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For Immediate Release: Thursday, February 22, 2001 UTPA
BASEBALL TEAM TO HOST ILLINOIS
EDINBURG, TX-After spending the last two weeks on
the road, The University of Texas-Pan American baseball team will return
home this weekend to host Big Ten rival Illinois in a three-game series.
The series opens Friday evening at 7:00, continues Saturday afternoon at
1:00, and concludes Sunday at 11:00 a.m. All three games will take place
at UTPA’s new home field, the Edinburg Baseball Stadium. UTPA enters the series with a 1-7 record. But,
after having played on the road for the past two weekends, the Broncs
are hopeful that returning home will give them a boost. “Our guys are real excited about getting home,
and getting to play under the lights,” said UTPA Head Coach Reggie
Tredaway. “We’re excited to play at the new stadium, and we’re
hoping for a big crowd.” The Broncs have yielded four or more runs in an
inning in five of their seven defeats, and gave up three runs in an
inning three times in the same game in another. Tredaway said that’s
something his team must avoid “We don’t have the type of team that can afford
to give up the big inning, so we have to keep that to a minimum,” said
Tredaway. “We have to get good pitching and play good defense, and, if
we give up a run here and there, it’s a lot easier to overcome than
making up an eight-run deficit.” Illinois is opening their season this weekend. However, Tredaway knows that the Fighting Illini will be ready. “Two years ago, Illinois was in the regionals,”
said Tredaway. “Coach (Richard) Jones does an outstanding job, and I
know he’ll have them ready to play. Junior righthander Travis Parker (Brownsville,
TX/Homer Hanna HS/UT-Brownsville) is scheduled to start Friday night’s
game. Senior lefthander Frank James (Elgin, TX/Elgin HS/Navarro JC) will
start Saturday, and senior Justin Dowd (Waxahachie, TX/Waxahachie
HS/Navarro JC) will start Sunday. The Broncs will complete their five-game home stand when they host Texas-San Antonio Tuesday afternoon in a doubleheader. BA-09-02 022102 |