UTSA baseball to host the fourth-ranked Stanford Cardinal

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Kody Darcy. The UTSA baseball team playing Seattle in Game 2 on opening day Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA newcomer Kody Darcy has played in six of the team’s seven games and has produced a .400 batting average, a .480 on base percentage and a .600 slugging percentage. Darcy (shown here playing last Friday) had three hits in Sunday’s 13-0 victory over Seattle. – File photo by Joe Alexander

A big day in the history of the UTSA baseball program looms on Monday with the Roadrunners set to host the nationally-ranked Stanford Cardinal.

First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Roadrunner Field.

The fourth-ranked Cardinal will be the highest-ranked team in any sport to play on UTSA’s campus in the modern era since 2006, according to the Roadrunners’ athletic department.

Both UTSA and Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford enter the game with 6-1 records. UTSA has won four in a row and Stanford five straight. Both teams have registered shutout victories in their last two outings.

Stanford won 39 games last year and advanced to the College World Series for the 17th time in program history. This season, the Brock Jones and Cody Huff-led Cardinal started the season by winning two of three at home against Cal State Fullerton.

Last week, the Pac-12 conference power played at home on Tuesday andf beat Santa Clara, winning 5-0. Traveling to Texas to play in the Karbach Round Rock Classic, the Cardinal defeated the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns 5-1 on Friday.

On Sunday, Stanford completed its stay in Central Texas by winning twice at Round Rock’s Dell Diamond, beating Indiana 13-0 and then downing second-ranked Arkansas 5-0.

During the Cardinal’s five-game winning streak, coach David Esquer’s pitching staff has yielded only two runs.

The Roadrunners, meanwhile, have also started fast under third-year coach Pat Hallmark.

They won two of three to open the season at Tarleton State and then swept four games in the last three days at home against the Seattle Redhawks.

After winning 7-3 and 3-2 on Friday, the Roadrunners rolled to an 11-0 victory on Saturday and then a 13-0 decision on Sunday.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Roadrunners’ pitching staff limited the Redhawks to a combined six hits.

Meanwhile, the offense feasted on Redhawks pitching Sunday for 20 hits, including three hits by Jonathan Tapia, Sammy Diaz, Leyton Barry and Kody Darcy.

Included in the outburst was a three-run home run by Tapia, a senior from O’Connor, his first of the season.

Records

Stanford 6-1
UTSA 6-1

Coming up

Monday — Stanford at UTSA, 1 p.m.
Friday — Southern at UTSA, 6 p.m.
Saturday — Southern at UTSA, 2 p.m.
Sunday (March 6) — Southern at UTSA, 1 p.m.

What cold weather? UTSA stays hot with its third straight victory

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For the third time in two days, UTSA played a game in weather better suited for outdoor hockey than baseball. Only this time, a light rain greeted the team when it showed up Saturday morning for a noon start against the Seattle Redhawks.

“We had some bad weather this morning,” Roadrunners catcher Josh Killeen said. “Light drizzle. Really cold. To get loose, it takes awhile. We got here early to run around and get our legs moving, to get our arms moving so we could feel good for the game.”

With his motor running, Killeen stepped up to the plate in his first at bat and drilled a long home run into the screen in left field.

“Felt great,” said Killeen, a sophomore from Reagan. “I knew, right off the bat (that it was a homer). It was first pitch. I was ready for a fastball, and he came in with it. I just did what I did.”

After UTSA scored twice in the first inning and once in the second off Killeen’s first home run of the season, the pitching took over, with Ulises Quiroga, Simon Miller, Grant Miller and Ryan Ward combining on a four-hit shutout in an 11-0 victory.

UTSA blew it open with six runs in the seventh inning en route to a 5-1 start to the season and a 3-0 start to the first homestand. The Roadrunners will finish the four-game home series against Seattle Sunday at noon, before nationally-ranked Stanford comes in Monday for a 1 p.m. game.

“Feels good to start off right,” Killeen said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who’ve stepped up, even guys off the bench. So, we’re excited. Just trying to keep this momentum going into tomorrow. And then it’s a big week ahead, with Stanford. So we’re excited and ready to get after it.”

After winning 7-3 and 3-2 on Friday, the Roadrunners left the park feeling a little bit uneasy about their performance.

“I didn’t think we played very good yesterday and we won two,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said. “That’s what the message to the team was. We were fortunate, lucky a little bit, maybe. Also, the message was, how good can we be if we play good. Right? You win two and you don’t play good, it’s kind of a good sign.

“But we were better today. We pitched well. We hit well, and we ran the bases well. We did not run the bases well yesterday. Anyway, we were better.”

Last year, pitching haunted the Roadrunners in a 22-26 season. Their ERA was 5.92. Teams scored almost eight runs per game against them. They lost so many leads late in games, it felt like collapses were almost inevitable.

