Category Archives: College baseball

Fireworks: Smith, King, Poston spark UTSA to a 22-8 victory over the FIU Panthers

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Taylor Smith and Matt King delivered grand slams in a 21-hit attack for the UTSA Roadrunners, who stormed to a 22-8 Conference USA victory over the FIU Panthers Friday night in Miami.

Smith produced six RBIs, King had five and Garrett Poston four for the 22nd-ranked Roadrunners, who bounced back from a Tuesday-night home loss to non-conference rival Texas State and won going away in the opener of a three-game C-USA series.

FIU opened early leads of 1-0 and 3-2 on the C-USA leaders before UTSA’s offense came to life. The Roadrunners scored in five straight innings and capped the streak with a 10-run seventh.

UTSA also improved to 29-9 on the season and to 13-2 in the C-USA, remaining a half game ahead of the second-place Dallas Baptist Patriots.

C-USA newcomer Dallas Baptist won at home, beating Louisiana Tech 9-1, to extend its winning streak to 12 games. DBU has won nine in a row on its C-USA schedule.

Coming up

UTSA at FIU, Saturday at 4 p.m. Also, Sunday at 11 a.m.

Records

UTSA 29-9, 13-2
FIU 15-23, 3-13

C-USA leaders

UTSA 13-2, 29-9
Dallas Baptist 13-3, 29-9

Notable

Shane Sirdashney, Isaiah Walker and Tye Odom were not in the starting lineup for UTSA. The three have been battling injuries.

Game recap

Utilizing a double and two singles, the Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second against UTSA’s Luke Malone. Ryne Guida got the rally started with a double down the left field line. Henry Wallen’s two-out RBI single brought home the first run of the game. FIU left runners stranded at first and second when Malone struck out Noel Perez to end the threat.

The Roadrunners answered against FIU’s Angel Tiburcio with two runs in the third. Sammy Diaz led off with a single. With one out, Leyton Barry slapped a single to left field and Taylor Smith walked. Antonio Valdez, the next batter, singled to right for two RBIs and a 2-1 lead for the Roadrunners.

Undeterred, the Panthers jumped on Malone again in the bottom half with a game-tying leadoff homer from Mike Rosario. Dante Girardi followed with a hit and Alec Sanchez bunted to put runners at first and second. With one out, Guida delivered an RBI double to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead. Malone worked out of a bases-loaded jam by striking out Wallen and Brendan Roney to end the threat.

Even though the damage could have been worse, a decision loomed for UTSA coaches on Malone, who had thrown 60 pitches and yielded seven hits to that point.

The Roadrunners, playing from behind, continued to attack in the top of the fourth. Matt King led off with a double and moved to third on a fly ball by Dalton Porter. Sammy Diaz hit an RBI single to make it a 3-3 ball game. UTSA didn’t stop there, as Garrett Poston and Leyton Barry singled to load the bases.

Taylor Smith, the team’s home run leader, took advantage of the base-loaded opportunity with a grand slam. At that point, UTSA was rolling again, leading 7-3. It was Smith’s 10th home run of the season. FIU’s Tiburcio, however, steadied himself and retired Antonio Valdez and Josh Killeen to end the uprising and the inning.

For Malone, who entered the game with a 2.40 earned run average, it wasn’t his best start of the season. But the bottom of the fourth might have been one of his more gutsy moments this spring. FIU had him on the ropes again with a couple of one-out singles. In response, he got tough, retiring Sanchez on a pop fly and Ruben Carpio on a ground ball. UTSA had held FIU scoreless for the first time since the first inning.

In the top of the fifth, Tiburcio didn’t make it to the end of the inning. The Roadrunners loaded the bases with a single, a walk and a hit by pitch. At that point, FIU pulled its starter and replaced him with CJ McKennitt. UTSA’s Garrett Poston promptly greeted McKennitt with a two-RBI single, making it 9-3. Taylor Smith struck out swinging to end the inning, but not before the Roadrunners increased their totals to 11 hits.

To this point, the narrative to this point for the Roadrunners revolved around the resilience of Malone, plus an offense that came alive behind Smith, a transfer from Texas A&M, and Poston, who entered the game with a .181 batting average and delivered with two hits in three at bats and a couple of RBIs. Malone worked smoothly through the bottom of the fifth, retiring three straight.

For the Panthers, the game turned a little ugly in the sixth. McKennitt walked three and fired a passed ball as UTSA scored three runs for a 12-3 lead. Poston emerged to punish the Panthers again with a run-scoring single. Poston, a utility player who’s manning right field tonight against FIU, has produced three hits and four RBIs.

Going into the bottom half of the sixth, the Roadrunners started out with Malone and then inserted Ryan Ward.

Malone had one of his more adventurous outings, throwing 101 pitches and 61 of them for strikes. In completing five and 2/3 innings, UTSA’s ace starter yielded five runs on 10 hits. The last one was a two-run homer by Girardi that pulled FIU to within 12-5. Keeping the rally going, FIU tagged Ward with a couple of hits before Guida struck out looking to end the threat.

