Feb. 5, 2006

Box Score

EDINBURG - Heath Keel had his second-straight multi-hit game and Thomas Field went 2-for-5 with a run scored, but Texas-Pan American scored six unanswered runs in a 6-5 win to conclude the UTPA Baseball Classic Sunday in Edinburg.

Keel finished the game 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, while Kyle Jones, Elliott Babcock, Cody Merrell and Steven Siers each drove home a run in the loss.

Texas State (0-3) opened the game with Keel's RBI single that brought home Field, and followed with a pair of sacrifice flies by Jones and Babcock that plated Keel and Cassidy Dresch.

The Bobcats posted two more runs in the third inning, scoring on Merrell's two-out single that plated Aaron Garza and Seirs' base-hit that brought home Merrell.

Texas-Pan American (3-1) put its first run on the board in the fourth, when when Jason Buhagiar scored on catcher Dan Calabro's single, and the Broncs second run came in the next inning when Buhagiar again drove home a run, this time bringing home Leighton Autrey on a fifth-inning sac fly.

The Broncs pulled within one in the bottom of the seventh, scoring on a pair of base hits that made the score 5-4, and Pan Am delivered the deciding punch in the eighth with an RBI double paired with a run-scoring single that put the Broncs on top 6-5.

Tim Haines came on in the ninth to close the game for the Broncs, picking up his first save of the year in the one-run win.

Ray Silva pitched five innings in relief for UTPA, striking out six and holding the `Cats scoreless for his first win of the year, while B.J. Boening took the loss for Texas State, tossing one inning and giving up two runs on four hits.

Bobcat starter Ryan Bennett went 4.1 innings with seven strike outs and one earned run, while Mike Hart pitched the middle innings, going 2.2 and surrendering a pair on the scoreboard.

Texas State opens its home slate Friday, when the Bobcats host New Mexico at 3 p.m. The series will conclude Saturday and Sunday, with afternoon contests scheduled at Bobcat Field.