Category Archives: Uncategorized

Columbia women rally late to beat UTSA, 70-65, in New York City

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The defending Ivy League champion Columbia Lions erased a six-point deficit in the final three minutes and defeated the UTSA Roadrunners 70-65 on Saturday afternoon in New York City.

In a women’s college basketball game that was hotly contested from the opening tip, the Lions outscored the Roadrunners 11-0 in the last three minutes to win on their home court.

The emotions boiled over in the final seconds as UTSA coach Karen Aston was hit with a technical foul for having words with one of the referees.

“I thought we played really hard,” Aston said on the team’s radio broadcast. “We probably had some fatigue mistakes there late in the game, and there’s nothing we can do about that.

“You know, the turnovers we had late were probably from fatigue, to be honest with you. They’re just going to have to learn how to handle that.”

The game seemed to turn inexorably in the Lions’ favor with less than 40 seconds remaining when UTSA guard Ereauna Hardaway drove to the basket, trying break to a tie score.

Columbia guard Fliss Henderson blocked the shot and sent the action the other way.

On the attack, Columbia’s Perri Page passed to Henderson, who sank a layup, giving the Lions a two-point advantage at 67-65 with five seconds left.

During the ensuing timeout, Aston was hit with a technical foul.

Columbia was awarded free throws, and Riley Weiss made one of two for a three point spread.

The Lions were also awarded possession, which resulted in Weiss going to the line again to make both for the game’s final points.

Guard Marija Avlijas scored 21 to lead five Columbia players in double figures. Weiss added 16 for the Lions, who improved to 8-4 on the season.

The Roadrunners had a two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 5-6. For UTSA, the loss was a heartbreaker.

Playing without starting forward Idara Udo, the Roadrunners built an eight-point halftime lead and had a chance to beat a team that has played in the last two NCAA tournaments.

They had a chance to record a signature victory against a team listed at No. 70 in the NET rankings. But, in the end, they couldn’t hold on.

Guard Ereauna Hardaway led the Roadrunners with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds. It was her fourth straight game in double figures.

Forward Cheyenne Rowe hit seven of 11 from the field and scored 15 among four players in double figures. Guards Damara Allen scored 12 and Jayda Holiman 10.

Records

UTSA 5-6
Columbia 8-4

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Dec. 30, 1 p.m.
(American Conference opener)

First half

Playing without injured starting forward Idara Udo, the UTSA Roadrunners fell behind by nine points early and then rallied at the end for a 30-23 lead at halftime.

UTSA won the first 20 minutes with a defensive effort that resulted in 29 percent shooting and 14 turnovers by Columbia.

On the other end, senior guard Ereauna Hardaway led the way with eight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers to cap an 8-0 run in the final one minute and 30 seconds.

The Roadrunners shot 40 percent from the field and 28 percent from three, knocking down four of 14 shots from behind the arc.

Notable

Idara Udo‘s absence from the lineup was announced prior to tipoff when starting lineups were posted.

Emilia Dannebauer started on the front line for UTSA along with Cheyenne Rowe. The starting guards were Ereauna Hardaway, Damara Allen and Jayda Holiman.

Broadcasters on ESPN+ said the nature of Udo’s injury was undisclosed, but the television broadcast showed her on the bench with a walking boot.

The 6-foot junior from Plano was wearing the boot on Dec. 15 after she played in a home game against Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Without Udo, UTSA showed up at Columbia’s Levien Gym with nine players, and with only eight on scholarship.

Road tough: UNLV women roll, 66-39, to snap UTSA’s 17-game homecourt winning streak

Posted on by
Reply
Jasmyn Lott. UTSA women's basketball lost to UNLV 66-39 on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Jasmyn Lott, a UNLV redshirt senior from Frisco Memorial High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, led all scorers with 21 points on nine of 15 shooting from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UNLV Lady Rebels came into San Antonio with a modest record, one game above .500 after seven games in the new season.

They left town after putting on a performance that was more in keeping with their dominance of the Mountain West Conference over the past four years.

UNLV held the UTSA Roadrunners to two points in the first quarter, built a lead as large as 34 in the fourth and then went on to record a 66-39 victory at the Convocation Center.

UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque. UTSA women's basketball lost to UNLV 66-39 on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque directed her team to its first road victory of the season and broke UTSA’s 17-game homecourt winning streak. – Photo by Joe Alexander

In snapping UTSA’s 17-game homecourt winning streak, the Lady Rebels out-rebounded the defending American Conference champions 50-33 and limited them to 28 percent shooting.

