BRUCE BOLT College Classic
At Houston, Daikin Park
Results
Friday’s scores
UTSA beats Ohio State, 6-5
Baylor beats (25) Ole Miss, 6-5, 10 innings
(3) Texas beats (9) Coastal Carolina, 8-1
Saturday’s games
(25) Ole Miss beats Ohio State, 8-0
UTSA vs. (9) Coastal Carolina, 3:05 p.m.
Baylor vs. (3) Texas, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday’s games
Coastal Carolina vs. (25) Ole Miss, 10:05 a.m.
Texas vs. Ohio State, 2:05 p.m.
UTSA vs. Baylor, 6:05 p.m.
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Pitcher Sam Simmons entered in relief in the top of the ninth inning and retired three straight batters on ground balls, as the UTSA Roadrunners quelled a rally and held off the Ohio State Buckeyes, 6-5, on Friday afternoon in Houston.
As a result, the Roadrunners will take an 8-1 record into their second game of the BRUCE BOLT College Classic on Saturday afternoon at Daikin Park against ninth-ranked Coastal Carolina.
Coach Pat Hallmark’s UTSA Roadrunners improved to 8-1 after beating Ohio State 6-5 on Friday in Houston. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Daikin Park, the home of Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros, is hosting the multi-team event over three days through Sunday. UTSA is playing in the invitational for the first time following its run last season to the NCAA Super Regionals.
Coming from behind against the Buckeyes from the Big Ten Conference, the Roadrunners produced two-out hits in both the sixth and seventh innings, scoring two runs on each, to take a 5-3 lead.
Designated hitter Garrett Gruell stroked a two-RBI single in the sixth and then Lane Haworth blasted a two-run homer in the seventh. In the eighth, the Roadrunners manufactured a run, thanks to the speed of Christian Hallmark.
First, Hallmark was hit by a pitch. Next, he stole second. With one out, Diego Diaz came to bat for UTSA and chopped a ground ball to the right side.
When Ohio State first baseman Steven Cavaco touched first base for the second out of the inning, the coach’s son didn’t slow down on a mad dash for home plate.
Diving head first, he was tagged by catcher Mason Eckelman, but the ball popped out as the hard-charging base runner made impact with the glove. He touched home to make it 6-3.
In the ninth, the Buckeyes put their first two batters aboard against UTSA’s Mike DeBattista on an infield single by Miles Vandenheuvel and a double to left by Lee Ellis.
With runners at second and third and nobody out, Simmons, who played in high school at Houston-area Manvel, entered the game to pitch.
Ground balls by Eckelman and Noah Furcht pushed across one run apiece, but Simmons finished the game when Henry Kaczmar bounced out to second.
Defending American Conference champion UTSA (8-1) is scheduled to play Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon and Baylor on Sunday night.
Coastal Carolina, from the Sun Belt Conference, won the 2016 national title and last season reached the championship round before falling to LSU at the Men’s College World Series.
The Chanticleers ran into trouble Friday night in their first game, as the third-ranked Texas Longhorns hit four home runs and beat them 8-1. Coastal Carolina will take a 6-3 record into the UTSA game.
Records
Ohio State 5-3
UTSA 8-1
Coming up
UTSA vs. Coastal Carolina, Saturday, 3:05 p.m.
UTSA vs. Baylor, Sunday, 6:05 p.m.
The road to Houston
The Roadrunners opened the season with seven straight victories at home.
Included in the record start were three consecutive victories over Dallas Baptist, a perennial NCAA tournament team. Playing on the road Tuesday in San Marcos, they lost 7-2 to the Texas State Bobcats.
Lane Haworth hit a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh inning to give UTSA a 5-3 lead. He blasted his first homer in a UTSA uniform into the right field seats at Daikin Park. – File photo by Joe Alexander
Ohio State started its season with three straight wins in Pensacola, Fla., against Saint Louis.
The Buckeyes next played four straight in Memphis. They lost the first and third games in the event to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and won the second and fourth games against the Memphis Tigers.
Notable
Starting pitchers for UTSA and Ohio State put on a good show. UTSA’s Connor Kelley battled with control problems early, but he made it through four and a third innings, allowing three runs on six hits.
Though Kelley walked four, he showcased a high-velocity fastball, striking out seven in a 105-pitch performance.
For Ohio State, Gavin Kuzniewski pitched six innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out five.
Roadrunners relief pitchers held their own.
After Noah Furcht blasted a one-out, solo homer off Kelley in the top of the fifth to give the Buckeyes a 3-1 lead, UTSA lefthander Christopher Gutierrez entered and struck out both batters he faced to close the inning.
Winning pitcher Mike DeBattista (2-0) worked three innings, yielding two runs on five hits and no walks, while striking out two. DeBattista was lifted in the ninth after giving up an infield single to Miles Vandenheuvel and a double to Lee Ellis.
Replacing DeBattista, Simmons secured his first save of the season after he retired Mason Eckelman and Furcht on ground balls, with both of them pushing runs across, before getting Henry Kaczmar on a bouncer to second.
Ohio State reliever Zak Sigman (1-1) took the loss after giving up the go-ahead, two-run homer to Lane Haworth, a Wichita State transfer who entered the game as UTSA’s leading hitter.
Both Haworth and Garrett Gruell finished with two hits and two RBIs apiece.
Ohio State out-hit UTSA, 11-7. The Buckeyes showed good pop on offense with five hits going for extra bases. Ellis had two hits, both of them doubles. Furcht homered into the Crawford boxes and drove in two in a two-for-five performance.
Also getting two hits apiece were Kaczmar and Maddix Simpson. Kaczmar singled up the middle in the top of the first inning to give Ohio State a 2-0 lead.
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Freshman Clayton Namken from New Braunfels High School belted a two-run homer and had four hits Tuesday night as the Texas State Bobcats recorded a 7-2 victory, snapping a season-opening, seven-game winning streak by the UTSA Roadrunners.
