Category Archives: College baseball

UTSA preparing to host East Carolina in American baseball showdown

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Caden Miller scores in the bottom of the eighth inning to give UTSA a two-run lead. UTSA beat A&M-Corpus Christi 3-1 on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in non-conference baseball at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Caden Miller says it’s encouraging to see more and more fans coming out to Roadrunner Field, particularly the younger fans and children. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Editor’s note: Christian Okerholm will start for the Roadrunners tonight against Ethan Norby for the Pirates.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA baseball players are starting to notice an uptick in attendance at home games.

“It’s amazing,” UTSA first baseman Caden Miller said. “Most of the time we don’t get 1,000 (people) here.

“Like you’ve said, the last few times we’ve been at home, we’ve had a thousand, and it’s huge.”

Coming off a season-high crowd of 1,140 at Tuesday night’s 3-1 victory over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, the Roadrunners are preparing to host the East Carolina Pirates Friday night.

The Pirates, who have made 34 appearances in the NCAA tournament in their storied history, will bring a 15-10-1 record into the opener of a three-game series in the American Conference.

UTSA will enter the weekend at 18-7, and both are 2-1 after the conference’s opening weekend. East Carolina was the American’s preseason favorite, with UTSA second.

Both are coming off NCAA tournament appearances last year, with the Roadrunners still riding the crest of a regional championship win at Texas and their first trip to a Super Regional.

“It’s really fun to see what’s being built here,” Miller said. “You know, getting people from San Antonio to come here to watch our games, no matter who we play.”

Miller said he gets a kick out of seeing so many children at the games, some of them already playing in youth leagues.

“The kids,” said Miller, a sophomore from Madisonville, “that’s a big thing. Just playing for the kids, man.

“It’s a beautiful thing to see. All these kids out here, looking at us, watching us play. (We’re) hoping we can be inspiration to them to continue to play.

“But, yeah, the fans, the atmosphere, it’s really exciting. It’s really fun to see.”

In 11 home games this season, the attendance has been 10,750, for an average of 977 per game.

UTSA drew 2,624 fans over three days in its season-opening series against South Dakota State, followed by 3,048 for Dallas Baptist and then a record 3,182 for UT Arlington.

The past two weekends have been the best attended three-game series in program history, with both being the only times since Roadrunner Field opened in 1993 that the venue has averaged better than 1,000 per game.

Records

East Carolina 15-10-1
UTSA 18-7

Coming up

East Carolina at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.
East Carolina at UTSA, Saturday, 2 p.m.
East Carolina at UTSA, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Notable

East Carolina lefthander Ethan Norby (2-1, 3.77) is the team’s Friday night starter. He is the 70th best draft prospect for 2026 according to mlb.com.

The Pirates also have 6-foot-7 righty Gavin Van Kempen (1-1, 1.84) as a starter and righty Sean Jenkins (2-1, 2.02) out of the bullpen. Van Kempen’s WHIP is an excellent 0.85, with Jenkins at 1.05.

East Carolina’s leading hitters for average are Davin Whitaker (.382), Walker Barron (.369) and Braden Burress (.364). Power threats are Whitaker and Grady Lenahan (both with five home runs) and Austin Irby with four.

“They’re good,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said. “They’re always good. They got a ton of talent.”

A concern for Hallmark centers around East Carolina’s pitching staff having five lefthanders, raising a question of whether he uses more right-handed bats, or stays with a lefty-heavy lineup.

The Roadrunners are hitting .326 as a team and scoring nearly 10 runs per game (240 in 25 games). Their pitching and defense have been solid of late.

In their last four games, the Roadrunners have yielded 17 runs.

But twice in that stretch, they have held opponents to one run, including in a 4-1 victory at FAU on March 20 and a 3-1 victory Tuesday night over A&M-Corpus Christi.

Also in the last four, their defense has committed one error or less in every game, including two error-free outings.

Baseball: UTSA hopes to bounce back after first home loss

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Lane Haworth dives for a line drive in right field. The ball bounced before he could reach it and it wasn't a catch. UTSA vs. UT-Arlington baseball on Friday, March 13, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Lane Haworth dove for a line drive in right field Friday afternoon, but the ball bounced before he could reach it. UT Arlington went on to win 15-11 for the first victory by a visiting team at Roadrunner Field this season.
– Photo by Joe Alexander

The 24th-ranked UTSA Roadrunners will play at home Saturday and Sunday afternoon, looking to rebound from a disappointing performance Friday night.

In the first game of a non-conference series at Roadrunner Field, the UT Arlington Mavericks registered a 15-11 victory. The Mavs punched out 10 hits and drew 14 walks in the opener.

