March 12, 2008

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Game Information
× - The University of Texas-Pan American baseball team will compete in the three day Notre Dame Tourney in San Antonio, TX on Friday (Mar. 14).

× - The Broncs will first match-up against Southern Illinois at 4 p.m. followed by a face-off against Buffalo on Saturday at 4 p.m. and will close out the tournament when they take on Notre Dame on Sunday at noon.

× - The Broncs were crowned co-champions of the Hillcrest Ford Classic hosted by Sam Houston State last weekend. The Broncs improved their overall record to 4-8 collecting wins over Sam Houston State and St. Louis.

× - Following the Notre Dame Tourney, the Broncs will return back to the confines of the Edinburg Baseball Stadium where they will take on Houston Baptist in a two-day series on Thursday (Mar. 20).

Four Broncs Named to Hillcrest Ford Classic All-Tournament Team
× - Billy Donaho, Jordan Rutenbar, Roly Gonzalez and A.J. Franco were all named to the Hillcrest Ford Classic All-Tournament Team on Mar. 9.

× - Donaho finished the three-day tournament with a .545 batting average with four runs scored, four RBI's and a grand slam that came against Sam Houston State.

× - Rutenbar recorded a .429 batting average to go with six RBI's and five runs scored in the three game series. 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 against Saint Louis on Mar. 8 in a 6-1 victory. Franco improved his record to 2-1 while fanning five batters and only allowed one run.

Franco Pitches Complete Game Against Saint Louis
× - A.J. Franco guided the Broncs to a 6-1 victory against Saint Louis University after pitching a complete game on Saturday (Mar. 8) in Huntsville, TX at the Don Sanders Stadium.

× - UTPA hurler, Franco earned the win, improving his record to 2-1, while Saint Louis starting pitcher Scott Turmail dropped to 2-1 on the 2008 campaign.

× - The Broncs got on board early in the bottom first when Roly Gonzalez led off the inning with a single and advanced to second off an error committed by the shortstop on a Ryan Vest grounder. Gonzalez advanced to third on a Bonham Hough sacrifice bunt, Jordan Rutenbar plated Gonzalez and Vest with a 2RBI-single up the middle to put the Broncs on top 3-0.

× - UTPA added a run in the next frame when Vest sent Gonzalez home with a RBI-double down the left field line to make the score 4-0.

× - The only run for the Billikens came in the fifth frame when Michael Beal led things off with a single and was sent home on a Ziggy Moore sacrifice fly to put the score at 4-1.

× - The Broncs added a pair of runs in the seventh and eighth innings shutting any opportunity for Saint Louis.

× - Both Gonzalez and Vest went 2-for-4 while six other Broncs recorded hits in the 6-1 victory.

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.

Senior Leadership Key to Successful Season
× - The Broncs enter the 2008 campaign with seven seniors that will lead a entirely new team from the previous season.

× - Cody Cisper, Roly Gonzalez, Jeremy Johnson, Chris Lozano, Philip Rodriguez, Matt Shepherd, and Ruben Shives, Jr. round out the group of seven that will look to finish their final season with a winning record.

× - The seven seniors will use their leadership and experience to lead a team that will consist of four returning letterman, twelve junior college transfers and six freshman.

× - The Broncs have yet to finish above .500 since the 2000 season under the direction of Reggie Tredaway where UTPA collected a 31-19-1 record.

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.

Trio of Broncs Earn All-Independent Honors
× - Roly Gonzalez and formers Broncs Ray Silva and Josh Wymer represented the Broncs on the 2007 NCAA Division I All-Independent Baseball Team.

× - Gonzalez finished with a team-high .342 batting average where he collected 54 hits in 158 at-bats to go along with a team-high 20 stolen bases last season.

× - Silva finished his senior campaign with the Broncs with a 1-2 record to go along with a team-high four saves. He recorded a 1-2 record with a 4.08 earned run average in 28.2 innings of action.

× - Wymer was the top vote-getter for the Broncs as the UTPA freshman earned All-Independent Second Team laurels. He finished with a 5-7 record to go with a 3.66 earned run average in 16 starts where he posted four complete games for the Broncs.

UTPA Sports Information