In the game attended by 2,315 fans at Bobcat Ballpark in San Marcos, Texas State pitching also flustered UTSA, striking out 14, as the home team broke a three-game losing streak to its Interstate 35 rival.
With the victory, Texas State improved to 64-42 against UTSA in the all-time series.
Drew Detlefsen launched a solo home run in the sixth and Caden Miller scored on a wild pitch in the eighth for the Roadrunners, who were held to seven hits. UTSA had scored 81 runs on 91 hits in its first seven games, all at home.
Texas State scored two runs in the first inning. In the second, they added two more on Namken’s blast over the right field wall, ending the night for UTSA starter Christian Okerholm.
UTSA had a chance to get back into the game in the top of the fourth, but a Texas State defensive gem stopped the uprising.
With two runners aboard via base hit, Roadrunners slugger Josh Arquette hit a sinking liner into right center. The Bobcats, somewhat miraculously, turned it into a double play.
Texas State center fielder Jackson Cotton made a running catch and fired to shortstop Dawson Park, who whirled and thew a strike to third baseman Chase Mora. Mora tagged out a sliding Lane Haworth for the second out of the inning.
As it turned out, UTSA did not score in the inning. At the same time, Bobcats pitching was in high gear. Starter Sam Hall struck out four over the first two innings. Freshman lefty Titan Targac followed Hall and fanned six more.
Targac (1-1) pitched three innings, gave up one run on four hits and fanned six, including three straight in the fifth. Okerholm (0-1) took the loss.
Freshmen played a major role in the victory for the Bobcats. Namkin homered and roped three singles. Cotton made the defensive play in the fourth and reached base three times, with a single, a double and a walk.
Others included outfielder Tanner Carson from Southlake who roped a two-run double to left field in the fifth. In the pitching department, freshman Wade Cooper from Del Rio yielded one run while fanning four in the last two innings.
Records
UTSA 7-1
Texas State 6-2
Coming up
UTSA vs. Ohio State, Friday, 11:05 a.m., at Daikin Park, in Houston, at the Bruce Bolt College Classic
UTSA vs. Coastal Carolina, Saturday, 3:05 p.m., at Daikin Park in Houston
UTSA vs. Baylor, Sunday, 6:05 p.m., at Daikin Park in Houston
(Daikin Park is the home of Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros)
Notable
Cade Smith, a Texas State sophomore from San Antonio Churchill, pitched two scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh.
Entering in relief with a runner at second base in the sixth, he retired three straight to end the threat. He retired another three straight in the seventh.
It was the first win for the Bobcats in the I-35 rivalry since March of 2024 when they won 14-13 in San Marcos. In the wake of that game, the Roadrunners won three straight in the series.
UTSA won 11-9 in San Antonio in April of 2024 and then swept both meetings last season.
In 2025, the Roadrunners beat the Bobcats 12-9 in San Antonio and then 18-13 in San Marcos en route to a 47-15 record and their first-ever berth in the NCAA Super Regionals.
Both coaches Pat Hallmark at UTSA and Steve Trout at Texas State started with their respective programs in the 2020 season. Since then, the Roadrunners and the Bobcats are 5-5 in head-to-head matchups.
The two teams will play again in San Antonio on Tuesday, May 12, at Roadrunner Field.
For Texas State and UTSA, the games are non conference. UTSA plays in the American and Texas State plays in the Sun Belt. Texas State is moving to the Pac 12 next season.
The teams once shared membership in the Southland and in the Western Athletic Conference.
Correction: Clayton Namken’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of this story.
Kendall Dove allowed one run in five innings to earn the victory Sunday as UTSA swept three games from Dallas Baptist. – Courtesy photo from UTSA athletics
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Josh Arquette stroked two hits and produced three RBIs Sunday as undefeated and record-setting UTSA downed the Dallas Baptist Patriots 6-3 to sweep a three-game series between mid-major powers in college baseball.
A crowd of 1,049 at Roadrunner Field watched as UTSA improved to 7-0, the best record after seven games in program history. Another record was set with 3,048 in attendance for the three games.
Roadrunners starter Kendall Dove started and worked five innings, giving up only one run on five hits, to earn the victory.
Reliever Gunnar Brown, making his second appearance in two days, was almost as effective in pitching the last four innings for the save.
He yielded two runs on five hits, a day after UTSA’s 10-8 victory, in which he earned the win in 2/3 of an inning.
A bit of drama unfolded in the last inning Sunday when Brown issued one-out walks to Jake Bennett and Ben Tryon, who both later advanced on a wild pitch.
With runners at second and third, Brown responded by striking out Chayton Krauss on a check swing. Finally, he retired slugger Ryan Martin on a long fly ball to right field to end it.
UTSA coach Pat Hallmark praised his players for evolving into “a complete team” in winning the finale against the Patriots, who fell to 4-3.
“We looked like a very good baseball team today” he said. “We pitched it. We put together grown-up bats versus good pitching in conditions that were not conducive to hitting.
“We played good defense. We ran the bases (well). It was a just a very complete game. It’s one that’ll make a coach pleased.”
Hallmark raised an eyebrow when he was asked what it means to start the season 7-0.
“It means we’re OK,” he said. “It means we got a decent team. But, again, we want to improve. We’re always looking forward …. We’re looking to improve, but 7-0 is better than anything else.”
After winning seven straight at home by a combined score of 81-32, the Roadrunners play their first road game Tuesday night in San Marcos against the I-35 rival Texas State Bobcats.
“(They are) a good team and they’re good fans,” Hallmark said. “They love their team, and they mostly hate UTSA, and that’s OK. That’s what fans are supposed to do.”
On a cool afternoon with fans wearing jackets and sweatshirts and a stiff wind blowing into the hitters’ faces, the Roadrunners jumped on the Patriots in the bottom of the first.