In the seventh, the Roadrunners tagged the Panthers for 10 runs on eight hits. The big blow was a grand slam by Matt King. After it was over, UTSA held a 22-5 lead.

First-place UTSA opens second half of conference play on the road against FIU

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

If the 22nd-ranked UTSA Roadrunners can play the second half of their Conference USA schedule the way they played the first half, they could be in line for a regular-season title.

First-place UTSA opens a three-game series in Florida on Friday afternoon against the FIU Panthers. Catcher Josh Killeen says it’s important for players at this juncture to get their rest and watch their nutrition.

“Right now it’s focusing on staying healthy as a team,” Killeen said. “Right now, we have a few people who are banged up. A few people that are a little sick. I was sick a little bit last week.”

The key to sustaining the success, Killeen added, is “just kind of staying healthy and taking care of our bodies and eating right and continuing to improve on the field.”

A few injuries in the outfield are a concern leading into the FIU series. At Wednesday’s media session, coach Pat Hallmark said he thinks Isaiah Walker will make the trip but that Shane Sirdashney would not.

Tye Odom, who played through a back problem on Tuesday night against Texas State, also may not be 100 percent. Neither Walker nor Sirdashney played Tuesday night in a 5-3 loss to the Bobcats.

Third baseman Antonio Valdez said he’s happy with the team’s performance thus far, but not totally satisfied.

“I know there are some games we wish we could have back, but there are some games we’ve been fortunate to come out on top, so it’s been a good vibe,” he said.

Positioning in the NCAA ratings percentage index will be something to monitor in the coming weeks because it is one tool used by the national selection committee to determine at-large bids.

As of Friday morning, surging Dallas Baptist leads the 10 teams in Conference USA with an RPI of 16, followed by UTSA at 36.

The Patriots have notched victories over Oklahoma (on the road) and Oklahoma State and Baylor (both at home) since March 21. Most recently, they have won 11 in a row overall and eight straight in conference.

To cap the eight straight C-USA victories, Dallas Baptist has won three in a row at home against UAB and, most recently, three in a row on the road at Florida Atlantic.

At 28-9 overall and 12-3 in the C-USA, Dallas Baptist hosts the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs this weekend, with the opener set for Friday night. UTSA enters the FIU series in Miami at 28-9 and 12-2.

Coming up

UTSA at FIU, Friday, 5:30 p.m. Also, Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m.

Records

UTSA 28-9, 12-2
FIU 15-22, 3-12

Conference standings

UTSA 12-2, Dallas Baptist 12-3, Charlotte 9-5, Louisiana Tech 9-6, Middle Tennessee 8-7, Florida Atlantic 7-8, Rice 6-9, WKU 4-11, UAB 4-11, FIU 3-12

RPI leaders in conference

Dallas Baptist 16, UTSA 36, Charlotte 54, Florida Atlantic 62, Rice 113, Louisiana Tech 133, Middle Tennessee 164, UAB 198, WKU 216, FIU 217.

UTSA in the polls

Baseball America, 22nd. D1 Baseball, 25th. Collegiate Baseball, 25th. National College Baseball Writers, 28th.

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark discusses his desire for a home-stadium upgrade

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA baseball coach Pat Hallmark has been riding an emotional wave over the past few days. He’s seen his team surge into the top 25 in the national rankings for the second time this season. He’s watched as the fans flocked to modest Roadrunner Field, packing it to overflow proportions.

Hallmark has also felt some of the undertow associated with the job.

Fourth-year UTSA coach Pat Hallmark has guided the program into the national spotlight. — File photo by Joe Alexander

His 22nd-ranked Roadrunners lost 5-3 at home Tuesday night to the I-35 rival Texas State Bobcats in front of a season-high 1,059 fans. It was a game replete with passion in both dugouts, and Hallmark, an intense competitor, got caught up in the moment.

Irritated by the home-plate umpire’s work in calling balls and strikes, he was thrown out in the bottom of the seventh for expressing his opinion on the matter. A day later, UTSA’s coach met with the media and talked about his ouster, as well as a number of other issues suddenly swirling around one of the hottest teams in the country.

With the Conference USA-leading Roadrunners scheduled to play in Miami, Fla., this weekend against the FIU Panthers, Hallmark was surprisingly candid in his assessment of the team’s potential for the season.

He even talked about the chance of playing in the College World Series — this season — and his long-term goal of building momentum within the university to upgrade the team’s home-stadium situation.

“I know we’re good,” Hallmark said. “I don’t know how far we can go. We need to stay healthy … If we’re healthy, I don’t see why we can’t play in Omaha (for the CWS). It’s a big statement, and again, I want to be careful what I say, because we haven’t even made the tournament.

“Like that’s really our first goal. Our goal is to win 40 games. Win a championship in our conference. We get two shots at that (regular season and postseason). And make a regional. So, that’s where we’re focused. But we need to stay healthy, and if we do that, I like our chances.”