“We talked all week about being road tough, and I thought we did a great job coming out from the jump,” UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque said.

La Rocque praised her team for “playing with a purpose” and executing the game plan. Also, for playing with a physical style.

Two of the most physical players were forwards Meadow Roland and Shelbee Brown, who dominated down low defensively.

Roland finished with 14 rebounds and three blocked shots. Brown had 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive end.

UTSA forward Cheyenne Rowe, the Roadrunners’ leading scorer, took only one shot attempt in the first quarter and misfired on it as UNLV ran off to a 20-2 lead.

The two points tied a six-year-old UTSA school record for fewest in a quarter.

Rowe finished with nine points on four of 14 shooting from the field. UTSA’s other inside scoring threat, Idara Udo, scored six while being pestered into a two-of-eight showing.

Meadow Roland. UTSA women's basketball lost to UNLV 66-39 on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UNLV forward Meadow Roland contributed a game-high 14 rebounds and also three blocked shots. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s perimeter players also struggled.

Guard Jayda Holiman, who had scored in double figures her last two games, went scoreless. She finished zero for five from the field and zero for three from behind the arc.

As a team, UTSA hit only 17 of 61 afield and two of 17 from three.

“Give UNLV credit,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “I thought they were really good tonight.”

After the initial push by the Rebels, the Roadrunners put up a good fight for awhile, staying within 17-20 points of the visitors until midway through the third quarter.

But after that, the game started to get out of hand. Lott nailed a jumper for the final points of the third period and added two threes to open the fourth.

A few minutes later, Rebels guard Aaliyah Alexander buried a three with 7:33 remaining, boosting UNLV into its largest lead of the game, 59-25.

Cheyenne Rowe is surrounded by UNLV's Jasmyn Lott (left) and Meadow Roland (32). UTSA women's basketball lost to UNLV 66-39 on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Cheyenne Rowe finished with nine points and seven rebounds. She was held to four of 14 shooting from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

It was a humbling experience for the Roadrunners, who have no time to waste as they prepare to play on the road Sunday against the 14th-ranked Baylor Bears.

“We’ve got a long way to go this season,” Aston said, “so we have to figure out how to take something away from this to get better, but also kind of flush it and start all over and say it was a rough night.”

Udo said the Roadrunners need to “play more together as a team” and to “be more together in fighting back.”

She said UNLV deserves credit, but she added, “I think a lot of the stuff that hurt us was a lack of effort.”

In the past four seasons, UNLV has emerged as one of the better mid-major programs in the nation.

From 2021-22 through the 2024-25 seasons, the Lady Rebels compiled a 113-21 record, with four regular-season, Mountain West titles and three trips to the NCAA tournament.

Though they fell short of an NCAA bid last year, they reached the second round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament en route to a 26-8 record.

Coach Karen Aston. UTSA women's basketball lost to UNLV 66-39 on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Karen Aston had a long night as the Roadrunners failed to score 40 points for only the second time in her five seasons at the school. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners also won a title last year in the American, reached the WBIT and lost in the first round to finish 26-5.

Records

UNLV 5-3
UTSA 3-4

Coming up

UTSA at Baylor, Sunday, 2 p.m.

Notable

UTSA’s two-points in the first quarter tied a school record for fewest in one period. The Roadrunners scored two at the University of Hawaii on Nov. 22, 2019 in a 62-50 loss.

As for the 39-point total, it ranks as the second fewest points by a Karen Aston-coached team at UTSA. On Jan. 15, 2022, in Aston’s first season, the Charlotte 49ers beat the Roadrunners 58-33 at the Convocation Center.

The school record for fewest all time is 30, which was done twice, the last time coming on March 5, 2020, in a 69-30 home loss to the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters.

First half

With a punishing defense, the UNLV Lady Rebels opened a 34-17 halftime lead.

They built the lead in the half to as large as 23-2 early in the second before UTSA started to find traction. For UTSA, Cheyenne Rowe, Damara Allen and Idara Udo each had four points by halftime.

But the points didn’t come easily as the Roadrunners shot a meager 22 percent for the half.

Defense boosts Auburn women to a 59-42 victory over UTSA

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA coach Karen Aston said coming into the Hoopfest Women’s Basketball Challenge that the length and athleticism of the Auburn Tigers would be a concern.

Aston was right, as the Tigers from the Southeastern Conference forced 30 turnovers and converted them into 25 points in a 59-42 victory over the Roadrunners in the opener of the three-day, multi-team event at the Comerica Center in Frisco.

