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Area Division I baseball teams play for momentum in stretch run

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With two weeks left before conference tournament play commences, local and area NCAA Division I baseball teams will need to start winning to create momentum for championship runs. Here’s the breakdown:

Summary: In Conference USA, if you take your eye off the ball, you can get smacked in the nose. UTSA can’t afford to let that happen this week. The fifth-place Roadrunners (26-20, 12-11) are in good position to make the eight-team C-USA tournament. But if they have any postseason championship aspirations, they need win a road series this weekend against the last-place Old Dominion Monarchs (14-31, 6-17) and then follow suit next week against Charlotte (27-20, 13-11) at home.

Leaders

Batting: Bryan Arias (.340, 41 runs, 6 HR), Ben Brookover (.322, 7 HR, 46 RBI), Trent Bowles (.316, 7 HR, 34 RBI, 13 SB).

Pitching: Steven Dressler (5-2, 2.90), Chance Kirby (4-4, 2.94), Karan Patel (2-3, 4.47), Derek Craft (3-4, 1.79).

Summary: Incarnate Word (29-20, 13-11) is bouncing back in baseball at just the right time. Eligible to play in the Southland Conference tournament after a four-year wait in transition from NCAA Division II, the Cardinals are tied for fifth with a top-eight finish necessary to extend the season. UIW plays at Texas A&M Corpus Christi (24-26, 8-16) this weekend before hosting powerful Sam Houston State (33-16, 19-5) next week. Sam Houston is the SLC’s No. 1 program.

Leaders

Batting: Eddy Gonzales (.381), Ridge Rogers (.355), Kyle Bergeron (.343, 6 HR, 46 RBI).

Pitching: Cody Allen (2-3, 2.47, 5 saves), Luke Taggart (4-3, 3.87), Tyler Miller (3-3, 3.99).

Summary: It’s been a struggle lately for the Texas State Bobcats, who have lost five of their last six. But they remain in position to reach the Sun Belt Conference tournament. Texas State (23-24-1, 11-13) hosts Louisiana (28-21, 14-10) this weekend. The Bobcats will finish on the road against UT-Arlington (21-27, 11-13).

Leaders

Batting: Dalton Shuffield (.300), Jonathan Ortega (.294, 32 RBI), Derek Scheible (.234, 10 HR, 33 RBI).

Pitching: Nicholas Fraze (5-3, 2.93), Connor Reich (5-3, 3.45).

Missouri spokesman: Bormet’s injury likely season ending

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Outfielder Cade Bormet, a University of Missouri freshman from Reagan, likely is out for the season after suffering a facial fracture last week in a home game against Georgia.

Missouri’s Cade Bormet

Bormet was hospitalized last Thursday after crashing into a wall while chasing a ball tailing foul down the right field line.

A Missouri spokesman said Bormet’s condition is improving.

“Cade is doing much better,” the spokesman said in an email. “He did break the left orbital bone in his face, suffered a concussion and a large laceration on his left knee.

“He’s likely out for the remainder of the year as he recovers.”

As a high school player, Bormet helped lead Reagan to the state runner-up finishes in both 2014 and 2017.

He hit .360 with five home runs as a senior.

At Missouri, Bormet has played in 34 games with 15 starts. He is batting .261 with seven doubles, six RBI and 13 runs scored.

Kody Clemens leads the Texas Longhorns with his hot bat

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Texas infielder Kody Clemens hit for a .500 average over three games in Lubbock last weekend. He also belted three home runs and produced five RBI.

In addition, the Longhorns thoroughly enjoyed a productive weekend as a team, winning two of three from the nationally-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders.

It’s easy to see that the former had something to do with the latter.

But in Clemens’ case, you get the feeling that Texas probably won’t ascend to the heights that it wants to reach this season without a strong finish from him.

For example, let’s examine Clemens’ last cold spell with the bat.

