Box score

EDINBURG, TX—Texas-Pan American built a big early lead, saw visiting NJIT forge a comeback, and then pulled away late to defeat the Highlanders 14-7 Friday night in the first game of a scheduled four-game weekend Great West Conference baseball series.

 

The Broncs, who opened Great West play last weekend with a four-game sweep of Chicago State. moved to 5-0 in conference play and 15-10 overall, including wins in their last six straight games. NJIT drops to 0-5, having lost all four of its games last weekend against defending conference champ Utah Valley, with all of the defeats coming in UVU's final turn at bat and the last three in extra innings. The Highlanders are 6-20 overall.

 

Texas-Pan Am scored twice in the first inning and never trailed Friday night at Edinburg Baseball Stadium. The Broncs traded single runs with NJIT for the next three half-innings before putting four runs on the board in the bottom of the third inning to take a 7-2 lead.

 

However, the Highlanders got four runs of their own in the top of the fifth inning, trimming the home team's lead to 7-6. But the one-run margin was short-lived as UTPA tallied two runs in the bottom of the sixth, one in the seventh, and four more in the bottom of the eighth, while NJIT managed only one run the rest of the way.

 

Texas-Pan American used four pitchers to get the victory and the second Broncs hurler, redshirt freshman RHP Austin Casas, picked up his first win with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Starter Michael Zouzalik, a junior right-hander, was one out short of eligibility for the win, lasting 4.2 innings and allowing 8 hits and 6 runs (4 earned).

 

NJIT used two pitchers, each of whom pitched four innings. Starter Austin McAuliffe took the loss, his third in as many decisions, and was reached for 8 hits and 7 runs (4 earned), with 2 walks and hit batter. Reliever Kyle Burdi also allowed 7 runs on 9 hits and 4 walks.

 

The Broncs rapped out 17 hits, the third-highest total against NJIT this season and most in nearly a month since Stony Brook generated an opponents' season-high 21 hits on March 18.

 

Every Texas-Pan American starter but one got a hit in the game and six Broncs got at least two hits. The leaders were sophomore 1B Angel Ibanez (3-for-5, double, triple, 3 runs scored) and C Mike McCarthy (3-for-3, 4 RBI).

 

A junior, McCarthy is one of just four players on the UTPA roster from outside the sun belt. The Connecticut native began his college career at the University of Vermont in 2009 and transferred south when Vermont dropped its program following that season. NJIT's first-year head coach Mike Cole, a 2002 Vermont graduate, was an assistant coach with the Catamounts in 2009 when McCarthy made the America East Conference All-Rookie team.

 

NJIT got 11 hits of its own Friday, led by a 4-for-4 from 3B Jeff Peterson. With cleanup hitter DJ Roche and number six hitter Bryan Bleakley sandwiching Peterson in the order and getting two hits apiece, the Highlanders got eight of their 11 hits from the fourth through sixth spots.

 

Roche and DH John Bouck each drove in a pair of runs, as Roche upped his team-leading RBI total to 23 in 26 games. Highlander leadoff man Matt Tomczyk scored a run, but he finished 0-for-4, ending a 12-game hitting streak. Nonetheless, the senior has hits in 13 of the last 15 games and has reached base safely in all 15. Peterson has hit in eight straight, 11 of 12, and 13 of 15, raising his season batting average to .294 in the process.

 

NJIT's starting pitchers, including McAuliffe, had pitched to a combined earned run average of less than 2.00 in the four-game series against 2010 GWC champ Utah Valley, but there would be no continuity the first night in Texas, as UTPA posted runs in six of its eight turns at bat, including the four-run innings in the third and eighth frames.

 

McCarthy got the scoring started for the Broncs in the opening inning with a one-out triple that brought home SS Roger Bernal, who had a bunt single, and Ibanez, who had singled for his first hit.

 

Peterson scored the first NJIT run in the second as he hit a one-out double, went to third on a single for Bleakley and later scored on a fielder's choice RBI for Tyler Kapp.

 

UTPA made it 3-1 with a run in the bottom of the second inning, but the Highlanders answered with a run in the top of the third, when, with two out, Matt Weckerle reached third base on a play that included two Texas-Pan American errors, and then scored on a double down the left field line by Roche.

 

NJIT's only two errors of the night came in the bottom of the third inning, helping to open the door for four Texas-Pan American runs, only one of which was earned. McCarthy, Vincent Mejia and Colton Van Komen drove in runs in the inning as the Broncs stretched their lead to 7-2.

 

After a scoreless fourth inning for both teams, the Highlanders got right back into the contest with four runs in the top of the fifth inning, as Bouck had a two-run single and Roche picked up another RBI with a single.

 

The 7-6 score last to the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Broncs got runs on a double for Ibanez and a sac fly for McCarthy.

 

Texas-Pan American made it 10-6 with a run in the seventh inning and the Highlanders got that one back with a run of their own in the top of the eighth. Kapp singled leading off the inning and scored on a bases-loaded ground out by Weckerle.

 

The Broncs removed all doubt with a four-run, five-hit bottom of the eighth inning for a 14-7 lead and reliever Zach Zouzalik, the fourth pitcher of the night and the twin brother of the starter, Michael, came on in the ninth and allowed a leadoff single to Peterson and later hit Bouck with a pitch, but finished the game without yielding a ninth-inning run.

 

The teams are scheduled to continue the series on Saturday in a doubleheader, with first pitch slated for 1 pm (CDT).