The Roadrunners felt good coming into Frisco after winning back-to-back games against regional rivals Texas State and Incarnate Word. But the defending champions in the American Conference were no match for the Tigers.

The Tigers just had too much quickness for the Roadrunners, who never seemed to be able to string together a run because of ball-handling miscues. As a result, they were held to their season low in total points.

Guard Kaitlyn Duhon had four steals and two blocks to spark Auburn on the defensive end. Offensively, guard Mya Petticord scored 14 points. Guard A’riel Jackson added 12 and forward Khady Leye 10 for the Tigers, who won easily despite shooting 39.7 percent.

Guard Jayda Holiman came off the bench to lead the Roadrunners with 14 points. Forward Cheyenne Rowe added 13 points and seven rebounds. Rowe, who entered shooting 54 percent from the field, finished six of 13.

As a team, UTSA was held to 29.2 percent on 14 of 48 shooting. Outside of Rowe, UTSA’s starters were all held down below their averages. Damara Allen had six points and Ereauna Hardaway and Idara Udo two apiece. Mia Hammonds was scoreless.

First half

The Tigers forced nine turnovers in the first half and converted them into 14 points as they took a 33-24 lead.

Records

Auburn 7-0
UTSA 2-3

Coming up

UTSA vs. Grand Canyon, Ariz., Wednesday, 4 p.m., at Frisco

Notable

With the loss, UTSA extended a long losing streak against opponents from power conferences. The Roadrunners have dropped 28 in a row against the majors, including 12 in a row under Aston.

UTSA hasn’t won a game against a power conference foe since 2010 when the Roadrunners beat the Kansas State Wildcats in San Antonio.

Auburn is now 2-0 against UTSA in the all-time series. In the only other meeting between the schools, the Tigers defeated the Roadrunners 73-50 on Dec. 30, 2001 in San Diego.

Quotable

“There’s things we consistently do in practice, that, I’ve been telling them, it’s not going to translate,” UTSA coach Karen Aston told Neal Raphael on the team’s radio broadcast. “You know, it’s not going to translate against good competition, and we continue to do it. Until we can take care of the ball better and slow down a little offensively, and handle the ball and do the tough things, then I think we’re going to get the same results.”

UTSA’s Aston hopes for a new arena to bolster her program’s continued success

Posted on by
Reply
Karen Aston. The UTSA women's basketball teams celebrates at the Convocation Center after winning the 2024-25 American Athletic Conference regular-season title on Saturday, March 1, 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Karen Aston took over a team in 2021 that had just won two games. Last spring, in her fourth season on campus, the Roadrunners won a school-record 26 and the American Conference regular-season title. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Coming off a season that illuminated meteoric growth in UTSA women’s basketball, university officials over the summer awarded Coach Karen Aston with a five-year contract extension that will run through 2029-30.

It was an easy decision to make.

In 2020-21, the year before the coach arrived at UTSA, the Roadrunners were way down with a 2-18 record. Under Aston’s guidance, they won seven games in her first season and 13 more the next year.

The Roadrunners won 18 in 2023-24 and a school-record 26 last year, to go along with an American Conference regular-season title. Obviously, the next big hurdle to clear will be an NCAA tournament berth.

But after what the Roadrunners have accomplished lately, that doesn’t seem like a bridge too far.

Talking with the media on Monday, a few days before her teams opens Thursday night in Lubbock against Texas Tech, Aston outlined areas in which she’d like to see UTSA women’s basketball continue to grow.

The first thing she mentioned was a new competition arena.

“One area, and this is a giant, big-picture item, but obviously I would love to see a new arena one day, or some type of renovation to the Convocation Center, just because I think it would make a considerable difference down the road,” she said.

“However,” the coach added, “short term, we’re going to open up a new practice facility (next year) and I think that’s going to be a huge stride for both basketball programs, not just women. I mean, volleyball included.”

While there aren’t any concrete plans for a new competition arena, the practice facility is scheduled to open next November.

“It’s a game changer for us to have places to practice at any point (in the day) and not have accommodation problems like we do have right now, so I’m thankful that that’s going to open up,” she said. “I think it’s going to enhance our program.”

After setting records for attendance last season, Aston wants her team to remain one that fans continue to embrace.

“Big picture, I think there’s a lot to that,” she said. “You want to stay consistent with how your product looks. Our team is going to look a lot different (this season) as far as the people that are in the spots — the starting spots, the people that come off the bench.

“Our team’s going to look dramatically different because the players are different. But you hope that the style and product … stays the same. (That) people enjoy watching the team play and watching our young ladies compete.”