Asked about the “next step” that the program needs to take to sustain the winning, Hallmark didn’t hesitate. He said it was a stadium. Roadrunner Field, comprised of three aluminum sections that seat around 800, is lacking in amenities that could aid recruiting, create more comfort for fans and increase media exposure.

“You know, what we did last year and what we’re doing right now is fantastic,” Hallmark said. “I’m not sure how sustainable it is in the world of (NCAA) Division I recruiting, without a stadium and a field. You know, we play in a high school — it’s not even a high-school stadium — it’s a JV stadium.

“That’s what my kids tell me, and they both play high school baseball. I’m not here to complain about it. My kids don’t complain about it. You start the game. It’s 90 feet to the bases. We kind of use it as a chip on our shoulder. Like, other people don’t respect us as much cause of the stadium. We can play baseball.”

Hallmark is in his fourth season at UTSA. Over the past two years, the Roadrunners have forged a 66-29 record, including 28-9 this spring.

UTSA has bolstered its standing nationally by beating Houston, Baylor and, last week, Texas A&M. For the national media, the team has become something of a darling, rising to No. 22 in Baseball America and to No. 25 in D1 Baseball.

In Conference USA, the Roadrunners will carry a 12-2 record into the second half, a half game ahead of 12-3 Dallas Baptist. Louisiana Tech, last year’s C-USA tournament champion, is next at 9-6. Middle Tennessee, another talented team, is fourth at 8-7 after being swept in San Antonio by UTSA.

Coming up

UTSA at FIU (15-22, 3-12), Friday, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at FIU, Saturday, 4 p.m.
UTSA at FIU, Sunday, noon

Quotable

Asked how often he has talked with university administrators about the stadium situation, Hallmark answered, “Not enough. Not enough.”

Recounting the ejection

With Texas State leading 5-2 and UTSA batting in the bottom of the seventh, the coach started talking to the home plate umpire. Eventually, the tensions mounted and he was ejected. Video showed rushing up to the home plate area and talking. “I tried not to do it prolonged and get suspended for the next game, and from what I understand, I’m not, so I’m happy about that,” he said.

Hailing the fans

UTSA pitcher Luke Malone, the likely starter for Friday night at FIU, talked about how the Texas State game was an enjoyable experience despite the loss.

“I know we lost, but it was pretty fun,” he said. “We never stopped fighting, and the crowd here was awesome. We were stretching down all the way (on the grass berm). It got super loud. I mean, people were getting on the umpire. That’s always fun. But it’s the way we fought. I know we didn’t win. But we never gave up. We never folded.”

Malone said Hallmark’s ejection “fired up the dugout … I really thought we were going to pull away. But we didn’t get it done.”

Working to boost the RPI

Last year, UTSA ended the season with a ratings percentage index of 37. It wasn’t good enough for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. After the weekend, UTSA’s RPI was 29 following a sweep of Middle Tennessee State in Conference USA. Today, after the loss to Texas State, the number is at 39.

To illustrate how much progress the program has made in that regard, Hallmark said conversations have taken place in regard to submitting a bid to host an NCAA regional. He said he has discussed it with administrators, the idea of hosting a first-round tournament, presumably at Wolff Stadium.

“I’m not saying we’re going to (host),” he said. “Our RPI is not there. We are not in a position to host. The RPI would have to improve. But at the end of the day, the conversation (came) up, because I guess you got to put in those bids fairly early.”

He said coaches and players are realists, however. “We’re not even in the tournament,” the coach said. “By golly, we got a lot of work to do to make the tournament. So, let’s go to work.”

Spoiling the party: Texas State turns back 22nd-ranked UTSA

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The grandstands were packed, as were the walkways and concourses on a cool and breezy Tuesday night at UTSA’s Roadrunner Field.

UTSA fans, from the outset, were ready to party as their surging baseball team entered the 101st meeting of the 31-year-old, Interstate-35 rivalry ranked 22nd in the nation.

In the end, though, the Texas State Bobcats spoiled it all.

Davis Powell, a Texas State junior from Lufkin, belted a two-run homer in an 11-hit attack for the Bobcats as they came into San Antonio, took the lead early and downed the Roadrunners, 5-3.

“This was good,” Texas State coach Steve Trout said. “Obviously a great environment. Obviously, you’ve got a great team over there with them being ranked and playing really well. Yeah, it was just a really good win for us. We found a way. It wasn’t always pretty … but we continued to play great defense and got it done.”

Starting pitcher Peyton Zabel earned the victory for the Bobcats, who have won five straight. Zabel worked 3 and 2/3 innings and struck out five. In all, five Texas State pitchers struck out 11 and limited the Roadrunners to seven hits. Cameron Bush pitched the final 2 and 1/3 innings and earned the save.

The game took on an air of controversy as a high fly ball hit by UTSA’s Matt King in the bottom of the fourth curved into the left field corner and cleared the fence for what might have been a two-run homer, only to have it called a foul ball. Naturally, the call elicited groans from the UTSA faithful.

