The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas-Pan American
No. 7 Baseball busts UTPA Broncs, 4-2
04.19.2011 | Baseball
April 19, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 7 Texas Longhorns used RBI hits from Mark Payton and Cohl Walla to break a tie game in the bottom of the eighth inning Tuesday night, beating the UT Pan American Broncs 4-2 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
With the score tied 2-2, Paul Montalbano led off the eighth inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brandon Loy. Payton followed with a ground-rule double to left field, scoring Montalbano and giving the Longhorns their first lead of the game. After a fly out by Shepherd advanced Payton to third base, and Erich Weiss drew an intentional walk, Texas sent pinch-hitter Walla to the plate. Walla, who had not played since March 29 due to injury, delivered a single through the left side of the infield to score Payton and give Texas a 4-2 lead.
The Broncs (16-13) struck first in the top half of the first inning after a one-out double from Roger Bernal put a runner in scoring position. Angel Ibanez advanced Bernal to third on a groundout before a walk to Vincent Mejia put runners on the corners. Mike McCarthy followed with an RBI single up the middle to put UTPA up 1-0.
UTPA extended their lead in the top of the second, putting runners on the corners after a leadoff triple to Iradier Hernandez and a walk to Colton Van Komen. With no outs, Nathan Thornhill replaced starting pitcher Austin Dicharry, who was making his first appearance since April 7, 2010. Following a strikeout, Andy Fortuna put down a squeeze bunt and Hernandez slid by the glove of catcher Jacob Felts to extend the lead to 2-0. With runners on first and second, Thornhill retired the next two batters to end the threat.
Texas (28-9) answered with a run of its own in the bottom half of the third. With two outs, Montalbano drew a walk and scored after Loy doubled to left centerfield, cutting the lead in half at 2-1. Three innings later, Texas rallied to tie the score after a two-out double by Weiss scored Payton who had reached on a double and advanced to third on a balk.
Relief pitcher Kendal Carrillo picked up the win after pitching a perfect eighth, running his record to 3-0, while closer Corey Knebel tallied his 12th save of the season after striking out two in the ninth.
Thornhill totaled 2.0 innings in relief, allowing one hit and no runs while striking out one. Relief pitcher Josh Urban replaced Thornhill in the fourth inning and went 4.0 innings, allowing one hit and striking out six. Dicharry allowed four hits, two runs and two walks while striking out one while working 1.0 innings, plus two batters in the second.
Offensively, Payton led the attack, going 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. Walla, Loy and Weiss each tallied one RBI while Montalbano scored two runs.
Broncs' starting pitcher Kyle Kotchie (1-3) went 7.2 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while walking three and striking out two. McCarthy led the UTPA offense, finishing 2-for-4 with one RBI, while Fortuna went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk.
Texas returns to Big 12 Conference action Thursday at 6 p.m. when they travel Lawrence to play the Kansas Jayhawks.
Head Coach Augie Garrido
On the win: I thought UTPA had a good game plan. I'd like to compliment there coach on what a great job he's done. Their pitcher threw great, they didn't give us any extra bases, and they didn't make any errors. I thought overall they did a great job. I think our pitchers settled down after Austin's (Dicharry) rough start. They took control of the game and the defense played well behind them. We manufactured runs at the right time.
On Cohl Walla's RBI pinch-hit: He's had a green light to hit. He took batting practice today and before the game started we said if we had a chance to pinch-hit we would want him to hit. It obviously worked out well and he produced.
Sophomore outfielder Cohl Walla
On getting back from his injury: I felt fine during batting practice and pre-game. I can't run as well as I'd like, but it felt good to get out there and bat.
On his RBI single: Yeah I've been hitting for the past week in practice because my ankle hasn't been bothering me. Getting back into the game and producing like that was a great feeling.
Freshman outfielder Mark Payton
On the numerous late-inning heroics this season: As long as we keep on winning that's fine with me.
On playing Kansas this weekend: Every Big 12 game is the same. It's always going to be a battle until the final out in the ninth inning. It'll be tougher to play in the cold weather, but we're looking forward to competing.
Sophomore pitcher Josh Urban
On his mentality coming out of the bullpen: I'm just giving it all I got. I'm thankful for every opportunity I get to pitch, so I just have to do what I can do when I'm out there. We've got a strong defense that you saw tonight. Hopefully I can improve from game to game.
On his velocity: Well it felt a little bit lower tonight. I didn't feel like I head my legs with me and I was drifting a little bit, but I was happy for the defense I had behind me. They played very well tonight.
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