Over the offseason, Aston lost some key players to the transfer portal, including Sidney Love and Aysia Proctor.

She said she’d like to see renewed emphasis on fundraising to grow the team’s capacity to compensate athletes.

“We talk about culture, and that’s an easy word to talk about, but but it’s hard to sustain sometimes. You know, especially with the portal and having new teams just about every year.

“I didn’t even anticipate our team being as new as it is this year. We had some injuries. We had unexpected transfers that I didn’t anticipate. So our team looks a little different.

“You have to maintain a culture that goes along with that. A playing style. A way of doing things. So I hope we can stay consistent with that and stay competitive.”

Aston’s comments on fundraising echoed those offered last weekend by football coach Jeff Traylor.

“I think the last piece of being able to (remain competitive) is continual fundraising. You know, Jeff talks about it. And I think every coach that sits down in the chair that I’m in right now is going to talk about that.

“It’s the landscape that we live in. So I think that for us to stay competitive in the league that we’re in, we have to be competitive with rev share (revenue sharing), and that’s fundraising on everybody’s part, including mine.

“I mean, we have to do whatever the job pertains to, to bring the players in here, or retain players that make big leaps (in performance). You know, I anticipate a couple of (our) players this year making really big leaps.

“For us to stay competitive, we need to retain ’em. So I think that stays in the forefront until something changes in the landscape.”

Former Missions outfielder Jakob Marsee delivers in his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins

Posted on by
Reply
Jakob Marsee. The Amarillo Sod Poodles beat the San Antonio Missions 6-3 in Game 3 of the Texas League South Division playoffs on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Former Missions outfielder Jakob Marsee made his major league debut in style this weekend. He led the Miami Marlins to a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees. = File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Last week, former San Antonio Missions outfielder Jakob Marsee was a Triple-A baseball player, a member of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

By Friday, he had received a promotion and was in the lineup for the Miami Marlins, who were preparing to play a home series against the New York Yankees.

Marsee made the most of the opportunity, stunning the Yankees with four extra-base hits on the weekend as the Marlins swept to three straight victories. In all, Marsee reached base eight times, going four for eight at the plate while drawing four walks.

On Sunday, he doubled and tripled in a two-for-four performance as the Marlins won 7-3 and improved to 30-14 since June 13. In his last at bat, he ripped an RBI triple to center to account for the last run of the game.

It was a big weekend all the way around for Marsee, who played in San Antonio for parts of the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

His family and friends made the trip to Miami to see him make his debut in the show. By Friday night, they were all high-fiving in the stands after Marsee doubled and drew three walks. Better yet, the Marlins overcame three deficits in the game to win 13-12 in 11 innings.

“I think that was way more than I could have ever expected,” Marsee told Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. “Obviously, I knew it was going to be fun and exciting, but to have a packed house with the Yankees here, everything, it was super cool.”

After sweeping the Yankees for the first time in team history, the Marlins improved to 55-55. Once buried in the National League standings, they’re now in the hunt for the playoffs, with at least three former Missions players in the mix.

One is Marsee, and the others are third baseman Graham Pauley and relief pitcher Lake Bachar. All three played in the San Diego Padres’ organization as part of the Missions’ 2023 Texas League playoff squad.

Bachar was the first of the three players to join the Miami franchise. After electing free agency, he signed with the Marlins in September 2023 as a free agent. Marsee switched teams in June of 2024 as part of a Marlins-Padres trade. A month later, in a separate deal, Pauley came over.

UTSA Roadrunners say they gave it their ‘best shot’ against the UCLA Bruins

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The greatest season in UTSA Roadrunners’ baseball history has come to a painful end.

After losing Saturday and needing to win twice in two days to stay alive in the NCAA tournament, the Roadrunners couldn’t get it done. They couldn’t deliver with the big hit against excellent pitching on Sunday.

As a result, the 15th-seeded UCLA Bruins downed UTSA 7-0 to sweep two games at the Los Angeles Super Regional, advancing to the Men’s College World Series next week in Omaha, Neb.

“Similar to yesterday, I mostly tip my hat to UCLA, for playing clean baseball,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said. “They’ve got a lot of talent. They deserved to win.”

Run-scoring singles by Toussaint Bythewood in the fourth inning and Roch Cholowski in the fifth gave the Bruins a 2-0 cushion. The Bruins added two more runs in the eighth on an infield throwing error and a sacrifice fly by Phoenix Call.