By the next inning, UTSA fans were quiet and Texas State fans were roaring. Powell’s 2-run homer off UTSA reliever Daniel Shafer lifted the Bobcats into a 3-0 lead.

“He missed with the first pitch, a slider away,” Powell said. “Then I got a curve (ball) up and (hit) it.”

After Powell’s blast gave the Bobcats the three-run cushion, the Roadrunners never got closer than two the rest of the way. In the bottom of the seventh, tensions boiled over for the home team, as UTSA coach Pat Hallmark was ejected after having words with the home-plate umpire.

It was a strange inning all the way around, Hallmark’s ouster notwithstanding. First, Tye Odom opened the frame by striking out against Nathan Medrano. Up stepped Barry, and early in the count between pitches, the coach said something to home plate ump Javier Cantu.

Pretty soon, tensions escalated, and Cantu stepped out from behind the plate and motioned for the coach to leave the field.

Hallmark, however, didn’t go quietly. He jogged hurriedly from the third-base coaching box to home plate and started getting more vocal. But as the home crowd jeered, the dust-up didn’t last long. Only for a few seconds. Nevertheless, it was an eye-opener to see the coach walk off, his jaw set, and his team still trailing 5-2.

From there, Barry continued to work the count on Medrano and drew a walk. Next up, Taylor Smith looked at the first two pitches out of the strike zone. On the third offering, a pitch hit came in high and tight and hit Smith in the back. As Smith started to take his free base, time out was called, with Medrano having collapsed on the mound.

Without putting weight on one leg, he was helped off and replaced Rhett McCaffety.

On McCaffety’s second pitch, Antonio Valdez drilled it into center field, bringing Barry around to score while putting runners at first and second. With the crowd getting louder, UTSA failed to take advantage of the opportunity. First, Caleb Hill flied to center. Next, Bush entered the game for Texas State and struck out King to end the threat.

In the eighth and ninth, still batting against Bush, the Roadrunners hit the ball hard to the outfield four times for outs and came up with zeroes on the scoreboard both times. Just one of those nights for UTSA, in some respects. The win was significant for Texas State on a number of levels.

First, it allowed the Bobcats to avenge an 11-2 loss to UTSA in San Marcos on March 7 and boosted the Bobcats to 62-39 all time against the Roadrunners in a series that dates back to 1992.

Also, it showed that even with 13 losses on their record, the Bobcats remain as a dangerous opponent for anyone. Additionally, the win also indicated that they still have some of the spark that allowed them to earn an NCAA tournament at-large bid last season.

Texas State’s winning streak started last week in Austin against nationally-ranked Texas.

It stayed intact through last weekend with a three-game sweep in the Sun Belt Conference of the Marshall Thundering Herd. Now that they’ve won against the Roadrunners, a team that had a 21-3 record at home before Tuesday night, it’s fair to ask whether the Bobcats have found a second gear.

“I hope so,” Trout said. “That’s kind of the trend (of where) were going. The key is we’re finding different ways to win. It’s not just with the long ball, or whatever it might be. We’re finding different ways to get it done. Hopefully that continues.”

For the Roadrunners, both Valdez and Josh Killeen had a couple of hits apiece. Both drove in one run each. Centerfielder Shane Sirdashney did not play for the Roadrunners after tweaking a leg injury running the bases on Sunday against Middle Tennessee State.

Records

Texas State 25-13
UTSA 28-9

Coming up

Both teams will hit the road for three-game series in their respective conferences starting Friday. Texas State travels to Alabama to meet the Troy Trojans in the Sun Belt, while UTSA will trek to Miami, Fla., to face the FIU Panthers in Conference USA.

Notable

The crowd was announced at 1,059 as UTSA entered the game ranked 22nd in Baseball America and 25th in D1 Baseball. It was the second time this season that the Roadrunners cracked the Top 25 on a Monday and then lost on a Tuesday to a local rival. The initial Top 25 mention in the program’s 31-year history came out on April 3 when Baseball America installed them at No. 24. On April 4, the Roadrunners played on the road at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, built a five-run lead and then lost 9-6 on a walk-off home run in the ninth inning by Rey Mendoza. Later that same week, UTSA traveled to play a C-USA series at Charlotte and split a pair games to complete the week’s work at 1-2.

JB’s video replay

Texas State at UTSA set for tonight at Roadrunner Field: ‘It’s a rivalry in every way’

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Like any decent baseball rivalry, a friendly debate between fans of the UTSA Roadrunners and the Texas State Bobcats can start at any moment.

A tweet here. A social media post there. The presence of one team’s fans in the home ballpark of the other. Just about anything can serve as a catalyst for a lively discussion.

With 22nd-ranked UTSA and Texas State set to play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Roadrunner Field, fans on both sides are warming up their vocal chords. They’re itching to call up their their Twitter, Facebook or Instagram pages.