Xavier Melendez led the Mavericks, going 3-for-3 with five RBI and three walks, including a double as part of a career night at the plate.

Drew Detlefsen had three hits for the Roadrunners.

Records

UT Arlington 6-11
UTSA 14-4

Coming up

UT Arlington at UTSA, Saturday, 2 p.m.
UT Arlington at UTSA, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Baseball: Texas Tech rallies to down UTSA, 10-5

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Connor Shouse, Robin Villeneuve and AJ Goytia all smashed two-run home runs in a seven-run sixth inning as the Texas Tech Red Raiders rallied to down the 24th-ranked UTSA Roadrunners, 10-5, on a cold Wednesday night in Lubbock.

UTSA held a 4-1 lead when Tech came to bat in the sixth.

In response, the Red Raiders sent 10 batters to the plate and stroked six hits, with one walk, against three UTSA pitchers. When Goytia’s homer cleared the wall, Texas Tech’s lead had expanded to 8-4.

The Red Raiders added two more runs in the seventh as they went on to split a two-game, mid-week series with the Roadrunners after UTSA won 9-8 on Tuesday night.

UTSA scored one run in the second inning, one in the third and two in the fourth for the 4-1 lead. Christian Hallmark ripped a solo home run in the second and an RBI single in the third. Josh Arquette hit a two-run homer in the fourth.

Will Jordan (2-0) earned the victory on the mound for the Red Raiders. He walked one and didn’t allow a hit in a scoreless sixth inning.

James Hubbard (0-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up the go-ahead runs on Villeneuve’s two-run blast.

Records

UTSA 14-3
Texas Tech 11-5

Coming up

UT Arlington at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.
UT Arlington at UTSA, Saturday, 2 p.m.
UT Arlington at UTSA, Sunday, 1 p.m.

College baseball: UTSA holds off Texas Tech, 9-8, in Lubbock

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Sam Simmons struck out Jesse Rusinek to end the game with the tying run at first base as the 24th-ranked UTSA Roadrunners held off the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Tuesday night, winning 9-8 in Lubbock.

Andrew Stucky had one of UTSA's four home runs on Friday. UTSA beat South Dakota State 17-4 in the Roadrunners' 2026 baseball season opener on Friday, Feb. 13, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Andrew Stucky hit a three-run homer measured at 416 feet off a light pole Tuesday night in Lubbock. – File photo by Joe Alexander

With the victory, the Roadrunners bounced back from Sunday’s loss at New Mexico State and improved to 14-2, which includes a 3-0 mark against Power 4 competition.

UTSA has scored wins over Ohio State, Baylor and Texas Tech, with another game against the Red Raiders, now 10-5, scheduled on Wednesday night.

In the opener of a mid-week series against the Big 12 Conference program, the Roadrunners scored single runs in the first and the second, two in the third and another in the fourth for a 5-1 lead.

They exploded for four runs in the top of the sixth to make it 9-2.

The outburst included an opposite-field homer by Caden Miller over the left field wall. Andrew Stucky punctuated the uprising with a three-run shot, pulling the ball 416 feet off a light pole in left.

In the bottom half, Texas Tech struck back. The Red Raiders rallied against Mike DeBattista and Simmons for five runs on four hits.

Rusinek drilled an RBI single for the first run, chasing DeBattista from the game.

Simmons, UTSA’s stopper, fared no better. At least, initially. Robin Villeneuve and Kyeler Thompson greeted Simmons with consecutive run-scoring singles to make it 9-5.

After Tracer Lopez grounded out to first, Connor Shouse bounced an infield single to third for the fourth run of the inning. At that point, Simmons settled down.

A Logan Hughes ground ball brought in another run to make it 9-7, before Linkin Garcia bounced out to first, ending the threat.

From there, a battle of the bullpens ensued, with Texas Tech’s Bryce Suiter throwing three innings scoreless, allowing no hits and striking out four.

Simmons also closed the game, but not without some drama. In the ninth inning, Hughes led off with a walk and advanced to third on a one-out single by Caden Ferraro.

Matt Quintanar launched a fly ball to right that was caught for the second out, but it also scored Hughes, making it a one-run game.

With UTSA’s Friday night starter Connor Kelley throwing in the bullpen, Simmons used five pitches to strike out Rusinek to end the game.

Simmons (4-1) earned the victory, while Texas Tech starter Jackson Burns (1-1) took the loss.

UTSA out-hit Texas Tech 13-12, with Lane Haworth going four for five. Haworth, the team’s leading hitter with a .508 average, doubled twice, scored a run and notched an RBI.