To make matters worse, Roadrunners pitcher Braylon Owens had to exit the game with an injury during the uprising after he was hit with a line drive. In the ninth, the Bruins blew the game open with three runs against Gunnar Brown, who likely would have been the Game 3 starter on Monday if UTSA could have mounted a comeback.

UCLA pitching held UTSA to just four hits on a frustrating afternoon for the offense. The Roadrunners, who had multiple opportunities to score, hit only 1 for 13 with runners on base and 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

“Like coach said, they were playing some clean ball,” UTSA freshman Jordan Ballin said. “They weren’t throwing many balls. They weren’t walking us like they do. Other than that, we gave it our best shot.”

Regardless of setbacks to the Bruins on Saturday (by a score of 5-2) and again on Sunday, the Roadrunners left Jackie Robinson Stadium feeling some satisfaction in becoming the only team in school history to reach the super regional round.

“Obviously unhappy with the result,” said Conor Myles, who started and took the loss in the finale. “But, just happy for the guys, how far we made it. We set records. We broke almost every record that school has. It’s a special group of guys. It really is.”

Finishing with a 47-15 record, they won the American Athletic Conference regular-season title, notched their highest win total in 34 seasons and beat the in-state heavyweight Texas Longhorns three times, including two in the Austin Regional last weekend.

The Longhorns were the second-seeded team in the NCAA tournament, so the Roadrunners arrived in Los Angeles late last week brimming with confidence. They will leave knowing that the Bruins’ pitching and defense, in the end, were just too good to overcome.

“I did not anticipate making a super regional,” Hallmark said “I would be some kind of arrogant sociopath if I did. Which, I hope I’m not. But I did think we had a good team … I thought we had a good chance to win the league. I knew East Carolina lost some people, which was going to help us.

“I knew we had a good team once we got our hands on ’em and saw the athletic ability of (Norris) McClure. I knew (shortstop) Ty Hodge was physical and athletic, because he’s (from) closer to home. I knew we had a good team. But a super regional was above and beyond what I expected, there’s no doubt about that.”

Hallmark said he will always be grateful to have coached this team.

“Again,” the coach continued, “all the credit to the players. It’s all a coach wants. It’s improvement. Buy in. And it just kept coming. Not our best baseball this weekend, but it wasn’t ugly baseball. I really tip my hat to UCLA. When I first watched ’em, I thought … they might have a slight problem in their bullpen.”

Hallmark explained that his initial assessment was only based on how many players Coach John Savage pitched out of the pen.

“Usually the really strong bullpens are two guys who come in and really shove the ball down your throat,” the UTSA coach said. “Credit coach Savage. It’s not a chink. It’s not a hole (in the roster). He just has a lot of parts in that bullpen. And he’s such a great pitching coach. I didn’t realize it until I played ’em, but the bullpen is one of their strengths.”

Starter Landon Stump opened the game on the mound for the Big Ten Conference co-champions and worked four innings. Chris Grothues, Cal Randall, August Souza and Easton Hawk pitched in relief. Grothues (4-1) earned the victory by working two and two thirds innings, holding the Roadrunners hitless and scoreless.

All told, UCLA pitching struck out nine and walked two. Meanwhile, Myles (5-2) took the loss. The Australia native had good stuff but gave up the first two runs of the game and seven hits across four and two thirds innings.

Owens, meanwhile, was charged with two runs on three hits in two and a third. One of the standouts in last week’s Austin Regional exited the game with no outs in the eighth after he was hit by a line drive off the bat of Brennan.

The play started with a baserunner at second. Brennan smashed a pitch right back to the box, and it caromed off Owens and into foul territory.

First baseman Lorenzo Morresi fielded it and flipped it past Owens for a throwing error, allowing the run to score. AJ Salgado, who opened the inning with a double, came around to score.

At that point, it was determined that Owens wouldn’t be able to continue, so he got an emotional hug from Hallmark and then a rousing ovation from UTSA fans in attendance.

Later, Phoenix Call added to UTSA’s misery with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring the second run of the inning and widening the UCLA lead to 4-0. The Bruins added three runs in the ninth to clinch it.

Records

UTSA 47-15
UCLA 47-16

Schedule

UCLA advances to the College World Series, June 13-23, at Omaha, Neb.

Notable

UTSA finished with program records in wins (47) and fewest losses (15). They also had records in runs (528), RBI (487) and hit by pitches (125), according to the school’s information department.