They scored three runs on three hits, two walks and a wild pitch by Patriots starter Ryan Borberg.
With the bases loaded and only one out, Arquette bounced a single up the middle to score the first two runs.
Christian Hallmark followed with a bouncer through the right side to make it 3-0.
In essence, the inning served as a microcosm of how the Roadrunners won the series against a perennial NCAA tournament team.
They laid off pitches out of the strike zone. They took the walks when they could and then capitalized with timely hitting.
“Really it’s just trusting your approach, trusting your eyes and just not trying to do too much,” Arquette said. “Get a pitch that you can handle, and if they don’t give it to you, take the free pass.
“Because,” he added, “we can hit. So we’re going to capitalize on pitchers’ mistakes.”
The Patriots out-hit the Roadrunners 10-9, the second time on the weekend that they had more hits than the home team and still lost.
Their problem stemmed from the disparity in walks and how the Roadrunners took advantage of it.
They Patriots issued eight free passes, compared to only three combined by Dove and Brown.
Four of the eight UTSA players who walked ended up scoring. DBU, by contrast, didn’t score with any of its three who reached via the base on ball.
Dove said he felt good and tried to just throw as many strikes as possible, and then let the defense do the work.
“And they played great (behind me) today,” said Dove, who struck out six batters and walked one.
In the fifth inning, the Patriots scored their first run of the game when Jake Bennett delivered an RBI double down the left field to make it 4-1.
Afterward, Hallmark came out to the mound to tell his starting pitcher that the next batter, Tryon, would be the last one he’d face.
But after Dove struck out Tryon, he signaled to the dugout that he’d like to pitch to the next batter, Krauss, the preseason Player of the Year in Conference USA.
Dove was granted his wish, and then he retired Krauss on a long fly ball to left.
“I thought I had him,” Dove said. “I wanted to compete against him. Thanks to coach Hallmark for letting me get the opportunity right there.”
Looking into looming challenges for the Roadrunners, the Bobcats in San Marcos and then the Astros Classic in Houston next weekend, Dove said there’s “definitely” more work to be done.
“We’re starting to figure out our identity a little bit,” he said. “But it’s going to be tested again on Tuesday and this weekend, and we’ll see how we handle it from there.”
Records
Dallas Baptist 4-3
UTSA 7-0
Coming up
UTSA at Texas State, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Notable
The Patriots haven’t been swept in a three-game series since March 3-5 in 2023 when they lost three straight to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in Hattiesburg.
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Drew Detlefsen had four hits, including a two-run single in a six-run eighth inning, as the undefeated UTSA Roadrunners rallied on a windy day in San Antonio to defeat the Dallas Baptist Patriots, 10-8.
Coach Pat Hallmark’s team won its second straight in two days over the Patriots, a perennial NCAA tournament team, clinching the three-game series going into Sunday’s finale at Roadrunner Field.
The win also lifted Hallmark’s Roadrunners to a 6-0 record for the best start after six games in program history.
Dallas Baptist, a program that has advanced to 11 straight NCAA tournaments, scored two runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth to take a 7-4 lead.
From there, the Roadrunners capitalized on an ensuing Patriots’ bullpen meltdown in the bottom half to score six runs on four hits, four walks and a hit by pitch.
Leading by three runs going into the ninth, UTSA called on pitcher Mike DeBattista, who earned the save.
Battista gave up a one-out solo home run to Ryan Martin for the final run of the day, but after that, he retired two straight to secure the save, getting Landon Underhill on a grounder and Adam Burghult on a fly ball to right field.
UTSA’s momentum from a record-breaking, 47-15 season last year has become undeniable.
The Roadrunners, featuring a core of veterans who won the American Conference and NCAA Austin Regional titles a year ago, have started to play like they expect to win every day.
Detlefsen told ESPN on the postgame that the team felt confident going into the bottom of the eighth.
“This team is special,” said Detlefsen, who had two hits in the inning. “You can see it here, with a top team like DBU. (It’s a) respectable team, and we just battled. I can’t give enough praise to everyone. The fans. The players. Everyone that contributed to this win.”
In the series opener, the Patriots out-hit the Roadrunners by two, while both teams slugged three home runs. But the Roadrunners countered with pitching that didn’t walk a batter and a defense that didn’t make an error in 12-8 victory
UTSA wasn’t quite as clean on Saturday. The Roadrunners’ offense left 15 runners on base. The defense made two errors in the field, and the pitching walked seven.
But the pitching did have its moments, particularly a stretch of a few middle innings from reliever Conor Myles, and the hitting also came to life when it counted.
Down by three runs going into the bottom of the eighth, the Roadrunners sent 13 batters to the plate to stun the Patriots with six runs.
Detlefsen, one of the standouts on last year’s team, led off against DBU pitcher Athan Kroll with a single to right field.
Lane Haworth followed with his own single to right, putting runners at first and second. Kroll got the first out of the inning when Josh Arquette fouled off a pitch that was caught in front of the DBU dugout by Burghult, the catcher.
At that point, Hallmark got aggressive. He called for a double steal, and it worked, with Detlefsen taking third and Haworth pulling into second. At that juncture, Kroll started to falter, walking Christian Hallmark to load the bases.
Dallas Baptist coach Dan Heefner promptly countered by bringing in a new pitcher, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound righty named JT Long, to put out the fire.
Long looked imposing. He was throwing hard. Nevertheless, Jacob Silva greeted him with an RBI single for UTSA’s first run of the inning. With the bases still loaded, Long continued to struggle, hitting Diego Diaz with a pitch to force in a second run.
Hallmark maneuvered again, bringing in freshman Nathan Johnson to pinch hit, and Johnson responded with a long sacrifice fly ball to right for the second out. Nevertheless, another run scored to tie the game, 7-7.