Records

UTSA 14-2
Texas Tech 10-5

Coming up

UTSA at Texas Tech, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

UTSA’s Sam Simmons (4-1) earned the victory after yielding three runs on four hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out four.

The loss went to Texas Tech starter Jackson Burns (1-1). Burns allowed four runs on six hits in three innings.

Baseball: New Mexico State snaps UTSA’s six-game winning streak

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Left-handed reliever Connor Wylde worked out of a ninth-inning jam Sunday afternoon, and the New Mexico State Aggies won 5-4 to snap 25th-ranked UTSA’s six-game winning streak.

UTSA’s Diego Diaz led off the ninth with a single and moved up when Garrett Gruell reached on a hit by pitch.

On a sacrifice bunt by Jordan Ballin, Diaz and Gruell advanced 90 feet, putting runners at second and third.

With two outs, the Aggies walked Drew Detlefsen to load the bases. At that point, Wylde retired Lane Haworth on a ground ball to end the threat.

UTSA won the series, two games to one, after winning 10-2 Friday and 13-0 on Saturday.

On Sunday, the Aggies took a three-run lead, lost it after a three-run Roadrunners rally, and then scored again in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead.

Boston Vest led off with a single off UTSA relieve Sam Simmons. Vest was sacrificed to second and took third on a ground ball.

He scored on the next play when the batter, Dane Woodcock, bunted and reached base safely on Simmons’ throwing error.

UTSA took a 1-0 lead in the second when Caden Miller ripped a solo home run to right.

New Mexico State responded with four straight runs, including one in the third, two in the fourth and another in the fifth, for a 4-1 advantage.

The Roadrunners came alive in the sixth with three runs on four hits to tie the game.

Detlefsen led off with his sixth home run of the season. Miller added an RBI single and Diego Diaz a run-scoring double.

Records

UTSA 13-2
New Mexico State 7-8

Coming up

UTSA at Texas Tech, Tuesday
UTSA at Texas Tech, Wednesday

Pat Hallmark wins his 200th game at UTSA in a 13-0 rout over New Mexico State

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Coach Pat Hallmark reached a milestone with his 200th win at UTSA as the 25th-ranked Roadrunners scored in double figures for the 10th time in 14 games with a 13-0 run-rule victory over the New Mexico State Aggies Saturday night.

In the contest stopped after eight innings at Las Cruces, N.M., the Roadrunners (13-1) stroked 14 hits and homered twice to win their sixth straight, tying the 1994 team for the fastest start in program history.

New Mexico State (6-8) was baffled from the beginning by UTSA starter Conor Myles, who pitched 5 and 1/3 innings scoreless. Myles allowed only two hits and one walk while striking out eight.

As Myles cruised, UTSA bats supplied the thunder with both Andrew Stucky and Drew Detlefsen, returning players from last year’s NCAA Super Regional team, hitting home runs.

Stucky bashed a solo homer in the sixth and Detlefsen unloaded with a two-run shot in the seventh.

For Stucky, it was his fourth round-tripper of the season, temporarily tying him for the team lead until Detlefsen delivered his fifth an inning later.

Newcomer Lane Haworth, a transfer from Wichita State, also had a big night. He went four for six, scored three runs and produced two RBIs.

UTSA produced a big inning for the second straight night in Las Cruces. On Friday night, the Roadrunners scored four runs in the fourth en route to a 10-2 victory.

On Saturday, they jumped all over Aggies reliever Jack Turner for seven runs on seven hits in the fifth.

Christian Hallmark opened the inning with a double and scored on Detlefsen’s single up the middle.

Jordan Ballin capped the uprising with a two-run single, chasing Turner to the showers.

Once the dust settled, UTSA had sent 11 batters to the plate and had built a 9-0 lead on the home team.

Records

UTSA 13-1
New Mexico State 6-8

Coming up

UTSA at New Mexico State, Sunday, noon

Notable

Pat Hallmark improved his record at UTSA to 200-112 in a little more than six seasons. He is 265-160 for his career, which includes two seasons at the University of the Incarnate Word.

For Lane Haworth, it was his second four-hit performance of the season. He also had four in the third game of the season, a 13-1 victory over South Dakota State on Feb. 15.

Starting pitching for the Roadrunners is starting to round into form. On Friday night, Connor Kelley pitched six innings scoreless. On Saturday, it was Conor Myles, who shut out New Mexico State for five and 1/3.

The Aggies were last shut out at home on March 15, 2024, when they fell to Sam Houston 10-0 in eight innings.

No. 25 UTSA wins its fourth straight, 7-5, over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The 25th-ranked UTSA Roadrunners won their fourth straight game and their first of the season on the road Tuesday night, edging the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, 7-5.