In a six-game stretch over the last week of April, Clemens went 2 for 23 at the plate, a streak that included the last two games of a home series against New Orleans, one at home against Houston and three on the road at West Virginia.

For whatever reason, Clemens wasn’t producing. The result? Texas went 3-3, which included two Big 12 losses in three tries against West Virginia in Morgantown.

Since then, the Longhorns have played much better, winning a mid-week game last week against Texas State and then taking two of three at Texas Tech, a performance in conference that keeps them in contention to host an NCAA regional.

During that stretch, Clemens has been on fire, pounding out nine hits and scoring six runs. Against the Red Raiders, he went 7 for 14. He slugged two home runs in Game 1 and another in Game 3, both UT victories.

Now, Texas finds itself moving up in the rankings and battling for a shot to play at home on the first week of the national tournament. Clemens is hardly the only reason the Longhorns won in Lubbock.

The Longhorns boast a talented roster with Zach Zubia, Duke Ellis and David Hamilton enjoying strong seasons offensively. A 4.62 team earned run average by the pitching staff is not the greatest, but a .976 fielding percentage (40th in the nation) is solid.

Then again, it seems Texas has been at its best lately when Clemens, the son of former UT star Roger Clemens, is riding a hot streak at the plate. Right now, Clemens is among the hottest hitters in the Big 12, which can only be a good thing for the Longhorns.

Top 25 rankings
(Baseball AmericaO
1.Florida 38-11 SEC
2. Stanford 37-6 Pac-12
3. North Carolina 32-13 ACC
4. Oregon State 35-7-1 Pac-12
5. Mississippi 36-13 SEC
6. Arkansas 33-15 SEC
7. North Carolina State 34-12 ACC
8. Clemson 35-12 ACC
9. Duke 35-11 ACC
10. Texas Tech 35-14 Big 12
11. UCLA 30-13 Pac-12
12. Georgia 33-14 SEC
13. Southern Miss 35-12 Conference USA
14. East Carolina 33-12 American
15. Minnesota 32-12 Big Ten
16. Florida State 32-15 ACC
17. Texas 33-18 Big 12
18. Auburn 34-14 SEC
19. Coastal Carolina 32-16 Sun Belt
20. Oklahoma State 28-17 Big 12
21. Kentucky 30-17 SEC
22. Stetson 37-11 Atlantic Sun
23. South Florida 29-15 American
24. Tennessee Tech 40-6 Ohio Valley
25. Connecticut 27-14 American

UTSA’s Kirby spoils Rice coaching legend’s S.A. finale

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On Wayne Graham’s last trip to San Antonio as coach of the Rice Owls, his team won two out of three from UTSA and kept hope alive for a shot at the postseason.

But after the Owls shut down the home team twice on Saturday, the Roadrunners returned the favor on Sunday, courtesy of a masterful performance from pitcher Chance Kirby.

Kirby pitched into the eighth inning and struck out a career-high 13 in UTSA’s 7-0 victory.

“UT-San Antonio has a fine baseball team,” Graham said. “Winning two out of three from them here is a big deal. The kid’s pitching performance today was really that good. There’s no joke. He really pitched well.”

Baseball coaching legend Wayne Graham of the Rice Owls talks to home plate umpire Joe Brown after the fourth inning.

Any series against the Graham-coached Owls is always a highlight on the Roadrunners’ home schedule.

But this one took on added significance on April 25, when the 82-year-old, College Baseball Hall of Famer announced that this season would be his last at Rice.

Based on what he had been told by a Rice administrator, Graham said his contract would not be extended and that his 27-year tenure as coach of the Owls would be coming to an end.

Discussing the impending end of an era, UTSA coach Jason Marshall said Graham’s legacy is secure in baseball circles.

“You talk about the respect of his peers, when he sits in a room talking baseball, you just sit there and shut your mouth and listen,” Marshall said. “He is just a great baseball coach and great baseball mind (who) has always gotten the most out of his players.”