After UTSA’s Jordan Ballin walked, Caden Miller stood in the box and worked the count to 3-2 against Long. He lashed a ball down the right field line that might have been a three-run extra-base hit, but it was barely foul.
Finally, Miller drew another bases-loaded walk to break the tie, lifting the Roadrunners into an 8-7 lead. With the crowd up and cheering and with the bases still loaded, Detlefsen stepped into the box for the second time.
He responded with a single through the left side, driving in two, and pushing UTSA’s lead to 10-7.
“I can’t lie,” Detlefsen told ESPN. “I was feeling nervous. With the adrenaline and all that. But once I got it to 2-0, I was looking for a pitch to hit, and on the ground, of course, with this wind.
“So, I just wanted to do damage. I got the pitch up (in the strike zone) and put it in play.”
In the end, UTSA outhit Dallas Baptist 13-7, with Detlefsen leading the way. He went four for six, scored twice and produced two RBIs. Silva and Haworth both had three hits in four at bats.
Records
Dallas Baptist 4-2
UTSA 6-0
Coming up
Dallas Baptist at UTSA, Sunday, 1 p.m.
UTSA at Texas State, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Notable
Three years ago, the Patriots swept three games at Roadrunner Field to clinch the Conference USA title. After UTSA joined with the American, the two played again last year in Dallas, and the Patriots won the series, two games to one.
With those outcomes, DBU increased its overall head-to-head record to 8-1 against UTSA. Now, of course, the Roadrunners have trimmed that lead to 8-3, going into Sunday’s series finale.
Last season, both teams advanced to play in the NCAA tournament. While the Patriots were ousted in the Baton Rouge Regional, the Roadrunners swept to three straight wins to claim the Austin Regional title.
Included in the regional victory were two straight wins over the Texas Longhorns, who were the Southeastern Conference regular-season champions and the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament.
UTSA reached the Los Angeles Super Regional and lost two straight to 15th-seeded UCLA.
UTSA relief pitcher Sam Simmons showed his emotions after throwing 64 pitches in 4 and 2/3 innings of one-run relief. The senior from Manvel scattered seven hits, earned the victory and improved to 2-0. – Photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
In their first test against a quality program this season, the UTSA Roadrunners won the baseball game and passed the examination.
UTSA scored six runs in the first inning Friday night and then held on behind reliever Sam Simmons for a 12-8 victory over the Dallas Baptist Patriots at Roadrunner Field.
With the win, the Roadrunners beat a perennial NCAA tournament team, scored in double figures for the fifth straight game and remained undefeated at 5-0, matching the 2010 and 2013 teams for the fastest starts in program history.
Josh Arquette smashed a three-run triple to spark UTSA’s six-run first inning. He also doubled in the fifth. – Photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA will try to break the record Saturday afternoon in the second of three games this weekend against the Patriots, who fell to 4-1.
In their first four games, the Roadrunners won by a combined score of 53-13, so Coach Pat Hallmark said on the eve of this weekend’s series that he knew the Patriots would be the first to challenge them.
He was eager to discover how his team could respond to adversity.
“We found out we can handle getting punched, at least sometimes, and we’ll keep finding out,” Hallmark said. “I asked the guys to enjoy tonight — without partaking. But I asked them to wake up (Saturday) a little bit pissed off.
“I don’t want to be satisfied.”
Hallmark said that sort of attitude last spring at the NCAA Austin Regional helped immensely when the Roadrunners beat the Kansas State Wildcats in their opener for the program’s historic first playoff victory.
He told his players then not to let up. To keep playing with a purpose, and they did it, winning the next two nights against the Texas Longhorns to claim their first NCAA regional title.
“This (game, against Dallas Baptist) is just one game,” Hallmark said. “Everybody thought we hung the moon (after Kansas State last year). I’m happy tonight, but we didn’t hang the moon. We beat a good team. We’ve beat a good team before.
“We need to win again.”
Diego Diaz jumps into a gaggle of his best friends after socking a two-run homer to cap a six-run first inning.- Photo by Joe Alexander
Dallas Baptist entered the season as one of only five programs in the nation to reach the NCAA tournament each of the last 11 years (excluding the 2020 Covid season).
The other four programs include Florida, LSU, Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt.
While some fans around the nation might not know about the Patriots’ prowess, the Roadrunners certainly do. Dallas Baptist entered the weekend 8-1 all time in baseball against UTSA.
Simmons (2-0) was still feeling the emotion about 30 minutes after it was over.
After hurling 4 and 2/3 innings of one-run relief to finish off the game and earn the victory, he was asked if it was all right for the media to call him the iron man, considering he threw 64 pitches.
“Yes sir, you can,” he said. “It was just a lot of fun. Games like that, as a player, are what you live for.”
Simmons entered with one out in the fifth inning, with UTSA leading 8-7. Dallas Baptist’s Ben Tryon had just cranked a three-run homer, prompting coaches to visit the mound and take the ball from UTSA starter Connor Kelley.
Simmons, who delivers his pitches both from the side and over the top, did not disappoint.
Facing his first two hitters, he yielded a loud single to Chayton Krauss and then another blast off the bat of Ryan Martin. Fortunately for Simmons and the Roadrunners, Martin’s ball sailed deep to center field, where Christian Hallmark turned, ran and made a running catch into the padded wall for the second out.
Andrew Stucky is greeted by Coach Pat Hallmark as he rounds third in the fifth inning following his two-run homer. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Landon Underhill followed with an infield single, putting two runners aboard and bringing up Dylan Cupp.
As it turned out, UTSA escaped the inning without another run scoring when UTSA shortstop Jordan Ballin snared Cupp’s ground ball deep in the hole and threw on multiple hops to first base for the third out.
Though the call was challenged, the umpires upheld it, one of several turning points in a crazy game.
