Feb. 14, 2007
The game of baseball is a tradition-rich sport, and nowhere is it more apparent than at The University of Texas-Pan American.
The baseball program not only represents the athletic department, but the University as a whole while the words "Texas" and "baseball" are nearly synonymous in the Rio Grande Valley. Since a team was fielded in 1955, the Broncs have made 12 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and reached the College World Series during the 1971 season.
With a squad of savvy veterans and a talented class of new recruits, UTPA head baseball coach Willie Gawlik hopes to build on the traditions of yesterday for the 2007 campaign.
"We are playing another great schedule, and because we're playing a great schedule this is going to enhance our baseball skills," said Gawlik. "We want to build on last year where we had a great season. We only played 14 home games last season so we had to play under a lot of adversity and in a lot of strange places and our team responded well to that. We're looking at that carrying over from last year because we've got a lot of the same players coming back."
With a solid group of players, the Broncs will look to build on their 24-29 record in 2006 which included wins over Lone Star State-rivals University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas State to name a few.
"We had the most Division I wins here since 1997, and the most road-wins here since 1997. Against the level of competition we're playing against, that's a big year for us. We had a good RPI so those are great things, and we are excited about that," said Gawlik.
Below is a glimpse at the 2007 University of Texas-Pan American baseball program.
On the Mound
The strength of a baseball team lies in its pitching, and with key losses on the mound, the Broncs will look to their talented group of newcomers as well as a few knowledgeable veterans to lead the way.
In total, UTPA loses five talented hurlers in Tim Haines, Kelly Casares, Ricky Ibarz, Ronnie Morales, Dane Mason and Aaron Guerra.
"We lost six pitchers from last year's team so now we're in a situation where we need someone in this group of pitching to step up," said Gawlik.
Leading the way on the mound for the Broncs is senior Chad Linder (Reklaw, TX/Rusk High School), who pitched 55.1 innings in fifteen games last season while posting a 5.04 earned run average. As a junior, the left-handed hurler struck out 38 hitters while making the start in eight contests.
"Linder is a senior who had a lot of game experience for us last year so we're looking for him to come in and take his game to another level and be a big time contributor," said Gawlik.
Alex Guajardo (La Joya, TX/La Joya H.S.) returns for his third season in a Broncs uniform, and is coming off a season in which he made eight appearances for UTPA.
"Guajardo had some playing time last year, but he's really improved by leaps and bounds. We're looking for him to make a valuable contribution this year either as a starter or coming out of the bullpen," added Gawlik.
Other than Linder and Guajardo, the UTPA starting rotation is full of fresh faces. The group of newcomers looking to add to the tradition-rich Bronc baseball squad includes Matt Sheppard (Austin, TX/Howard Junior College), Josh Wymer (Fort Worth, TX/Foster Ridge H.S.) and Cody Cisper (Peggs, OK/Northeastern State University).
"It's a good class of newcomers, and they all work hard. They've all got potential, and all they need now is some game experience. Once they get some game experience under their belt they'll be fine. They are all established pitchers in high school and junior college so we're looking for great things from them," added Gawlik.
The experience in the Bronc pitching staff comes out of their bullpen. Closing out games for UTPA in the 2007 campaign are returning pitchers Ray Silva (Clearlake, CA/Santa Rosa Junior College) and Steven Davila (Weslaco, TX/Weslaco H.S.).
Silva is coming back from injuries in 2006, and will be the Broncs primary weapon late in games. The senior closer posted a 2-1 record with a 5.68 earned run average while appearing in 11 games. In the limited action he saw, Silva recorded 24 strikeouts while surrendering nine walks in 25.1 innings.
"We've got Silva who came out of the bullpen last year. Last year, he was good for half the season then he got hurt. Hopefully he's going to be there for us full time this year," said Gawlik.
Davila will be coming out of the bullpen for the Broncs this season, and with a change in his delivery, the junior right-handed pitcher will look to make an impact in the Bronc lineup. The local product saw action in five games last season where he pitched 4.1 innings, including one save.
"Davila has improved by leaps and bounds over last year. We've changed his mental approach and his delivery. He threw really well in the fall and has been throwing well in January so we're looking for him to be a key guy out of the bullpen," added Gawlik.
