For Immediate Release: October 30, 2002
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Director of Athletic Media Relations, (956) 381-2240

GREEN AND WHITE GAME SET FOR SATURDAY

EDINBURG, TX -The University of Texas-Pan American's baseball team will get their chance to shine this fall when the Broncs play their annual Green and White game in conjunction with the celebration of UTPA's 75th anniversary this Saturday.

The Broncs will stage their annual intra-squad game to mark the end of fall practice at 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium. The game is officially part of the UTPA's 75th Anniversary Celebration.

"We thought that this would be a great showcase for the university," said Dr. Barbara Tucker, who chairs the subcommittee for the 75th Anniversary Celebration. "I'm excited that the game will be a part of the celebration. We're hoping to have anywhere between five and eight thousand people."

The game will follow the ceremony marking the official opening of UTPA's new Visitors Center and the unveiling of the Bronc statue, which is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. It marks the conclusion of fall practice for the Texas-Pan American baseball team.

"We've worked hard and we've improved, but we still have a ways to go," said Head Coach Willie Gawlik. "We've improved most in the area of defense. The hitting has started to come around a little bit, but that's a hard read, because we're playing against ourselves. We're going to approach the game as a wrap-up of what we accomplished in the fall, and see how our players do in game conditions. We've had some intra-squad games, but this will be different, since we'll have umpires and the scoreboard. This will allow the coaches to step back and give us another chance to evaluate the players, and give the players a chance to have fun."

The Broncs were divided into Green and White teams by a draft, and Gawlik will let his players run the show. "We have two seniors on each team who will manage the lineups and the strategy," said Gawlik. "Jerome McCoy (Fort Worth, TX/Eastern Hills HS/Northeast Texas CC) and Josh Englert (Westminster, CO/Standley Lake HS/Central Arkansas) are on one team, and Bruce Kennedy (Mansfield, TX/Mansfield HS/Northeast Texas CC) and Travis Parker (Brownsville, TX/Hanna HS/UT Brownsville) will be on the other. Everyone will play, no pitcher can pitch more than three innings, and every pitcher has to pitch at least one inning. The seniors will be able to bunt, steal, hit and run and do whatever they want to do."

The game will conclude UTPA's fall baseball practice season.

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