Chance Kirby struck out a career-high 13 Sunday as UTSA shut out the Rice Owls, 7-0.

Since Graham took charge in 1992, Rice has fared well on state, regional and national levels, compiling a record of 1,167-523.

Starting in 1995, the Owls embarked on a string of 23 straight NCAA tournaments, the third-longest streak in the nation behind Florida State (40) and Cal State-Fullerton (26).

In that time, they’ve played in seven College World Series, winning the 2003 national title along the way.

In the past two seasons, however, Rice’s dominance has started to fade.

Last year, the Owls struggled to a 13-25 start, before a late surge propelled them into the C-USA tournament and, ultimately, to the title at Biloxi, Miss.

This year, Rice (20-26-2) still has work to do even to qualify for the C-USA’s postseason event in Biloxi.

The Owls trail the UAB Blazers and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, both tied for eighth in the conference standings.

If the tournament started today, UAB and Western Kentucky (both 11-13) would have the edge over ninth-place Rice (9-13-2).

Fortunately for Graham, two weeks remain on the schedule, and he gets to play UAB at home next weekend before finishing at FIU.


UTSA’s Jonathan Tapia scores from third, sliding into home to beat a throw from the outfield on Ben Brookover’s second-inning sacrifice fly.

Graham, from Yoakum, turned into a solid 1950s-era amateur ball player at Houston Reagan and at the University of Texas.

He later played third base and outfield in the pros, including 10 games for the Gene Mauch-managed Philadelphia Phillies in 1963 and 20 more in ’64 for the New York Mets, under Casey Stengel.

Graham said he learned a lot in a short time under Stengel.

“I didn’t dare sit next to him on the bench–and that’s what I occupied with the Mets was the bench,” he said during his induction into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012. “But I was close enough to hear everything …

“He ran a commentary on the game as you went, especially on how the pitcher was pitching to our hitters, and I have grown to think that is pretty important.”

Graham didn’t get all the answers from Stengel.

He said he is struggling with the idea that he no longer will be coaching.

At the same time, Graham said he won’t allow his emotions to affect his work at the Owls prepare for the last two weeks.

“It’s rough off the field,” he said. “It’s not rough on the field. I’ve always come to the ball park with complete absorption in the game. I don’t have any choice. I couldn’t do it any other way.”

Having coached since the early 1970s, when he started at Houston Scarborough High School, Graham is philosophical about moving on.

“All things come to and end, unfortunately,” he said. “(But) I don’t know many people that coach that long. I’ve had 47 years in the game. Loved it.

“You know, I’m sort of like (former Texas football coach Darrell) Royal. He said the losses hurt a lot. Well, they do hurt. But I’m still able to recover. This has been a really rough year.”


Brookover sparked a two-run first inning for the Roadrunners with an opposite-field single to right.

UTSA by the numbers

Record: 26-20, 12-11 in C-USA

Place in the standings: Fifth

Sunday’s standouts

Pitching: Chance Kirby, 7 and 1/3 innings, 4 hits, 1 walk, 13 strikeouts

Hitting: 1B Ben Brookover and SS Joshua Lamb, both 2 for 4, with 3 RBI.

Fielding: Diving catches by CF Jonathan Tapia and LF Todd Bowles

Coming up

UTSA at Old Dominion, Friday through Sunday

Todd Bowles hits two homers in UTSA’s 14-1 victory

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Todd Bowles slugged two of his team’s four home runs Tuesday night, leading UTSA past the visiting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, 14-1, in seven innings.

Dylan Rock and Ryan Stacy also connected for the Roadrunners, who have won eight of their last 10 leading into a Conference USA weekend series against the Rice Owls.

Records
UTSA 25-18
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 21-25

Coming up
Rice at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.

Can LSU turn it on this week against No. 4 Arkansas?

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The LSU Tigers always seem to conjure up some baseball magic this time of year.