Afterward, UTSA coach Pat Hallmark acknowledged that his team was not at its best.

“The defense was atrocious, but I did think we remained persistent,” he said. “You’re not going to play great all the time, and this is a tricky ballpark with the wind and the sun.”

UTSA made three errors leading to three unearned runs.

“I’m not making excuses at all,” Hallmark said. “We have to play better defense, but it’s like this here. I don’t care what their record is, and it’s good now, but this is always a hard place to win.

“We played poorly on defense, but we were mentally tough.”

Falling behind 3-0 after the first inning, the Roadrunners rallied with five straight runs to take the lead — scoring three in the fifth and two in the sixth.

For UTSA, Lane Haworth produced a fifth-inning, two-run double. In the sixth, Christian Hallmark added a two-run homer to make it 5-3.

Undeterred, A&M-Corpus Christi rallied in the seventh with two unearned runs to tie. UTSA, in response, came up with two more in the ninth to take the lead for good.

With two outs and two on base via walks, Diego Diaz smashed a ball to the right of second baseman Cade Sanchez, who misplayed it on the back hand, allowing Caden Miller to score from second base.

Jacob Silva followed with an RBI single up the middle that plated Lane Haworth from second.

On a throw to the plate that was far off line, Diaz tried to score from first but was out at the plate to end the inning.

Sam Simmons yielded a one-out single to Jackson Smith in the bottom of the ninth that brought the tying run to the plate.

In response, the right-handed reliever from Manvel struck out Cade Sanchez and Isaiah Afework to end the game.

Simmons (3-0) finished for the Roadrunners, working two and a third innings to earn the victory.

Islanders reliever Pierre-Luc Jacques (0-1) took the hard-luck loss after pitching the last two innings.

Jacques nearly had the Roadrunners shut down in the ninth.

The ground ball to Sanchez could have been the third out of a scoreless inning, but it seemed to take a bad hop, ticking off the fielder’s glove for a base hit that scored the go-ahead run.

The Islanders started strong, scoring three runs on two hits in the first.

Smith opened the rally with a one-out double to center, later taking third on a wild pitch. He scored when Miller, the UTSA first baseman, bobbled a ground ball.

With Sanchez on first base via the error, Afework delivered a two-run homer to center off UTSA starter Ryan Self, boosting the home team into a 3-0 advantage.

Records

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 8-5
UTSA 11-1

Coming up

UTSA at New Mexico State, Friday, 7 p.m.
UTSA at New Mexico State, Saturday, 7 p.m.
UTSA at New Mexico State, Sunday, noon

Notable

The Roadrunners entered the game with the Islanders looking to keep the momentum going from last weekend, when they won three straight at the prestigious BRUCE BOLT College Classic.

With wins in Houston against Ohio State, ninth-ranked Coastal Carolina and Baylor, UTSA earned enough recognition to gain a No. 25 national ranking Monday from D1 Baseball.

On Tuesday, the Roadrunners attained another notable milestone, emerging at No. 5 nationally in the first installment of the NCAA’s ratings percentage index.

Given all the notoriety, Roadrunners coach Pat Hallmark wanted to avoid a letdown. In the end, UTSA didn’t play its best game — it made three errors — but it did come away with its first road win of the season.

UTSA’s only loss this season came a week ago on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at Texas State, 7-2.

UTSA, at No. 5 in the RPI, prepares to play the season without Orloski

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners are rolling with the good news and the bad leading into Tuesday night’s baseball game on the road against the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders.

The good news is that the Roadrunners have been listed No. 5 in the nation in the first installment of the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index.

They’re also ranked 25th by D1 Baseball, a prominent source of national news in college baseball.

The bad news is that they will have to play the rest of the way without injured pitcher Rob Orloski.

“He’s out for the season,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said Monday on a zoom call with reporters. “Surgery.”

Orloski hurt his right (throwing) arm on Feb. 13, on opening night, against South Dakota State.

The team’s top pitcher coming into the season threw 23 pitches in the top of the first inning before exiting in pain.

He hasn’t pitched since.

“Rob’s known this,” Hallmark said. “We’ve known this. I mean, if you saw the injury, you could tell it wasn’t good. So, in terms of today, I think Rob’s OK.

“It was hard. Everybody was empathetic. But Rob is strong. He’s young. He’s resilient. He’s going to be back. So, everybody’s pulling for him.”

Previously, Hallmark has described it as a shoulder injury, but the nature of it was not discussed on the media call.

Even without Orloski, the team has excelled at just about every turn, putting together a 10-1 start.