Adding depth to the pen are newcomers Eric Mancini (Denton, TX/Denton H.S.), Bryce Smolen (Houston, TX/Lamar H.S.) and Shane Janecka (Weimar, TX/Wharton County J.C.) are a talented group of athletes that will look to make their presence felt in the 2007 campaign.
"They've done well with inter-squad games, and now all we need is some real game experience under their belt. We're looking for them to make some big contributions this year," said Gawlik.
Lefty Ry Radermacher (Spring, TX/Klein H.S.) is a relief pitcher that will be called upon during key times in the season to make a difference.
"Radermacher has had a few good outings for us lately so we'll look at him to come in on a left against left situation for us," added Gawlik.
Behind the Plate
Calling the shots behind the plate this season is Osiel Flores (Mission, TX/UT-Brownsville). Flores is making the move from outfield to catcher after posting a .300 batting average for the Broncs.
The UTPA senior collected 57 hits in 190 at-bats, including 13 doubles, four home runs and one triple while driving in 35 runs and plating 37 runs. Flores will look to build on the 2006 campaign in which he capped the season by recording at least one hit in the final 10 games.
"Flores is making the move from the outfield to catcher where he'll be starting for us. That's a big transition for him, and he's done really well with it so we're looking for him to have a really big year behind the plate. He's has really worked hard for us with him making the move it'll really help our defense," said Gawlik.
Backing up Flores in the catcher position is a trio of talented players in Lyndon Bartosh (Bay City, TX/Navarro J.C.), Brady Honeycutt (Rosebudd, TX/Rosebudd-Lott H.S.) and Nick Spears (Austin, TX/Bowie H.S.).
Bartosh posted a .277 batting average in his first season with the Broncs where he collected 13 hits in 47 plate appearances while driving in 16 runs in 30 games as a catcher and designated hitter in 2006.
"Bartosh is a great team leader and great person with a great personality. He's a team player, and he'll play wherever we need him. He's a great asset to this team," said Gawlik.
Infield
Two players will be competing for the starting nod at first base in junior Zach Smith (Sanger, TX/Sanger High School) and newcomer Dominic Tognietti (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.).
Smith is coming off a 2006 season in which the left-handed batter posted a .232 batting average with 22 hits, including nine doubles and two home runs.
"Zach's been around for a while, and he's improved a lot. We're hoping he can establish a little more consistency at the plate. When he's hot, he's hot. He's shown he can hit with power, and we're looking for him to do that again," said Gawlik.
A true freshman, Tognietti is one of they key newcomers for the Broncs that can hit for power and play good defensively as well.
"Tognietti is a guy that we heavily recruited that we feel has a great future. He was in the top-10 in batting average, RBIs and home runs in Houston last year, and that says a lot. We're looking for him to have a great career and do some great things for us," said Gawlik.
At second base, Jeremy Johnson (League City, TX/Alvin Junior College) and Abraham Garcia (McAllen, TX/McAllen Memorial High School) will share time in the middle of the infield for the Broncs in 2007.
Johnson is a versatile player who will see time on the mound for UTPA. When Johnson is on the mound, Garcia will see time at the keystone sack.
"Jeremy is a real nice infielder and has established himself on the mound in the fall spring. He's a real team player. He came to me and volunteered to pitch and told me he pitched a little bit in high school. One thing he does is he has command of his pitches, and he throws strikes along with showing great poise and those qualities of a good pitcher," said Gawlik.
In his first season as a Bronc, Garcia proved to be one of the top offensive performers on the team, recording 33 hits in 109 at-bats for a .303 batting average as a freshman. The local standout collected nine doubles, three triples and one home run to go along with 22 RBI during the 2006 campaign.
Playing in the hot corner on the infield is senior Patrick Brooks (Vallejo, CA/Santa Rosa J.C.). The UTPA junior was one of the top performers for the Broncs last season, driving in a team-high 36 runs while plating 31 runs in 52 games.
"Brooks is a senior who had a good year last year so we're looking him to build on his performance," said Gawlik.
Using his defensive prowess at the short stop position for the Broncs is newcomer Matt Guzman (Corpus Christi, TX/UT-San Antonio). The UTPA sophomore comes as a transfer from The University of Texas at San Antonio and will face the task of playing in the spot on the field often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball.