Mason Lytle appeared in his 62nd game, a UTSA single-season record. Myles started his 17th game, tying him for second on the all-time single-season list

Owens reached 100 strikeouts on the season, becoming the second Roadrunner to reach the century mark. He finished second on the single-season leader board behind Karan Patel who fanned 104 in 2019.

UCLA pitching clamped down on UTSA’s three hottest hitters in the last game of the season. The Bruins held McClure, Lytle and James Taussig to a combined 2 for 12 at the plate. McClure and Lytle were one for four and Taussig zero for four.

Taussig, the most outstanding player in the Austin Regional, was held hitless in two games in Los Angeles.

Surprising 47-win UTSA set to play UCLA in the NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional

Posted on by
Reply
UTSA's James Taussig celebrates with the fans after UTSA beat Texas 9-7 on Saturday, May 31, 2025, in the NCAA baseball tournament Austin Regional. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Outfielder James Taussig leads UTSA into its first super regional tournament tonight in Los Angeles. The 6-foot-6 rightfielder earned Most Outstanding Player honors last weekend in the Austin Regional. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

With confidence stoked by two straight victories last weekend against the seeded-second team in the NCAA tournament, the UTSA Roadrunners will open the Los Angeles Super Regional on Saturday night against the No. 15 UCLA Bruins.

The winner of the best-of-three format will advance to the Men’s College World Series next week. For the 47-win Roadrunners, it is their first trip to the super regional round in 34 years as a program.

They are a surprising team on a roll, having run away with the regular-season title in the American Athletic Conference at 23-4 after being picked to finish fourth.

Entering the first weekend of the tournament, they had never won an NCAA game in three previous trips (0-6) before winning three straight in the Austin Regional against power conference competition.

In Austin, they were seeded second in the four-team field and stormed to the crown behind most outstanding player James Taussig, clutch pitching and team defense.

After beating Kansas State 10-2 in the opener, they moved forward and eliminated host Texas by scores of 9-7 and 7-4.

Texas, ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of the season, took the tournament’s No. 2 overall seed into the regional after winning the regular-season title in the Southeastern Conference.

Now, the Roadrunners will try to take down the co-champions in the Big Ten.

Powered by Dick Howser Trophy finalist Roch Cholowski, UCLA shared first place in the newly-formed Big Ten with Oregon, and then swept through three games in the Los Angeles Regional, beating Fresno State, UC Irvine and Arizona State.

The Bruins rolled to regional title by outscoring opponents, 38-14.

Records

UTSA 47-13
UCLA 45-16

Schedule

NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional

(Best of three, at Jackie Robinson Stadium)
UTSA at UCLA, Saturday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at UCLA, Sunday, 2 p.m.
UTSA at UCLA, Monday, TBA (if necessary)

Drew Detlefsen update

Speaking with the media Friday, UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said he didn’t know whether Drew Detlefsen, the team’s home run and RBI leader, would play.

Detlefsen tweaked a hamstring while chasing down a ball in foul territory last Saturday against Texas and had to come out of the game. He did not play Sunday. The UTSA leftfielder has been getting treatment and hitting but has not been running full speed.

The coach said Detlefsen has been hitting well in practice, which is a good sign. At the same time, Hallmark said he has “capable people” to use in his place if he can’t play.

Pitching questions

Senior Zach Royse started and won the opener of the Austin Regional against Kansas State, pitching five and a third innings and allowing only one run on three hits. But Hallmark said he wasn’t ready to name bis starter for the opener in the super regional.

He said he doesn’t know who will start for UCLA, either, though he said the Bruins have started Ian May on the first night of weekend series in the second half of the season. Hallmark said the rotation down the stretch of the season for UCLA was May, Zach Barnett and then Landon Stump.

Hallmark also said Wylan Moss is a possibility.

“He’s been hurt,” the coach said. “He’s back. Really good arm. Freshman … the arm’s really good, really talented. It’s the classic UCLA type big, big pro prospect. So, I wouldn’t be shocked if any one of those four start.”

The coach said UCLA used May out of the bullpen in the regional to give them a left-handed stopper late in the games.

A star at shortstop

Hallmark said UCLA sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowski “might be the best player in the country” and is a “phenomenal” talent,” one that could be taken with the first overall pick in the 2026 draft.

“The kid is a really good baseball player,” Hallmark said. “You’re not going to hold him down for three games.”

Cholowski usually bats second for the Bruins. Batting after him in the three hole is a productive left-side bat in Mulivai Levu.

“Big, physical left-handed hitter,” Hallmark said. “He’s got 85 RBI on the season. Part of it is because Roch’s on base all the time. But, that’s where they start, offensively … those two guys. They’re dangerous.”

