By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
The UTSA Roadrunners can clinch the American Athletic Conference regular-season baseball title outright today when they play on the road against the East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, N.C.
If they win, they get an added bonus of securing the No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament. UTSA needs only one win in its last six conference games to clinch the top seed.
After extending their winning streak to eight last Sunday at South Florida, the Roadrunners enter the three-game series against East Carolina having claimed at least a tie for the regular-season crown.
It’s the first regular-season title for the Roadrunners since 2008. Sitting at No. 20 in the national ratings percentage index, they’re also hoping to qualify for their first NCAA tournament since 2013.
Friday’s game is expected to feature starting pitchers Zach Royse of UTSA against East Carolina’s Ethan Norby. Royse is 7-4 with a 4.81 earned run average in 67.1 innings pitched. Norby enters 6-4 and 3.39 with 69 innings.
The starters for Saturday and Sunday have not been announced. UTSA closes out the regular season May 15-17 at home against the Rice Owls. The AAC tournament is May 20-25 in Clearwater, Fla.
Led by an explosive offense that’s scored 428 runs in 47 games, the Roadrunners (37-10 overall, 18-3 AAC) have been relentless in punishing their opponents.
Mason Lytle and Jordan Ballin both are hitting .370. Andrew Stucky, James Taussig, Drew Detlefsen and Caden Miller have all produced an OPS above 1.000. In their last 13 games, they’re 12-1, and they’ve scored 147 runs in that span.
East Carolina has had a tough season by its own lofty standards. The Pirates (27-21, 11-10) have reached 40 victories in six straight seasons, including five straight AAC regular-season titles. A few months ago, they started fast in conference, winning three straight at home against Memphis and another three on the road at Rice.
But in the third weekend of conference, they slumped with three straight losses at home against Florida Atlantic. The Pirates have been chasing the leaders ever since.
Records
UTSA 37-10, 18-3
East Carolina 27-21, 11-10
Coming up
UTSA at East Carolina, Friday, 5 p.m.
UTSA at East Carolina, Saturday, 3 p.m.
UTSA at East Carolina, Sunday, noon
Notable
The Pirates have reached the NCAA tournament eight times under 11th-year coach Cliff Godwin. The Pirates have reached the the last six NCAA tournaments that have been played. The tournament, along with most of the season, was scratched in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The Roadrunners, in turn, have produced a more modest record, having played in only three NCAA tournaments (1994, 2005 and 2013). They played their first season in 1992.
UTSA coach Pat Hallmark is in his sixth season with the Roadrunners. In three previous seasons, his teams have been highly competitive. They finished tied for third and second in Conference USA in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Last spring, in their first year in the American, they finished second again. Hallmark’s Roadrunners beat the Pirates two out of three last March in San Antonio.
The 2022 team got hot at the end of the season and reached the finals of the C-USA tournament before losing to Louisiana Tech. In both 2023 and 2024, the Roadrunners faltered, losing their first two games in conference tournament play both times.