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark acknowledged over the weekend that, yes, the 31-year-old series between teams from universities separated by about 50 miles remains as a thing.

A South-Central Texas thing.

“Oh, yeah,” Hallmark said. “Cause it’s so close. Geographically, it’s a rivalry, in every way. The kids know it and they enjoy it, and I think the fans obviously know it. So it’s a rivalry. They’re a good team. It’ll be fun.”

Records

Texas State (24-13) at UTSA (28-8), 6 p.m. Tuesday, at Roadrunner Field in San Antonio.

Coming up

Both will hit the road for three-game series in their respective conferences starting Friday. Texas State travels to Alabama to meet the Troy Trojans in the Sun Belt, while UTSA will trek to Miami, Fla., to face the FIU Panthers in Conference USA.

Series updates

Tonight’s game is the 101st meeting between the teams. Texas State leads the series, 61-39. Since 2020, the first season for both Hallmark and Texas State’s Steve Trout in their respective jobs, the teams are 2-2.

Trout’s Bobcats won 11-1 in eight innings in San Marcos in 2020. Last season, the Bobcats won again in San Marcos, 14-12, surviving the Roadrunners, who generated a seven-run rally in the ninth inning. Later, UTSA exacted a measure of revenge with a 14-8 victory at Roadrunner Field to split the season series.

On March 7 of this season, UTSA cranked out 16 hits and beat Texas State in San Marcos at Bobcat Field, 11-2. So, the Roadrunners have won two straight in the series and will be trying to make it three in a row tonight. The Bobcats will be attempting to win in San Antonio for the first time since March 5, 2019.

Monitoring the rankings

In the latest NCAA-generated ratings percentage index, UTSA is 29th this week, and Texas State is 68th. After a 4-0 week last week, UTSA has returned to the top 25 in various media-generated polls, notably at No. 22 in Baseball America and No. 25 in D1 Baseball.

Playing for bragging rights

The contrast between postseason fortunes of the two schools last year continues to stir passions among both fan bases.

For UTSA, last season ended in heartbreak. The Roadrunners got hot in the C-USA postseason, defeating the nationally-ranked Southern Miss Golden Eagles twice on their home field, before they came up short against Louisiana Tech in a title game that would have yielded an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. With a 38-20 record and nine wins against ranked opponents on the season, the Roadrunners were snubbed and did not receive an NCAA at-large bid.

The Bobcats, meanwhile, went on to win the Sun Belt regular-season title, claimed an at-large bid and then took Stanford to the wire in a riveting NCAA regional in Palo Alto, Calif. Texas State was three outs away from advancing to the Super Regional round for the first time in its history when Stanford scored three times in the bottom of the ninth to win, ousting Texas State from the tournament. The Bobcats finished 47-14.

Beating the big boys

The Bobcats have lost 13 games this season but they have caught fire lately, winning four straight. Last week, they lost on a Monday night at home to the nationally-ranked Texas Longhorns before turning around on Tuesday and beating UT on its home field in Austin. Last weekend, Texas State swept a Sun Belt series at home against the Marshall Thundering Herd, winning 5-1, 6-0 and 5-4.

On the same night the Bobcats were beating the Longhorns in Austin, the Roadrunners were winning on the road in the Southeastern Conference, downing the Texas A&M Aggies, 5-1, in College Station. UTSA continued its roll into the weekend, sweeping a C-USA home series against Middle Tennessee State, 13-5, 12-4 and 5-4, moving along on the way to 28 victories on the season. With 19 games remaining before the C-USA tournament, the school record of 39 wins seems to be in reach. As is the first program’s first NCAA tournament bid since 2013.

Are the Roadrunners worthy? Tonight might offer a few clues.

Nail biter: Roadrunners win 5-4 to sweep a C-USA home series against Middle Tennessee

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders would not quit on Sunday afternoon. Despite falling behind early and trailing by five runs, they kept playing hard and applying the pressure until the final out.

The Blue Raiders scored twice in the eighth and twice more in the ninth, before relief ace Simon Miller escaped the jam, allowing the UTSA Roadrunners to win 5-4 and sweep a three-game series in Conference USA.

“I mean, sweeping any team is obviously pretty hard, and they’ve been pretty hot,” UTSA left fielder Caleb Hill said. “We knew coming into this weekend that we had to play our best and I feel like lately, we’ve been doing that. We’re trying to just control what we can control. Coach talks to us about that all the time.”

After swinging hot bats in 13-5 and 12-4 victories on Friday and Saturday, respectively, the defense sparkled at sun-splashed Roadrunner Field behind starting pitcher Ulises Quiroga, who earned his second win of the week.

On one play, right fielder Dalton Porter fired a sizzling strike into the catcher to keep one run off the board early. Later, Hill made a leaping catch of a drive at the left field fence, crashing into the wall and then falling to the ground for the last out in the fifth.

Not to be outdone, freshman center fielder Tye Odom, inserted into the game earlier in place of injured Shane Sirdashney, made a terrific running catch of a drive into the right/center gap. Quite obviously, a “Win on Sunday” mantra that the Roadrunners adopted earlier this spring, was in play once again.

