs up by a 5-3 count.
After going 2 for 4 at the plate while adding two RBI in the process, Flores earned the save for the Broncs, pitching the final three outs of the ball game. Wymer earned the win for pitching eight innings, allowing nine hits and striking out three Illinois batters. The Bronc Ace tallied 141 total pitches, 85 for strikes while improving to 3-3 on the season.
University of Illinois pitcher Mike Stankiewicz gets the loss, giving up four runs in his 6.0 innings pitched.
The Broncs return to action on Sunday (Mar. 3) when they square-off against Sam Houston State University with game time slated for 1:00 p.m. followed by a match-up with the University of Texas at San Antonio scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
Sam Houston State University vs. University of Texas at San Antonio
Sam Houston State University picked up its first victory at the Al Ogletree Classic when it defeated the University of Texas at San Antonio by a score of 3-1 at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium on Saturday (Mar. 3).
The Bearkats began the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when Keith Stein scored off a Heath Pugh single to center field to go up by one. The Roadrunners answered with a run of their own in the top of the fifth frame to knot the score at one run apiece.
SHSU's Jeremy Holzbach hit a game-winning single to right center that accounted for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, driving in Austin Boggs and Todd Sebek to make the score 3-1.
The Bearkat's Jesse Marshall (3-1) earned the win for his 6.1 inning effort on the game in which he allowed six hits while striking out five of the 26 batters faced. Bradley Chovanec (0-2) of UTSA picked up the loss while Luke Prihoda notched his fourth save of the season.
Sam Houston State is back in action against UTPA on Sunday (Mar. 4) with game time scheduled for 1:00 p.m. before the Broncs have to face UTSA in game-two of a doubleheader slated for 5:00 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