Hallmark said UCLA is like UTSA in that they draw walks, they get hit by pitches and they don’t strike out.

As a result, Hallmark told his pitchers, “Be ready to feel like you’re pitching against your teammates. They’re not going to go away easily. They’re going to foul off some tough pitches. They’re going to hang around up there.”

Last team from Texas

UTSA is the last team from the state of Texas remaining in the NCAA baseball tournament. The Roadrunners eliminated the Texas Longhorns in the finals of the Austin Regional. Also in Austin, the Houston Christian Huskies went down with two straight losses. Dallas Baptist was eliminated in the semifinals of the Baton Rouge Regional. TCU lost two straight in the Corvallis Regional.

Once again, UTSA’s Hallmark stresses need for an enhanced baseball stadium

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The ball is rolling downhill for the UTSA baseball program in terms of capturing the attention of its local fan base.

After San Antonio media blanketed the Roadrunners with coverage in last week’s trip to the NCAA Austin Regional, the players responded with a dynamic performance, sweeping to three straight victories, including two over the Texas Longhorns.

Pat Hallmark. UTSA beat Rice 15-7 on Thursday night in American Athletic Conference baseball at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sixth-year UTSA coach Pat Hallmark says he’d like to see a plan for an enhanced home stadium so that the program doesn’t fall behind in recruiting. – File photo by Joe Alexander

As a result, a crowd of people turned out on short notice for a welcome-home celebration on Monday.

Another crowd showed up Thursday when the team left Roadrunner Field for a trip to the Los Angeles Super Regional.

So, where is all this going?

Well, in the immediate future, the program is headed west for a best-of-three series against the UCLA Bruins, starting Saturday at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Coming out on top won’t be easy.

The Bruins are ranked as the 15th-best team in the tournament, and they have a player in Roch Cholowski who is among four finalists for the Dick Howser Award, college baseball’s version of the Heisman Trophy.

All that aside, UTSA is playing well, too. Correction. They are playing lights out. The Roadrunners beat the No. 2 overall seed in the Longhorns twice last week in Austin. So, they are hot, and they know how to get it done.

Given all that, what else is at stake this weekend for the most ascendant athletic program at UTSA, besides a trip to the Men’s College World Series?

Well, one enticing possibility is that the university decides to move forward with a plan to upgrade Roadrunner Field. Coach Pat Hallmark has been pushing that idea aggressively.

Another possibility is that UTSA continues on its current plan to enhance player training as its next project, without a concrete course of action on an enhanced competition site.

If that is the case, it seems that another baseball program on another campus could approach Hallmark with a better deal, and he might take it.

Why do I say this? Well, for one thing, Hallmark is a hot commodity. One of the hottest in this part of the country. His team is one of 16 remaining in the NCAA tournament.

In addition, he seems to be getting more antsy and more blunt when he discusses the need for a stadium upgrade. Specifically, one with more comforts for the fans.

He talked about it in mid-May with reporters after one of his last regular-season home games. The subject came up again in an interview Monday with radio talk show host Jason Minnix on San Antonio Sports Star, FM 94.1. Most recently, the subject was broached on Friday on the eve of his team’s first game at UCLA.

Asked on a media zoom conference if he could sense how the team has started to attract more and more attention from local fans in the wake of its success in Austin, Hallmark said he probably hasn’t grasped the situation in its entirety just yet.

“It’s a bigger deal than I anticipated, not that I knew we were going to be here,” the coach said. “But I knew we had a good team. I knew we had a shot when we officially got in the regional.”

Hallmark said “a lot of people are reaching out” in terms of fans who came out to Roadrunner Field on Monday and again on Thursday.

“People are pulling me aside, talking about a new stadium,” he said. “I have not heard that from UTSA. I’m not saying that. But I’ve never heard that from anyone, ever, in the city. From (anybody).“

The coach said he thinks people realize now that the program needs a better playing facility.

“What we’re doing this year (on the field) does not have to be an anomaly,” he said. “I’m not ready to say we can do it every single year. But we can do this more than not. This can become the goal every year, instead of some huge deal.

“Like, ‘Oh, my God. Look what we did.’ It doesn’t have to be that,” he said. “So, I’m ready to talk about this stadium as much as anybody wants to talk about it, because I want to stay in San Antonio.”

Asked for specifics on what he wanted on that front, Hallmark said he hopes UTSA officials can come up with a plan “for something” soon.

“I know it’s a huge, huge undertaking,” he said. “But that’s what we need, first and foremost, even above a bigger NIL budget and scholarships.