As Patriots fans who made the trip to San Antonio groaned at the decision, Roadrunners fans cheered. They cheered even louder in UTSA’s next at bat as Andrew Stucky socked a two-run homer in the bottom half of the fifth to make it 10-7.
Drew Detlefsen followed with a two-run shot in the sixth for a 12-7 lead. In the top of the eighth, Simmons gave up a solo homer to slugger Adam Berghult as the Patriots trimmed the lead to 12-8.
But in the end, the 6-foot-4 righthander would yield only two more singles the rest of the way, finishing the game by fanning Berghult looking for the last out. The senior from Manvel gave up only one run on seven hits, while striking out four.
“Sam was great,” Hallmark said. “Kelley was good, too. I know the (statistics) line is not going to be good (for him) because he gave up some runs. But I’m proud of both of ’em. We didn’t walk a batter. That’s awesome against that team.
“It’s so, so important not to walk ’em.”
Drew Detlefsen watches the ball sail over the left field wall for his first homer of the season in the sixth inning. It was a two-run blast that yielded a 12-7 lead for the Roadrunners. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Kelley, a late-innings reliever last year, worked the first four and a third innings. Though he gave up two home runs among seven hits and seven runs, he also struck out seven and worked hard into the fifth inning.
That, in itself, was important for the Roadrunners. UTSA will need that from Kelley with ace Robert Orloski battling a shoulder injury. Orloski hurt his arm on opening day after throwing only 23 pitches.
Hallmark said he doesn’t know when he will be able to return but added that it won’t be soon.
Offensively, UTSA cranked out 10 hits, including three home runs, a double and a triple. The homers came from Diego Diaz, Stucky and Detlefsen. Josh Arquette stroked two extra-base hits and had three RBIs.
Diaz and Detlefsen also had a pair of hits and two RBIs apiece.
In the first inning, the Roadrunners erupted, with Arquette sparking the six-run uprising with a three-run triple.
Diaz capped the outburst with his second home run of the season, a two-run blast to right that chased Patriots starter Russ Smith, who took the loss and fell to 1-1.
Smith entered the season as a highly-regarded prospect from Cowley College, where he was 9-1. The righthander won on opening night for the Patriots, allowing two runs on two hits in four innings against Binghamton (N.Y.)
Against the Roadrunners, he couldn’t find the plate, walking three and giving up three hits, with the last one sent soaring 397 feet into an overcast sky by Diaz.
“Everybody’s going to want to talk about the hitting and about Sam, and we should,” Hallmark said. “The hitting and Sam were really good. But Kelley was a grown up tonight. To handle adversity like he did, I’m proud of him.”
Records
Dallas Baptist 4-1
UTSA 5-0
Dallas Baptist coach Dan Heefner has led the Patriots to 11 straight NCAA tournaments. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Coming up
Dallas Baptist at UTSA, Saturday, 2 p.m.
Dallas Baptist at UTSA, Sunday, 1 p.m.
UTSA at Texas State, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Notable
The Dallas Baptist Patriots hit .353 as a team with six home runs in their first four games, including four by Jake Bennett.
Bennett went one for three with two runs scored and an RBI. But UTSA struck him out twice, once in the first inning by Connor Kelley and again in the eighth by Sam Simmons.
DBU cranked out 12 hits, including three homers.
Hitting the ball out of the park for the Patriots were Chayton Krauss in the third inning and Ben Tryon in the fifth, both off Kelley, and also Adam Berghult in the eighth off Sam Simmons.
Four free passes issued by Dallas Baptist pitching turned into UTSA runs. Three of the first four Roadrunners who walked ended up crossing the plate and, later, the second of two batters hit by pitches also scored.
UTSA pitching didn’t walk a batter, but it did put three runners on base via the hit by pitch. Only one of those Dallas Baptist base runners scored.
After plunking two straight batters in the sixth, UTSA’s Simmons fell behind Tryon 3-0 in the count, only to rally and register a strikeout on an overhand breaking pitch.
On Saturday, Jared Schaeffer (1-0, 0.00) is expected to start for Dallas Baptist, but for UTSA, it’s an unknown as coach Pat Hallmark said he remains undecided.
Ryan Borberg (0-0, 40.50) is expected to start for the Patriots on Sunday against Roadrunners’ righty Kendall Dove (1-0, 0.00).
UTSA relief pitcher Sam Simmons delivers the ball from the side and also from over the top. He’s worked 9 and 2/3 innings this season, giving up one run on eight hits. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Update
Pitching matchups for the weekend are as follows:
Friday – Russ Smith (1-0, 4.50) for Dallas Baptist vs. UTSA’s Connor Kelley (0-0, 6.00)
Saturday – Jared Schaeffer (1-0, 0.00) for Dallas Baptist vs. TBA
Sunday – Ryan Borberg (0-0, 40.50) for Dallas Baptist vs UTSA’s Kendall Dove (1-0, 0.00)
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
UTSA baseball will host the Dallas Baptist Patriots in a three-game series starting Friday afternoon at Roadrunner Field. First pitch between the undefeated mid-major powers is set for 4 p.m.
Sophomore outfielder Christian Hallmark is batting .625 and has been on base nine times in the team’s first four games. – File photo by Joe Alexander
Both the Roadrunners and the Patriots made NCAA tournament appearances last season and enter the second weekend of the new campaign with potent offenses and 4-0 records.
It’s the fifth straight home game for the Roadrunners, who swept three games from South Dakota State before winning a mid-week game Tuesday against the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Led by Caden Miller, Josh Arquette and Christian Hallmark, UTSA has hit .399 as a team while scoring 53 runs as it attempts to tie the school record for consecutive victories to start a season.
The Patriots, meanwhile, have scored 45 runs while hitting .353 as a team in sweeping three from Binghamton and one from Abilene Christian.
Dallas Baptist boasts five players batting .400 or better, led by Adam Berghult, Jake Bennett and Ryan Martin, in addition to Dylan Cupp and Cooper Neville.
