Broncs rally to beat Irish in front of large home crowd

EDINBURG – There was perhaps no better time than Tuesday for UTPA baseball to show that it is a program on the rise.

For the first time in years, the Broncs played in front of a paid home crowd of more than 1,000 – 1,383 to be exact – against a program with a familiar name. Last season, UTPA played in front or more than 1,000 during a kid’s game.

UTPA had hoped it could win back fans with this two-game series against Notre Dame. The Broncs did themselves plenty of favors with their 9-7 win over the Fighting Irish (5-5) at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.

“This is unusual now,” Broncs coach Manny Mantrana said about the attendance. “It is not going to be unusual in the future. Once you start winning and put a good product on the field, the crowd will support you.”

Irish coach Dave Schrage said the crowd only helped fuel the Broncs (6-3).

“You have the crowd into it,” Schrage said. “There are a lot of advantages to playing at home.”

There were doubts early that the home field edge would pay off after UTPA fell behind 6-3. But the Broncs clawed and scratched their way back into the game, taking the lead in the seventh after catcher Alex San Juan singled in Vinny Mejia from second.

Irish right fielder Brayden Ashdown mishandled San Juan’s hit, allowing Angel Ibanez to score and to give the Broncs an 8-6 lead.

“As long as I can help out the team, I’m doing my job,” San Juan said about knocking in the go-ahead runs.

Broncs reliever Troy Green was masterful in his appearance. He entered the game with the Broncs trailing by three runs but pitched 4 2/3 innings to earn the win. He struck out two and the one run he allowed was unearned.

“Our jobs as a reliever is to go out there and try shutting them down and putting up zeros so our team can score,” Green said.

Scharge was disappointed that his team was not as aggressive at the plate against Green as it had been against starter Kyle Kotchie.

“From that point on, we started hitting a lot of lazy fly balls to right field,” Schrage said. “We didn’t have the same approach.”

After the game, San Juan praised the fans, adding that it is a sign of change.

“People are starting to see we are winning and are a good ball club,” he said.

EXTRA BASES: Former UTPA President Blandina “Bambi” Cardenas was in attendance. … Lupe Barrera struck out two in the ninth in earning his second save of the season. … Stuart MacInnes led UTPA with three RBIs.

Peter Rasmussen covers UTPA athletics for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4448.