As one of the dominant programs in the country, LSU traditionally turns it on when April gives way to May, and then to June.

If you don’t believe it, check the record — 29 NCAA tournament appearances, 18 trips to the College World Series and six national titles.

Last year, the Tigers won 52 games.

They advanced all the way to the championship round in the CWS, only to lose in two straight games to Florida.

Oddly, LSU has found itself in something of a struggle ever since.

The Tigers are only seven games over .500 this season.

They’ve lost six of their last eight, including two of three last week at Ole Miss.

Even more mysterious, LSU might be viewed as something of an underdog this weekend when its hosts the fourth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks.

A three-game SEC series between Arkansas (32-13, 13-8) and LSU (26-19, 10-11) opens Friday night at Alex Box Stadium.

It’s strange, really.

With the month of May looming, LSU is not among the hot teams in the SEC.

Florida is coming off a 2-2 week, but the Gators (36-10, 16-5) are still ranked No. 1 in the nation by Baseball America.

Ole Miss (34-11, 12-9) is third and Arkansas fourth.

The Hogs have played perhaps the best ball of anyone of late, knocking off Texas Tech last Wednesday before sweeping Alabama for a 4-0 week.

Meanwhile, LSU has lost its last two SEC series, losing all three at South Carolina two weeks ago and then dropping the series at Ole Miss after blowing a late three-run lead and losing 9-8 Sunday.

The Tigers have had trouble with their pitching all year. The team’s ERA is 4.56, which is 12th out of 14 SEC teams.

Middle relief pitching, in particular, has haunted LSU in series-opening losses to South Carolina and Ole Miss over the past few weeks.

If it happens again this weekend, the explosive Razorbacks could put up a lot of runs.

We’ll see if the Tigers’ mojo or magic, or whatever you want to call it, can start to turn that around against the Hogs, who lead the conference in batting (.310) and home runs (69).

After all, it is that time of year.

Baseball America Top 25

1. Florida 36-10 SEC
2. Stanford 33-6 Pac-12
3. Ole Miss 34-11 SEC
4. Arkansas 32-13 SEC
5. North Carolina 31-13 ACC
6. Oregon State 32-7 Pac-12
7. North Carolina State 31-11 ACC
8. UCLA 29-10 Pac-12
9. Texas Tech 33-12 Big 12
10. Clemson 34-11 ACC
11. Duke 33-11 ACC
12. Kentucky 29-15 SEC
13. Southern Miss 32-11 Conference USA
14. East Carolina 30-12 American
15. Coastal Carolina 31-14 Sun Belt
16. Florida State 31-14 ACC
17. Vanderbilt 25-18 SEC
18. Indiana 31-10 Big Ten
19. Oklahoma State 27-14 Big 12
20. Texas 30-17 Big 12
21. Houston 28-16 American
22. Minnesota 28-12 Big Ten
23. South Florida 29-15 American
24. Georgia 30-14 SEC
25. Tennessee Tech 37-6 Ohio Valley

UTSA wins, holds fourth place in Conference USA standings

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The surging UTSA Roadrunners will return home this week to play Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Rice after winning a key weekend series on the road against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.

UTSA hosts A&M-Corpus Christi in non-conference on Tuesday before greeting Rice in a three-game set in Conference USA starting on Friday.

Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech, Florida Atlantic and UTSA are 1-2-3-4 in the C-USA standings heading into the final three weeks.

The Roadrunners (24-18, 11-9 C-USA) bashed Blue Raiders pitching for 10 runs on 11 hits in the final three innings Sunday at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, rallying from a two-run deficit to claim a 13-7 victory.

As a result, UTSA won the series two games to one. It was the second C-USA series victory in the past two weeks after the Roadrunners took two of three at home last week against FIU.

UTSA has also won seven of its last nine overall.

Ben Brookover produced three hits and three RBI for the Roadrunners. He ignited a four-run rally in the seventh with a run-scoring triple.