Bennett has hit four home runs, including two in a game against Binghamton and two against Abilene Christian.
Records
Dallas Baptist 4-0
UTSA 4-0
Coming up
Dallas Baptist at UTSA, Friday, 4 p.m.
Dallas Baptist at UTSA, Saturday, 2 p.m.
Dallas Baptist at UTSA, Sunday, 1 p.m.
UTSA at Texas State, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Notable
Injuries have hit two of UTSA’s best players thus far, as the team has lost both infielder Nathan Hodge and pitcher Robert Orloski.
Both players contributed heavily in last year’s 47-15 season, which included titles in both the American Conference regular season and the NCAA Austin Regional.
UTSA eventually reached the Los Angeles Super Regional — its first trip to the Super Regional round — where it was eliminated by UCLA.
Dallas Baptist won two of three from UTSA last season in Dallas.
The Patriots went on to win the Conference USA regular-season championship and finished 41-18 after getting eliminated at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. It was DBU’s third straight 40-win season and its 11th straight NCAA trip.
Dallas Baptist baseball is embarking on its last season in Conference USA before moving into the re-formed Pac 12 in 2027.
The Pac 12 will include Dallas Baptist, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State and Washington State as the seven baseball-playing members.
Newcomer Josh Arquette hit UTSA’s first home run of the season in the bottom of the second inning to ignite an eight-hit, seven-run rally. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Update: UTSA right-handed pitcher Robert Orloski exited Friday’s season-opening game against South Dakota State after experiencing an injury to his throwing shoulder in the first inning, according to an athletics department news release.
“Following an initial evaluation by the UTSA Athletics medical staff on Friday, Orloski will undergo further imaging and evaluation to determine the full nature of the injury,” according to the release issued to the media Saturday. “This process will be ongoing and updates will be provided as more information becomes available.”
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Twenty-three pitches into UTSA’s new baseball season, the crowd at Roadrunner Field fell silent.
Robert Orloski, the team’s ace pitcher, clutched at his upper right arm and grimaced in pain after delivering a fastball that sailed high and out of the strike zone.
Once the training staff ran out to check on him, it didn’t take long before he walked off the field to cheers of support from an anxious fan base.
Mike DeBattista relieved injured Rob Orloski 23 pitches into the first inning and pitched three innings scoreless to earn the victory. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Trailing by one run at the time, the Roadrunners steadied themselves. Mike DeBattista retired Travis Finney to retire the side.
After that, the UTSA offense took over in a big way, pounding four home runs among 19 hits in a 17-4 victory over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
An announced crowd of 953 turned out to celebrate the Roadrunners’ historic run to the NCAA Super Regionals last year, but the injury to Orloski likely lingered in the back of everyone’s mind as they left the ball park.
Sort of a bittersweet feeling, for sure.
UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said he didn’t know too much about the injury. “I kind of know what ya’ll know, I guess,” he said. “They’re checking him out. We’ll see where we go from here.”
Roadrunners third baseman Josh Arquette, who hit a solo home run to ignite a seven-run second inning, acknowledged that he’s worried about the team’s opening-day starter and one-time draft pick of the Boston Red Sox.
“We’ll be praying for him,” Arquette said. “I hope everyone else prays for him and hopefully it’s all well and it’s nothing too serious, and he’s able to get back and get back to competing for us.”
UTSA’s Andrew Stucky hammered a 390-foot plus, three-run homer in the bottom of the third inning to make it 12-1. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Game 2 of the three-game series is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday. The finale is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The Roadrunners put two runs on the board in the bottom of the first to take the lead and then broke it open in the second.
Doing damage against Jackrabbits starter Ty Madison and Trey Husar, UTSA punched out eight hits to score seven times in the frame.
Arquette, a sophomore transfer from Panola Junior College, hammered a leadoff homer and added another RBI on a sacrifice fly at the end of the inning.
Describing his mindset going into his first at bat in NCAA Division I, Arquette said he was “just feeling good up there, confident with all the work we’ve put in.
“You know, just trying to have fun with the boys and enjoying the first game, the first time out here, couldn’t be any more exciting.”
Other highlights in the inning included Drew Detlefsen’s two-run double, RBI singles by Wichita State transfer Lane Haworth and freshman Nathan Johnson and an RBI bunt single by the coach’s son, Christian Hallmark.
UTSA had three more homers, including a 390-foot, three-run shot by Andrew Stucky, a two-run blast by Diego Diaz and a 404-foot solo shot to center by Broc Parmer.
Diego Diaz (5) jumps into a gathering of teammates who celebrated his two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Parmer’s homer was a thing of beauty, if you were a fan of the Roadrunners. It sailed high and kept going, cutting through wind to the right of the batter’s eye and to the left of a pole adorned with the U.S. flag.
“I think you’re going to see a lot of that (power),” Arquette said. “I think our team has a lot of it. As long as we just stay within ourselves and trust in ourselves and our coaches, we’ll keep hitting it. We’ll keep doing our thing.”
In the UTSA pitching department, all was not gloomy. DeBattista, who had only spot duty last season, pitched three scoreless innings. He yielded three hits, struck out two and made one nice defensive play.
With two out and runners at second and third in the top of the second, South Dakota State slugger Luke Luskey bounced a high-hop single to first base.
Caden Miller fielded it and flipped at the bag to DeBattista, who immediately wheeled and fired home to catcher Andrew Stucky, who put a swipe tag on a head-first sliding Owen Siegert, who was out trying to score from second.
It was the first of two gold-star defensive plays by UTSA pitching. In the eighth inning, reliever Christian Okerholm dove to the third-base side of the mound and snared a hard-hit ground ball, popped up and threw to first for the third out.
Fans rose up from their seats and cheered Okerholm as he walked back to the UTSA dugout.