“You know, (with) baseball scholarships, this is the last year that they’re capped at 11.7 (per team). You’re allowed to have 34 scholarships next year. The NIL collective is a thing.”

But even before addressing those issues, he said his first priority “is and always has been” some kind of facility enhancement.

“It doesn’t have to be the Taj Mahal,” he said. “We need something so we don’t lose recruits and players, just something that says we care about baseball, and we are invested.

“When you, the baseball player at UTSA, overachieves (and) does what you are currently doing, we want to give back to you. That message needs to be sent by the people running UTSA.”

Otherwise, he said, the Roadrunners will lose players to their competition “and we don’t do this anymore.” Meaning, they’ll fall behind in terms of their ability to vie for championships in the years to come.

“If that’s what they want,” the coach said, “that’s what they’re going to get.”

Texas rolls past Kansas State, moves into NCAA Austin Regional title round against UTSA

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The Texas Longhorns will get another shot at the UTSA Roadrunners in the NCAA Austin Regional.

Casey Borba hit a grand slam and a three-run homer in an eight-RBI performance Sunday as the top-seeded Longhorns (44-13) stayed alive in the double-elimination format with a 15-8 victory over the No. 3 Kansas State Wildcats.

Less than 24 hours after they were upended by the second-seeded Roadrunners, 9-7, the Longhorns produced 15 hits against five Kansas State pitchers to eliminate the Wildcats (32-26).

Borba stroked four hits, joining teammate Max Belyeu with first-inning homers. Belyeu started off the six-run first by slicing a two-run homer over the left field wall. Borba followed with a grand slam, an opposite field shot to right.

In the third inning, Borba, a sophomore from Santa Ana, Calif., launched a three-run homer to left.

Ruger Riojas, who played at UTSA the past two seasons, started on the mound for the Longhorns and set career highs in innings pitched (7 and 1/3) and pitches (119). He allowed seven runs on six hits, including three homers.

For the Wildcats, Seth Dardar homered in the first inning, while AJ Evasco heated up late with round-trippers in the seventh and the eighth.

Fourth-seeded Houston Christian (0-2) and Kansas State (1-2) are both out of the tournament. Texas, at 2-1 this weekend, will play 2-0 UTSA in the title round starting tonight.

UTSA (46-13) needs one victory to win the regional. Texas needs to win tonight and again in a winner-take-all game on Monday to advance to the Super Regional round.

Taking a look at UTSA baseball’s season in photos

Posted on by
Reply

Good afternoon, all. As we wait for UTSA baseball’s game at the NCAA Austin Regional, I wanted to share some of Joe Alexander’s file photos from the season. Enjoy.

Nathan Hodge. UTSA beat Rice 11-4 in American Athletic Conference baseball at Roadrunner Field on Friday, May 15, 2025. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Nathan Hodge, shown here in a game played at home against Rice University, emerged as one of the standouts Saturday night in a 9-7 victory over the Texas Longhorns. Figuring prominently in the Roadrunners’ rally from a five-run deficit, he had two hits and three RBI. Hodge is a freshman from College Station. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Ty Hodge. UTSA beat Rice 11-4 in American Athletic Conference baseball at Roadrunner Field on Friday, May 15, 2025. - photo by Joe Alexander

Ty Hodge, Nathan’s older, has been an infield fixture at shortstop for the Roadrunners. Ty Hodge is a redshirt junior from College Station. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Mason Lytle. UTSA beat South Florida 5-2 in American Athletic Conference baseball on Friday, May 10, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Mason Lytle, shown here making a play at home against South Florida last season, returned for his senior year and earned American Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors. Lytle is a senior from Houston. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Kendall Dove is 3-0 with a 5.58 earned run average after earning the win in Saturday night’s game against the Texas Longhorns. He’s shown here in a Feb. 26 home game against Oakland (Mich.). Dove is a sophomore from New Caney. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Andrew Stucky. UTSA rallied from an early 5-1 deficit to beat Florida Atlantic 10-7 in American Athletic Conference baseball at Roadrunner Field on Friday, March 28, 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA catcher Andrew Stucky is hitting .331 with a 1.000 OPS. Stucky is a senior from Tucson, Ariz. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Norris McClure slides safely into home to tie the game 7-7 on Drew Detlefsen's three-run double in the fifth inning. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Norris McClure has sparked the Roadrunners with his .350 bating average and his all-out play. He’s shown here sliding head first into home against Rice on May 15. – File photo by Joe Alexander