Bryan Arias and Ryan Stacy also enjoyed solid days at the plate with two hits and two RBIs apiece.

Junior pitcher Palmer Wenzel recorded some momentum-changing outs in the middle of the game for the Roadrunners.

After the Blue Raiders had scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth for a 5-3 lead, he entered the game with two out and retired the only batter he faced on a ground ball, leaving a runner stranded.

In the fifth, Wenzel yielded two hits to start the inning. In response, UTSA right fielder Dylan Rock threw out a runner at third to keep Middle Tennessee in check.

After issuing a walk to put runners at first and second, Wenzel struck out Blake Benefield and coaxed Aaron Antonini into a fly ball, ending the threat.

Wenzel, a newcomer this season after transferring from McLennan Community College, retired three straight in the sixth to set the stage for the late-inning fireworks from the UTSA offense.

UTSA notebook

The Blue Raiders stunned the Roadrunners 12-5 in the series opener last Friday.

But UTSA responded with an 11-1 victory in Game 2 on Saturday.

The Roadrunners stroked a combined 29 hits off Blue Raiders pitching in the past two days.

UTSA closes the regular season with series against Rice, at Old Dominion and at home again against Charlotte.

The top eight teams in the conference will pay the C-USA tournament at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. Tournament dates are set for May 23-27.

UTSA hits two homers, routs Incarnate Word, 11-1

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After falling behind by a run early, the UTSA Roadrunners scored 11 in a row en route to an 11-1 victory Tuesday night over the Incarnate Word Cardinals.

Playing a non-conference game at home, UTSA pounded 15 hits in rolling to its second straight victory and its fifth in the last six outings.

The Roadrunners hit two homers, with Tony Beam connecting in the fifth and Ryan Stacy in the sixth.

Both were two-run shots. When Stacy clobbered a ball over the wall in right-center, UTSA had increased its lead to 8-1.

Eddy Gonzalez, Incarnate Word’s leading hitter, was held in check on a 1-for-4 performance.

Regardless, his batting average remained at an impressive .386.

Gonzalez doubled to lead off the second and ended up scoring UIW’s only run.

Records
UTSA 22-17
Incarnate Word 25-17

Coming up
UTSA — At Middle Tennessee, three games, Friday through Sunday (Conference USA)
Incarnate Word — At New Orleans, three games, Friday through Sunday (Southland Conference)

Former UTSA pitcher blanks Astros in MLB debut

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Justin Anderson, making his major league debut, pitched a scoreless eighth inning Monday night in the Los Angeles Angels’ 2-0 victory over the world champion Houston Astros.

After retiring the first two batters he faced, the former right-handed pitcher for the UTSA Roadrunners yielded singles to George Springer and Jose Altuve.

Next, Anderson faced Carlos Correa with runners at first and third.

But with the Astros’ home crowd in Houston roaring, he didn’t flinch, striking out Correa on a slider to preserve his team’s two-run lead.

A television replay showed a group of friends and fans cheering with enthusiasm as Anderson, a Houston native, walked off the field.

It was the end of a wild day for Anderson, who was called up to the majors from Triple A on Sunday.

Before the Angels-Astros game, he told the Orange County Register that he “broke down” when he got the news of his promotion.

In the next 24 hours, his life was turned upside down, as family and friends touched base to offer congratulations.

“So far it’s been pretty crazy,” Anderson told Jeff Fletcher of the Register. “My phone is blowing up.”

The former Houston schoolboy, who pitched at UTSA from 2012-14, is the second former Roadrunners player to make it to the major leagues.

He follows catcher and former UTSA teammate John Bormann, who made it up for one game with the Pittsburgh Pirates last April.

“I am just proud of Justin and his accomplishment,” UTSA coach Jason Marshall said in a text. “It’s a boyhood dream that so many young guys have but so few ever realize it.”

Anderson, 25, was selected on the 14th round of the 2014 draft out of UTSA.