In games played at Daikin Park last weekend, UTSA defeated Ohio State, Coastal Carolina and Baylor.

UTSA started the season with seven straight wins at home, including three in a row over the Dallas Baptist Patriots.

The Roadrunners’ only loss came last Tuesday when they fell 7-2 at Texas State in San Marcos.

“My thoughts on the week were, I thought we played well, even the game we lost,” Hallmark said. “I don’t think we played poorly. I don’t know that we played well.

“But we didn’t play poorly, so there was something to be learned from the loss, and then we went over to Houston and did well. Really happy for the players.”

The Roadrunners learned of the D1 ranking on Monday following their sweep of three games in the BRUCE BOLT College Classic.

The NCAA’s RPI report, believed to be the highest they’ve had in program history, emerged on Tuesday.

The coach said the players deserve the positive publicity and attention “and just the overall positive nature of things right now.”

“As a coach, trying to temper that and get us ready for Corpus,” Hallmark said. “A little worried about that game because Corpus can really swing it. So, that’s where we’re at right now.”

UTSA will play four games on the road this week, at A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday and at New Mexico State in three games starting Friday.

The coach said he’s pleased with the team overall, noting that the pitching walked only eight batters in Houston, including four on Friday and two each on Saturday and Sunday.

“We can hit,” he said. “We’re not always going to hit … I feel like every time we don’t score 10 runs (a reporter for UTSA student newspaper) is disappointed.

“It’s not that easy to score 10 runs. We make it look easy sometimes. But we mostly hit well, too. You’re not always going to put up 10 runs, but we were able to do that some this weekend, and we won the one game that we didn’t as well.”

Hallmark said the team’s success is a reflection of the team’s mindset.

“They’re very determined,” he said. “They’re willing to do whatever’s asked of them. It’s a very unselfish group up to this point. So, I can’t say enough about those guys.”

Records

UTSA 10-1
Texas A&M Corpus-Christi 8-4

Coming up

UTSA at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

The Islanders have played well recently, beating Pittsburgh, Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern twice before losing to Texas Southern 16-4 on Sunday.

Baseball: UTSA beats Baylor 11-6 to sweep three games in Houston

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Caden Miller and Jacob Silva produced three RBIs each to back left-handed pitcher Conor Myles’ five innings of shutout baseball, and the UTSA Roadrunners downed the Baylor Bears 11-6 Sunday night in Houston.

Caden Miller. UTSA beat South Dakota State 17-4 in the Roadrunners' 2026 baseball season opener on Friday, Feb. 13, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore Caden Miller, shown here making a play in the season opener at Roadrunner Field, slammed a three-run home run to highlight a four-run second inning against Baylor in Houston. – File photo by Joe Alexander

With the win, the Roadrunners swept three games at the prestigious BRUCE BOLT College Classic (formerly the Astros Classic) and improved to 10-1 on the season.

After the Roadrunners knocked off the Big Ten’s Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday afternoon, they followed with a victory over the ninth-ranked Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Saturday.

Coastal Carolina reached the College World Series finals last season.

Against Baylor, a member of the Big 12, UTSA of the American Conference scored four runs in the second, highlighted by a three-run homer from Miller.

The Roadrunners added two runs in the third and fourth innings and another in the fifth for a 9-0 lead.

Silva, a TCU transfer from San Antonio Clark High School, had an RBI double in the third inning and a two-RBI single in a two-run eighth.

Meanwhile, Myles (1-0) pitched effectively in his first start of the season. The lefty from Australia pitched five scoreless innings, allowing only three hits.

Myles struck out four and walked two.

Baylor starting pitcher Cade Hansen (0-2) took the loss. Hansen worked three and 1/3 innings, yielding seven runs on seven hits.

The Roadrunners are off to a fast start on the season, a year after they won a program-record 47 games and reached the NCAA Super Regional round of the playoffs.

Records

Baylor 6-5
UTSA 10-1

Coming up

UTSA at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

College baseball: UTSA vs. Baylor today in Houston

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BRUCE BOLT College Classic
At Houston, Daikin Park

Results

Friday

UTSA beats Ohio State, 6-5
Baylor beats (25) Ole Miss, 6-5, 10 innings
(3) Texas beats (9) Coastal Carolina, 8-1

Saturday

(25) Ole Miss beats Ohio State, 8-0
UTSA beats (9) Coastal Carolina, 16-10
(3) Texas beats Baylor, 5-2

Sunday

(9) Coastal Carolina beat (25) Ole Miss, 9-2
(3) Texas vs. Ohio State, 2:05 p.m.
UTSA vs. Baylor, 6:05 p.m.