By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Certainly, it’s safe to say that the UTSA Roadrunners take a measure of pride in being 27th in NCAA baseball’s latest ratings percentage index.
Pat Hallmark’s UTSA Roadrunners climbed three spots to No. 27 in the NCAA’s ratings percentage index. – File photo by Joe Alexander
In data published Monday, the Roadrunners moved up three spots in the RPI after sweeping three home games from the Memphis Tigers last weekend. And while it could be argued that the only time that the RPI really matters is in late May — during the NCAA committee meetings to decide the 64-team national tournament — it is significant for a team that prides itself on playing well.
For instance, only four programs in the nation outside of the Power 4 conferences have RPIs higher than UTSA. Oregon State is 11th, UC-Irvine 12th, Coastal Carolina 13th and Dallas Baptist 24th. Since Oregon State had been in the Pac-12 for decades before the latest realignment designated them as an independent in baseball, the Roadrunners really rank among only a handful of so-called mid majors in the top 30.
UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said on his Monday zoom conference with the media that he looks at the RPI because it does matter.
“We feel good about it,” he said. “I think we’d be silly not to feel good about it. But at the same time, we realize that can change. You got to play good ball. So, ultimately we try to lean back to, ‘Hey, what do we control?’ Right? In some ways, we don’t control that RPI. We control the next pitch we throw. We’re going to be the visiting team on Tuesday (at Texas State), so we control the next swing decision we make. That’s truly the only thing we control, is that next swing decision.”
Earlier this month, the Roadrunners climbed to No. 23 in the RPI, which is likely as high as they’ve ever been.
In 2022, they finished 37th after a spirited run in the Conference USA tournament. That year, they beat nationally-ranked tournament host Southern Miss twice before losing to Louisiana Tech in the C-USA title game. As a result, the Roadrunners returned home to San Antonio thinking that would be enough to earn them an at-large bid. It wasn’t enough, as they learned on selection day that they had been left out of the NCAA field.
Hallmark didn’t mention any of that in his visit with the media on Monday morning. But it’s something that likely is on his mind as the Roadrunners take a 33-10 record into San Marcos tomorrow to meet the 21-23 Bobcats, who, for the record, are 73rd in the RPI themselves despite having a mediocre season by their own standards.
As mentioned, the coach of the Roadrunners wants his players to focus mainly on what they can control.
“If we’re good at the things we control, then the RPI and things like that can get to where they are now, and where you want them to be,” Hallmark said. “But if you get too absorbed in that stuff, you lose sight of what really matters, and that’s the things you control — throwing a strike, swinging at a strike, taking a ball, and when we do swing, making them dangerous, violent swings. (Playing) good defense.”
Records
Texas State 21-23
UTSA 33-10
Coming up
UTSA at Texas State (non conference), Tuesday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at South Florida, Friday, 5:30 p.m.
UTSA at South Florida, Saturday, 1 p.m.
UTSA at South Florida, Sunday, noon
.