He started the 2017 season at Inland Empire of the Class A California League and moved up later to the Mobile BayBears, a Class AA team in the Southern League.

This spring, he started at Mobile and recently was pulled up to the Triple-A, Pacific Coast League Salt Lake Bees.

In three appearances for Salt Lake, the 6-3, 220-pound right-hander didn’t allow a run or a hit in five innings over three games.

He struck out six and walked one.

“We’ve seen him for a number of years,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told the Register. “The reason he’s here is not so much us seeing him, but the adjustments he’s made, using the experience to improve.

“Right now he’s made some big strides, from spring training to now.”

Clearly, it was a moment to savor for Anderson, who was a sophomore in 2013, when Marshall led the Roadrunners to the NCAA tournament in his first year as head coach.

“Justin has continued to make strides through the Angels’ organization, and to be afforded a debut in his hometown and in front of his parents, extended family and friends, I’m sure it’s a memory of a lifetime for him,” the coach said.

Anderson came out of Houston St. Pius X High School and played his first season at UTSA in 2012, when he finished 3-2 in 11 appearances.

He was 0-1 in limited duty in 2013. But by the next season, he started to attract attention, fashioning a 4-5 record with a 2.92 ERA.

Anderson’s call up comes three days before the NFL Draft, when defensive end Marcus Davenport from UTSA is expected to be selected, potentially in the first round.

“It’s one of the most important markers in the life of a college baseball program to have young men reach the pinnacle of the sport,” Marshall said. “As UTSA grows and the athletic programs reach new heights, you are going to see more and more of our athletes play on the big stage.

“For Justin to reach the big leagues just goes to show that the road can start in San Antonio at UTSA, and Major League Baseball is attainable for aspiring young players.”

Texas Tech set for tests this week at Arkansas, TCU

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Is Texas Tech really this good?

We’ll know more this week when the fourth-ranked Red Raiders play two on the road at No. 8 Arkansas.

The games between former rivals in the Southwest Conference are set for Tuesday and Wednesday in Fayetteville.

After that, Tech travels for a Big 12 series at TCU from Friday through Sunday.

The Red Raiders on Monday moved up one spot in the national rankings, according to Baseball America.

They did it after a 3-1 week overall, and a 2-1 series win over Oklahoma in the Big 12.

Sophomore third baseman Josh Jung from San Antonio (MacArthur HS) enjoyed a magical week for the Red Raiders, hitting .588 with three home runs and 13 RBIs.

He produced 10 hits, including seven that went for extra bases.

Last Tuesday, he became the sixth player in school history to hit for the cycle at New Mexico.

Last Friday, he scored the winning run against Oklahoma on a balk.

On third base, Jung faked a steal of home and caused an OU pitcher to make the mistake that moved runners up, giving Tech the victory.

Here’s the rest of this week’s Top 25, according to the magazine’s website:

1. Florida 34-8 SEC
2. North Carolina State 31-8 ACC
3. Stanford 30-5 Pac-12
4. Texas Tech 32-9 Big 12
5. Mississippi 32-9 SEC
6. Oregon State 29-6 Pac-12
7. East Carolina 30-9 American
8. Arkansas 28-13 SEC
9. UCLA 25-10 Pac-12
10. North Carolina 27-13 ACC
11. Vanderbilt 24-16 SEC
12. Duke 31-10 ACC
13. Kentucky 26-14 SEC
14. Clemson 29-11 ACC
15. Southern Miss 28-11 Conference USA
16. Coastal Carolina 28-14 Sun Belt
17. Florida State 29-12 ACC
18. Indiana 29-8 Big Ten
19. Texas 28-15 Big 12
20. South Florida 26-14 American
21. Tennessee Tech 34-5 Ohio Valley
22. Oklahoma 27-15 Big 12
23. Minnesota 25-11 Big Ten
24. Georgia 27-13 SEC
25. Jacksonville, Fla. 28-13 Atlantic Sun