“A good play,” Pat Hallmark said. “(Hall of Fame pitcher) Greg Maddux used to make a bunch of good plays like that. So, yeah, a good play. We have what we call PFP. You know, pitcher fielding practice.
UTSA coach Pat Hallmark’s offense erupted for four home runs among 19 hits in a 17-4 victory over South Dakota State. .- Photo by Joe Alexander
“We do it all the time, and those guys give each other a hard time on who the best athlete is. So, Okerholm probably has bragging rights now.”
Hallmark also said DeBattista was great in shutting down the Jackrabbits back in the first inning.
“I was a little worried right when he came in,” the coach said. “We needed the breaking ball, and he missed with a couple of them. But then he settled in and found everything. Threw some good changeups to left-handed hitters. Found his breaking ball.
“Once he got his feet on the ground a little bit, he was fine. Happy for him. Last year, Mike wanted to pitch, and there just wasn’t a spot for him. Again, it’s early. Not ready to say anyone’s got anything locked up. But, Mike is hungry, and we like hungry people.”
Records
South Dakota State 0-1
UTSA 1-0
Coming up
South Dakota State at UTSA, Saturday, at 6 p.m.
South Dakota State at UTSA, Sunday, at 1 p.m.
Notable
One of the questions looming ahead of the season opener revolved around who would step into the center field spot played so adroitly over the last two years by Mason Lytle.
UTSA starter Robert Orloski suffered an unspecified injury to his throwing arm and failed to make it out of the first inning. – Photo by Joe Alexander
As it turned out, the name was familiar. It was a kid named Hallmark. It was junior college transfer Christian Hallmark, the son of the head coach.
The coach’s son produced two hits and three RBIs in his first game with the Roadrunners, which was also his first in Division I.
One of the hits was an RBI bunt single that kept alive the Roadrunners’ big rally in the second inning.
“He had a good game,” Pat Hallmark said. “The bunt was big. Little stuff like that goes a long way.”
Against a left-handed pitcher, Christian Hallmark, who bats lefty, put his bat on the ball and nudged it right where it needed to go.
“I was happy to see him do that,” the coach said.
The 953 attendance count was a UTSA record for a home opener.
Rob Orloski, an Idaho native who was drafted out of high school by the Boston Red Sox, recorded an 8-0 record last year with nine saves and posted a 3.36 earned run average.
As a freshman in 2024, he struggled at times as a starter but did have his moments, beating East Carolina’s Trey Yesavage in one memorable performance at Roadrunner Field.
Yesavage reached the major leagues last year with the Toronto Blue Jays and pitched in the World Series.
Broc Parmer’s solo homer in the seventh inning traveled 404 feet and landed beyond the wall in center field. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Opening-day scoreboard
Texas 12, UC Davis 2, 7 innings, at Austin
Texas A&M 15, Tennessee Tech 6, at College Station
TCU 5, Vanderbilt 4, at Arlington
Dallas Baptist 13, Binghamton 2, at Dallas
Dallas Baptist 14, Binghamton 1, at Dallas
Baylor 15, New Mexico State 2, 7 innings, at Waco
(Baylor’s Tyce Armstrong hits three grand slams)
Xavier 4, East Carolina 3, at Greenville, N.C.
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
After an almost surrealistic year of unprecedented success, including a program-record 47 victories and an NCAA regional championship, the UTSA baseball team opens the new season on Friday when it takes on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Roadrunner Field.
Catcher Andrew Stucky says the Roadrunners plan to play this season as if they ‘still have something to prove.’ . – Photo by Joe Alexander
In the opener of a three-game series, the program’s modest grandstand is expected to be jammed with fans anxious to see a team stacked with some veteran players and promising newcomers, hopeful that they can create some of the same magic that filled the community with pride a year ago.
UTSA players know what is expected, but if they feel any pressure, it’s hard to tell.
“Last year was awesome, kind of fun,” UTSA senior catcher Andrew Stucky said. “You know … that was last year. We got a new team this year. But I think even still, for all of us, we still have something to prove, even this year.
“Even though we had so much success, it’s kind of like, we need to come out here and prove that it wasn’t a one-year thing. Like, we can do it again. We can beat big schools, and everything like that.”
In other words, the Roadrunners feel like they are still the underdogs. Or, in another sense, they’re still the hunters and not the hunted.
“Absolutely, yeah,” Stucky said.
Even though last season created a stir of excitement around the campus and in the city, the team has been on a solid foundation for the past six years under Coach Pat Hallmark.
In his last four seasons, Hallmark’s teams rank fourth among 22 NCAA Division I programs in the state in victories, according to an analysis of team records by The JB Replay.
Since 2022, the Texas Longhorns lead the state with 169 wins, followed by Dallas Baptist (167), Texas A&M (165), UTSA (155) and TCU (154).
In that same time frame, Dallas Baptist leads in winning percentage with .693, followed by Texas (.673), Lamar (.668), UTSA (.665) and Texas A&M (.652).
Last season, UTSA finished 47-15 and reached the NCAA Super Regional round of the playoffs for the first time.
In the Austin Regional, they knocked off Kansas State once and No. 2 overall seed Texas twice to advance. The Roadrunners were eliminated the following weekend by No. 15 UCLA at the Los Angeles Super Regional.
South Dakota State is coming off a 16-36 season. The Rob Bishop-coached Jackrabbits play in the Summit League.
Coming up
South Dakota State at UTSA
Friday – 4 p.m.
Saturday – noon
Sunday – 1 p.m.
Notable
Pitchers Zach Royse and Braylon Owens emerged as two UTSA players from last year drafted by Major League Baseball clubs. The Atlanta Braves selected Royse in the seventh round. The Milwaukee Brewers took Owens in the 10th round.
At least three others signed undrafted free agent contracts, including James Taussig (with the Chicago White Sox), Mason Lytle (Houston Astros) and Ty Hodge (Boston Red Sox).