“Some teams would come in here on Sunday and drop that third game. But I feel like, coming in, we knew we had to stay focused in this game. You know, one pitch at a time,” said Hill, a junior in his first year at UTSA out of Grandview High School, Nicholls State University and Temple Junior College.

Quiroga (6-1) enjoyed a solid start featuring 72 pitches, 51 of them for strikes. On Tuesday, he started and worked the first two innings in a 5-1 victory at Texas A&M.

On Sunday, he pitched six scoreless, gave up only five hits and didn’t walk anyone, while striking out four. As good as Quiroga was, however, the defense may have been better. Defenders in the field made all the routine plays — and all the others, as well.

Hill’s catch of a drive off the bat of Middle Tennessee’s Eston Snider was certainly one for the memory banks.

“When he hit it, I kind of knew it was drifting away from me,” Hill said. “It actually had a little more carry than I thought. I thought the wind was going to kill it a little bit. But it just kept going. I knew the wall was going to stop me, so I just kept going (into the fence).”

In the top of the ninth, the game nearly got away from Miller and the Roadrunners.

JT Mabry opened with an infield single and took second base on a one-out fielder’s choice. On the play, pinch-hitter Jared Vetetoe chopped a ball to the right side. Fielding it on a high hop, first baseman Garrett Poston flipped to Miller covering the bag at first for the second out of the inning.

From there, the Blue Raiders dug in and refused to fold. Luke Vinson drew a walk and then Snider followed with a double off Miller that bounced into the left field corner, scoring two runs.

Suddenly, what had been a five-run game was a one-run game. Also surprising was that Miller, one of the top pitchers in the nation, had given up two earned runs in an inning for the first time all season. In keeping with his bulldog mentality, though, he steadied himself and got the last out.

UTSA shortstop Matt King fielded Brett Coker’s ground ball cleanly and fired to first, ending the game and keeping the Roadrunners a half game ahead of the Dallas Baptist Patriots in the C-USA title race.

Asked later what he was thinking, with two out and the potential tying run at second base in the last inning, UTSA coach Pat Hallmark grimaced a bit and replied, “To be real blunt, I was mad at myself.”

Hallmark was thinking about a decision that he made early in the game.

“I made a mistake in the second inning, and right when I made it, I thought to myself, ‘That’s the kind of mistake that on a day like this can come back to hurt you,’ ” he said.

At the time, UTSA held a 4-0 lead and had runners at first and second with no outs.

On a single to right field by Antonio Valdez, the UTSA coach waved Josh Killeen around third and sent him home, where a throw from Snider, the right fielder, was on the money. Catcher Briggs Rutter secured the ball in his mitt and slapped the tag on Killeen for the out.

The next two batters were retired in order, leaving UTSA scoreless in an inning when it could have done some serious damage.

Records

Middle Tennessee State 17-17, 8-7
UTSA 28-8, 12-2

Coming up

Texas State at UTSA, 6 p.m.

Notable

UTSA has won 14 games in a row at home. UTSA’s last home loss came on March 3, when the Utah Utes won 5-3 at Roadrunner Field.

JB’s video replay

After a significant win at Texas A&M, UTSA stays focused and routs Middle Tennessee State

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

In the aftermath of an important non-conference road victory at Texas A&M on Tuesday night, the UTSA Roadrunners celebrated, but they didn’t lose their minds — or their focus.

Sure, the players made quite a bit of noise in the back of the bus on the way home, as they usually do when they win, but Coach Pat Hallmark said it really wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

“That was a great feeling, obviously,” UTSA second baseman Leyton Barry said of the 5-1 victory over the Aggies. “Anytime you’re playing a big school, in state, especially at their place — big stadium — to come out with a win was fantastic.”

Barry agreed, though, that the post-game mood wasn’t anything too crazy.

“It’s sort of like the mood will be in the locker room after we pull this tarp tonight,” he said Friday night after the Roadrunners drilled the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, 13-5, to open a three-game weekend series. “We feel good. But there’s a lot of season left. There’s a lot of games to play. So we stay focused.”

Such was the atmosphere after the Roadrunners exploded for 17 hits and maintained a hold on first place in the Conference USA standings.

Matt King and Barry both launched two-run home runs to back the pitching of starter Luke Malone as UTSA (26-8, 10-2) remained a half game ahead of Dallas Baptist (25-9, 10-3) in the C-USA.

Malone (5-2) pitched through five innings and exited with a 5-2 lead to earn the victory, outdueling Middle Tennessee starter Patrick Johnson (2-2).

Johnson, a freshman righthander, was stung early in the game by King and Barry.

In the second inning, King, a right-side hitter, redirected a fast ball and sent it on a high arc onto the screen above the left field wall. In the third, Barry did the honors. A left-side hitter, he saw a ball on the outside of the plate and smashed it opposite field into the same neighborhood that King hit his.