"Guzman is a quality short stop, coming out of Corpus Christi King via UTSA. He had a great high school career fielding and hitting, and right now we're trying to get him back to the same level he was at in high school," said Gawlik.
Jonathon Hutcherson (Magnolia, TX/Magnolia H.S.) is another multiple-use player that the Broncs will look to take advantage of in a variety of ways this season.
"Hutcherson can play a lot of positions so he's a valuable player for us. He's going to see some time on the mound because he's done really well there. It's been a great surprise," added Gawlik.
Outfield
Chasing down fly balls for the Broncs is a group of speedy athletes capable of making quick throws to the infield.
For the first time in four years, the Broncs will not have Louie Alamia roaming the outfield as the program's all-time leader in career hits and at-bats graduated this past December. The former UTPA standout was a four-time All-Independent selection and earned All-American honors during his freshman campaign for the Broncs.
"The loss of Louie is a big one for our team. It was nice to come to the office, work on the lineup and fill in Louie's name as the lead-off hitter for four years. He set several hitting records during his career and will be missed. These are some big shoes to fill," said Gawlik.
Leading the way in the outfield is senior Leighton Autrey (Stephenville, TX/Navarro J.C.). Autrey uses his 6-6 frame along with his speed to cover a lot of ground in the outfield, and also contributes offensively for the Broncs. As a junior, he posted a .275 batting average with 33 hits, including 10 doubles while driving in 20 runs in 40 games.
"In the last game of the year last season Leighton had a break-out game. He made a catch up on the centerfield wall that nobody else could have made because of his height and jumping ability that saved two runs. The last play of the game he made a diving catch that helped win the ball game defensively. He laid a bunt down that moved a runner over, and while he didn't have any RBIs he did all the little things right. He's improved as a player from that point on and put all things together at the end of the season," said Gawlik.
Senior Blake Whittlesey (Marble Falls, TX/UT-Brownsville) is a versatile player who can play a variety of positions on the field including catcher, outfield, first base and third base. As a junior, he recorded a .337 on base percentage while stealing five bases in 37 games.
"He came here as a catcher, but we've moved him around a little bit because he's a good athlete. We're expecting him to use his athletic ability to help us a lot this year. He can play five or six positions, but we're looking at him in the outfield. He's a valuable asset for us because of his flexibility," said Gawlik.
UTPA newcomer Roly Gonzalez (Miami, FL/UNC-Greensboro) will bring both experience at the Division I-level and upperclassmen leadership to the outfield as he fill be joined by fellow new Broncs in Nick Bourn (San Antonio, TX/Warren H.S.) and Jerrod Dugas (Orange, TX/OCM H.S.).
"Gonzalez runs really well so we're looking for him to do some good things for us. He hits from the left so that's a plus, and we're looking for him possibly in the lead-off position. Nick and Jerrod are both talented, and we look for them to make contributions as freshmen," said Gawlik.
On Tap for the Broncs in 2007
The baseball program is set to play another tough schedule in 2007 headlined by a trio of tournaments to be hosted by the Broncs at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium.
UTPA will play some of their toughest opponents to date in Texas State, University of Oklahoma, Cal-State Northridge, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Christian and Texas-San Antonio.
"I look at it several different ways. We don't play anyone that's not Division I, and I think that's going to improve our baseball skills and improve our team. When you play tough competition, you're going to get better. The baseball players want to play a schedule like that because they don't want to play a watered down schedule, and I think that they would be if we did. It's a challenge and they like those challenges of playing those kinds of people. It's great for exposure for the team, the University and for them personally," said Gawlik.
The Final Out
The 2007 Bronc baseball team will remember the ghosts of UTPA baseball past in their quest to write their own history on the diamond this season, but they have a tough road ahead of them.
"They're going to play hard, and they're going to play with passion. We're hoping the team chemistry comes together and we excel. We know we have a challenging schedule ahead of us but we wouldn't want it any other way," said Gawlik.
The proverbial torch of UTPA baseball will be carried by a new group of players who will look to uphold the tradition of Bronc baseball in the upcoming campaign.
UTPA Sports Information