Norris McClure has signed to play in an independent league in New York.
The Roadrunners will field a strong contingent of returning players, including opening weekend starting pitchers Robert Orloski, Connor Kelley and Kendall Dove.
Orloski, a junior, finished last season 8-0 with nine saves and a 3.36 earned run average. He struck out 77 in 72 innings.
Other veteran pitchers from last year include Conor Myles, Sam Simmons, Christian Okerholm and Gunnar Brown.
A concern leading into the new year is the health of returning infield standout Nathan Hodge, who will be out for an extended period and possibly the season with an injury to his throwing arm.
Leading the returning position players are three catchers in Stucky, Broc Parmer and Whitt Joyce; plus, infielders Jordan Ballin and Diego Diaz, first basemen Caden Miller and Cade Sadler and outfielders Drew Detlefsen and Garrett Gruell.
Last year, Detlefsen led the Roadrunners in home runs (13) and RBI (70).
Ballin is expected to be ready to play despite some misfortune with injuries over the past year. He fractured a hand at the end of last season and suffered a leg fracture last fall. The leg was injured during a scrimmage against Navarro College when he was hit by a 94 mph fastball.
Newcomers who could see action on the opening weekend include two freshmen, slugging outfielder Nathan Johnson from Katy Seven Lakes and infielder Aidan Eshelman from Houston Episcopal.
Other newcomers to watch include outfielders Lane Haworth (from Wichita State) and Brandon Bishop (from the University of Houston) and also catcher Jacob Silva (TCU) and infielder Josh Arquette (Panola JC).
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Coming off a school-record 47 wins and a magical run to the NCAA Super Regional round of the playoffs, UTSA baseball is scheduled to open the new season with three home games from Friday through Sunday against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
Coach Pat Hallmark is 187-111 in six years at UTSA. Last summer, he signed a contract extension that carries through the 2029 season. – File photo by Joe Alexander
Asked how this year’s team could be different from last year, Coach Pat Hallmark said Monday that he hopes that the Roadrunners are better, but he acknowledged he doesn’t know if that is the case.
Not just yet.
Last year’s team soared to the American Conference regular-season title and to an epic NCAA Austin Regional playoff victory, which included two wins in two days over the second-ranked Texas Longhorns.
Players such as outfielders Mason Lytle and James Taussig and pitchers Zach Royse and Braylon Owens led that charge. This season, those players have moved on, chasing baseball dreams in the professional ranks.
At the same time, others are stepping into their shoes at UTSA, hoping to make names for themselves and create their own legacy.
“We’re not quite as athletic (as last year),” Hallmark said. “That’s the only … difference I can tell at this point.”
Hallmark offered a caveat, noting that some of the best baseball players aren’t always the best athletes.
“I do think we’re a good baseball team,” he said. “We got to grow, though. The most important thing right now is just that we continue to improve. That’s what I mean by grow.
“We got to have growth in lots of areas. So, we got some questions. Some of the pitching you’ll see early on will be some familiar faces. But they’re going to be in bigger roles … We’ll see how they do.”
Junior righthander Rob Orloski will start on the mound Friday afternoon, Hallmark said. Connor Kelley will start on Saturday and Kendall Dove will get the ball on Sunday.
Orloski emerged as a program mainstay and a first-team, all conference pitcher last season in the team’s “stopper” role. Coming out of the bullpen, he finished with an 8-0 record, a team-leading nine saves and a 3.36 earned run average.
The coach said his starting pitchers this weekend would be on a pitch count that he characterized as “more high than low, because they are ready for that.”
He said the team’s “stopper” role, which has been filled in the past with former standouts Simon Miller and Ruger Riojas and, last season, with Orloski, hasn’t been determined yet.
At least, not on a long-term basis. Hallmark said the role is “a little bit up in the air,” with coaches set to evaluate over several games who it might be.
“We really only have four set roles,” the coach said, “which would be three starters and this ‘stopper’ role, and everyone else pretty flexible. So, yeah, it could change on weekend (No.) 2, but that’s where we are right now.”
Coming up
South Dakota State at UTSA
Friday – 4 p.m.
Saturday – noon
Sunday – 1 p.m.
Notable
The coach said veteran standout catcher Andrew Stucky “looks great,” with Broc Parmer, Whitt Joyce and Jacob Silva backing up.
With a solid freshman season under his belt, sophomore Caden Miller is playing first base. Another sophomore standout, Nathan Hodge is injured, and that has opened up playing time for others in the infield.
At second base, shortstop and third base, Hallmark mentioned veterans Jordan Ballin and Diego Diaz, plus freshman Aidan Eshelman and sophomore transfer Josh Arquette, as players who could play at any of those three spots.
Also, Josh Vaughn and Mason Jacob, the coach said.
“Second base, third base, shortstop, early in the year, you’ll see guys switching in and out of there,” Hallmark said. “Very versatile group, and we train ’em that way. All those guys I mentioned can play all three.”
In the outfield, Drew Detlefsen, who led the team in home runs last year, supplies the veteran leadership. He played mostly in left field last season but might play some in center this year, as well.
Others to watch in the outfield include freshman power hitter Nathan Johnson from Katy Seven Lakes, junior Lane Haworth, a transfer from Wichita State and University of Houston transfer Brandon Bishop.
Echoes from 2025
Hallmark said the energy around the program “has been great” and that “there’s been a lot of buzz. I think they sold out the chair-back seats (at Roadrunner Field), or real, real close.” The team’s annual golf tournament also did well.
Quotable
“People definitely took notice of what we did last year,” the coach said. “We need to really put that stuff to the side, for players and coaches, and really focus on what we can control.
“And that’s not as easily done as it is said, focusing on what you can control, like throwing strikes and hitting the ball and making the plays. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. It still gets down to what you do on the field.
“We’re trying to keep our minds on that and become better baseball players through some of the hoopla from last year.”