All told, Johnson yielded seven runs on 10 hits.

The Roadrunners, who have produced a combined 30 hits in their last two games, scored twice in the second, twice in the third, once in the fourth and four times apiece in the fifth and sixth for a commanding 13-4 lead.

“We swung the bat good,” Hallmark said. “The wind was blowing out early, and we hit a couple up into it. We hit good. I was very happy with everything. We (also) pitched well.”

Neither Barry nor King has felt really good lately about their hitting strokes, but whatever was ailing them, they seem to have ironed it out.

Barry went three for four with three runs scored and two RBIs. He homered, tripled and singled. King, for his part, was two for four with a season-high five RBIs.

“It feels great,” King said. “I really just went out there and trusted the training. Past couple of weeks have been a roller-coaster for me. Me and Barry, honestly. So it was good for both of us to get out there and trust the training and have good swings and have a good day.”

Records

UTSA 26-8, 10-2
Middle Tennessee State 17-15, 8-5

Coming up

Middle Tennessee State at UTSA, Saturday, 2 p.m.
Middle Tennessee State at UTSA, Sunday, noon.

JB’s replay

Malone, who pitched a scoreless inning in relief at Texas A&M, worked five innings against Middle Tennessee State and gave up two runs on five hits.

Walker finished the night three for five with a double and two singles. He also had an RBI, a stolen base and two runs scored.

The Blue Raiders also made contact well as a team, collecting 12 hits. But they were all singles, compared to the Roadrunners, who had nine extra-base hits among their 17.

Garza, one of the standouts in last year’s C-USA tournament, worked three innings. He gave up three runs, only one earned, on five hits. Lefthander Zach Royse pitched the ninth and retired three in a row.

Charlotte hits four homers, rallies for a 12-10 victory and a doubleheader split against UTSA

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Austin Knight hit two home runs, and Cam Fisher and Brandon Stahlman added one apiece as the Charlotte 49ers erased a seven-run deficit in their home park, downing the 24th-ranked UTSA Roadrunners 12-10 Thursday night in Conference USA baseball.

Charlotte outscored UTSA 12-5 after a 2 hour and 48-minute weather delay. With the victory, the 49ers salvaged a split of a doubleheader. The Roadrunners won the opener, 5-3. Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m.

It’s been a wild week for UTSA. The Roadrunners learned on Monday that they had been ranked in the top 25 in the nation for the first time in school history. They were listed at No. 24 in the poll by Baseball America magazine.

By Tuesday, they were on the road, playing a non-conference game on the campus of the University of the Incarnate Word. Against UIW, they bolted to a 6-1 lead and held a 6-4 advantage going into the ninth inning, only to see the Cardinals rally for a 9-6 victory on a Rey Mendoza three-run, walk-off homer.

By Thursday, they were in Charlotte, playing two against the 49ers because of forecasted rain in the area. In the first game, the Roadrunners claimed a victory behind the hitting and baserunning of Antonio Valdez and the pitching of Luke Malone and Simon Miller.

In the second game, the Roadrunners started fast, moving out to a 5-0 lead before a weather delay forced the teams off the field. Once play resumed, the Roadrunners tacked on two more and looked to be in control, 7-0.

From there, the UTSA pitching started to falter and the Charlotte bats came alive. The 49ers created big-time momentum with a six-run fourth inning, capped by back-to-back home runs from Stahlman and Knight.

Right after Stahlman ripped a three-run shot, Knight unloaded with a solo shot, trimming UTSA’s lead to 7-6. After the Roadrunners scored once in the top of the fifth on Taylor Smith’s solo home run, the 49ers retaliated with two runs of their own in the bottom half, tying the game at 8-8.

Knight vaulted the 49ers into the lead in the sixth inning, blasting another solo homer to make it 9-8. Though the Roadrunners would come back to tie with a run in the seventh, their pitching just would not hold. The 49ers exploded with three runs in the eighth to make it 12-9.

Isaiah Walker lashed an RBI double in the ninth for the Roadrunners. But that was it, as Charlotte reliever Paxton Thompson retired two in a row to end it.

Thompson (3-1) was the winning pitcher, working 4 and 2/3 innings, giving up two runs, only one of them earned, while yielding three hits. Pitching in relief, UTSA’s Ulises Quiroga (4-1) was saddled with the loss. Charlotte touched him for three runs on four hits in two innings.

Records

UTSA 24-8, 9-2
Charlotte 15-15, 6-5

Coming up

UTSA at Charlotte, Friday, 5 p.m.

Antonio Valdez steals three bases in one inning as UTSA downs Charlotte, 5-3, in series opener

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Antonio Valdez stole three bases in one inning, sparking the 24th-ranked UTSA Roadrunners to a 5-3 victory over the Charlotte 49ers Thursday in Conference USA baseball.

In the first game of a C-USA doubleheader at Charlotte, UTSA bounced back from a mid-week loss at Incarnate Word behind Valdez, a breakout offensive star in his first year with the team after transferring from Baylor.

Valdez produced three hits, including an RBI triple, plus three stolen bases, including a daring, eighth-inning steal of home. Plus, he also scored twice.

Luke Malone (4-2) pitched into the sixth inning to earn the victory, and Simon Miller closed with 3 and 2/3 of scoreless relief to earn his sixth save. Charlotte starter Wyatt Hudepohl (2-4) worked seven innings and took the loss.

With rain in the forecast in North Carolina, UTSA and Charlotte elected to play twice on Thursday. Game 3 is tentatively set for Saturday afternoon.

Charlotte trailed by three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning when Will Butcher golfed a two-run homer to left field off Malone, pulling the 49ers to within 4-3. Two batters later, Miller entered the game and issued a walk to put runners at first and second.

The UTSA infield turned a double play to end it. The infield defense did it again in the seventh inning, picking up another twin killing to protect a one-run lead. Second baseman Leyton Barry made slick relay plays to first base to facilitate both defensive gems.

Two innings later, in the top of the eight, Valdez electrified the Roadrunners’ bench with his base running.

After reaching on a fielder’s choice, he stole second base, third base and then stole home to give UTSA a two-run cushion.

On the steal of home, Valdez danced off third and broke for the plate after the catcher tossed the ball back to the pitcher. Sliding head first, he beat the throw to the plate, giving the Roadrunners’ a two-run cushion. Afterward, players met him at the dugout steps with high-fives and shouts of encouragement.

The Roadrunners started the week on Monday by learning that they had been ranked in the top 25 in the nation for the first time. Baseball America moved them up to the No. 24 spot.

On Tuesday night, they played a road game in San Antonio against the University of Incarnate Word and allowed a five-run lead to slip away from them, eventually giving up five in the ninth inning and losing 9-6 on a walk off home run by Rey Mendoza.

It was the third time in the last three weeks that UTSA lost mid-week games and then turned around a few days later to win a C-USA series opener.

Two weeks ago, they lost at UT-Rio Grande Valley and then won at Rice. Last week, they lost at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and then won at home against Western Kentucky. This week, after the stunning collapse at UIW, they played a game in North Carolina on less than a 48-hour turnaround and won again.

Records

UTSA 24-7, 9-1
Charlotte 14-15, 5-5

Coming up

UTSA at Charlotte, today, second game of a doubleheader.

Wild celebration follows Incarnate Word’s ninth-inning rally for a 9-6 victory over 24th-ranked UTSA

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Athletes were jumping up and down and cups of water were flying everywhere. Even a large water cooler went airborne at one point over a gaggle of ball players celebrating at home plate.

This is how the night’s activity ended after a Tuesday night battle between San Antonio’s two NCAA Division I baseball teams.

Paced by clutch hitting from Alec Carr and Rey Mendoza, the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals rallied from a two-run deficit with five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, coming from behind on their home field for an emotional 9-6 victory over the 24th-ranked UTSA Roadrunners.

With the victory, UIW improved to 6-2 over its last eight games and to 13-7 over its last 20 since falling 2-1 to UTSA at Roadrunner Field back on March 1.

In the ninth inning, the Cardinals took advantage of a couple of walks and another batter hit by a pitch to load the bases against UTSA reliever Daniel Shafer.

Up stepped Carr, who stroked a one-out, two-run single to tie the game. It looked like extra innings might be in store when Shafer retired Hernan Yanez on a ground ball for the second out.

But with two men remaining on the bases, Mendoza, a left-side hitting grad transfer from the University of Houston, knew what to do.

He fouled off a pitch and then yanked the next offering way over the wall in right field for a three-run homer, the game winner.

How did Mendoza feel about it all?

“Phenomenal,” he said. “I mean, it couldn’t happen without the guys right next to me in the dugout, you know. The pitchers, they pitched great all game, and we hung around. We were able to make something happen in the ninth inning. Good things happen when you keep it simple.”

Mendoza looked calm as he stepped into the plate for his at bat.

“We knew that against lefties, he was throwing a lot of sliders,” he said. “I got a slider first pitch, and I hooked a foul. Then I saw it out of his hand again, and I put a good swing on it.”

In the teams’ previous meeting, UTSA won the game with a double steal of home plate by Antonio Valdez. If that didn’t sting enough, UIW players watched as the Roadrunners rolled to victory after victory and finally into a national ranking for the first time this week.

UTSA was ranked in three polls on Monday, the most notable being Baseball America magazine’s No. 24.

“We knew,” Mendoza said. “We found out before the game. We were just like, ‘It’s another day. It’s just another day at the park. We’ve been doing this for a lot of months now. We just took it as another day at the park, did what we did and came out on top.”

Records

Incarnate Word 16-13
UTSA 23-7

Coming up

UIW, a three-game series in the Southland Conference at Nicholls State (La.), from Thursday through Saturday.

UTSA, a three-game series in Conference USA at Charlotte (N.C.), from Thursday through Saturday.