Now they’re three games into their first homestand, and they’ve given up only five runs in 25 innings against the Redhawks. For the season, they’ve really only had one clunker of a pitching outing in a 12-1 loss at Tarleton last week.

On Saturday, the Roadrunners walked too many batters. They walked 12, which will not be good enough when they face the best hitting teams later in the season. But for the second day in a row, UTSA pitchers were good enough to buckle down and throw good stuff with men on base.

“It was good to see Simon Miller pitch as well as he did,” Hallmark said. “We need him, because he’s got the stuff to beat good teams. You know, the Southern Miss of the world. He’s got the stuff to do it. He just needs experience and (to throw) the strikes.”

Miller pitched the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to earn the victory. He seemed to get stronger as he threw more and more pitches. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound sophomore from Canton didn’t allow a hit and struck out five, though he did walk four.

“He got the breaking ball going,” Hallmark said. “He’s got a good breaking ball. He found the strike zone with it. He can be tough when he does that.”

After being limited to eight hits in Friday night’s second game, the Roadrunners rebounded with 10 hits, including four for extra bases. Leyton Barry, Chase Keng and Killeen had two hits apiece. Led by Barry, who is hitting .409 on the season, the Roadrunners have six players batting better than .300.

After going 2 for 5, Killeen boosted his average to .278. He said he is feeling good after hurting his thumb and playing as the No. 2 catcher behind Nick Thornquist last year. Killeen broke a thumb in his wrist area in the preseason and just wasn’t right physically.

He emerged fromm it all as one of the team’s best hitters in the fall. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Killeen said. “I knew I had put in all the work. Now it’s just God’s gift to me, blessing me. (Just) hoping it continues.”

Coming up

Sunday — Seattle at UTSA, noon
Monday — Stanford at UTSA, 1 p.m.

Looking to build on a 4-1 record, UTSA hosts Seattle again today

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Matt King. The UTSA baseball team playing Seattle in Game 2 on opening day Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

Infielder Matt King.and the UTSA Roadrunners continue their first home series of the season against the Seattle Redhawks Saturday. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The new college baseball season continues on Saturday at Roadrunner Field as UTSA (4-1) and the Seattle Redhawks (1-5) hit the diamond for Game 3 of a four-game series. First pitch is at noon.

Braving temperatures in the 40s on Friday, the Roadrunners took two from the Redhawks to open the series, winning the first game 7-3 and then claiming the nightcap, 3-2.

In the second game, UTSA’s Austin Ochoa smashed a two-run double in the seventh inning to give the Roadrunners a 3-0 lead. UTSA pitching gave up two runs in the eighth and then held on in the ninth for the victory.

In the opener, Shane Sirdashney had two hits and two RBIs for the Roadrunners. UTSA put the game away with four runs on four hits in the sixth. Matt King and Leyton Barry acontributed to the uprising with back-to-back RBI singles.

Coming up

Saturday — Seattle at UTSA, noon
Sunday — Seattle at UTSA, noon
Monday — Stanford at UTSA, 1 p.m.

Roadrunners win two on a chilly opening day at home

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Luke Malone. The UTSA baseball team playing Seattle in Game 2 on opening day Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

Luke Malone pitched into the eighth inning Friday night as the UTSA Roadrunners downed the Seattle Redhawks 3-2 to sweep a doubleheader. UTSA won the opener, 7-3. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The UTSA Roadrunners talked in days leading into the new season about their hopes for an improved pitching staff. They feel pretty good about the results after the first five games.

UTSA improved its record to 4-1 after downing the Seattle Redhawks 7-3 and 3-2 Friday in 40-degree weather at Roadrunner Field.

Coming up

Saturday — Seattle at UTSA, noon
Sunday — Seattle at UTSA, noon
Monday — Stanford at UTSA, 1 p.m.

First day at home

On the first day at home for the Roadrunners this season, the pitching wasn’t perfect. But it seemed to hold together in the tough moments.

Leyton Barry. The UTSA baseball team playing Seattle in Game 2 on opening day Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA second baseman Leyton Barry plays the field on a cold day at Roadrunner Field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

In the first game, the Roadrunners fell behind 3-0, only to have relievers Ryan Beaird and Reece Easterling shut out the Redhawks on no hits in the final 4 and 1/3 innings.

In Game 2, Luke Malone started and worked into the eighth inning with a 3-0 lead. After Seattle scored twice in the eighth, reliever Allen Smith struck out two batters to end the threat.

When the Redhawks rallied again in the ninth, Daniel Shafer entered to get the last two outs to preserve the victory. The Redhawks had the tying run at third base, but Shafer induced a ground ball by Connor O’Brien to end the game.

Malone might have been the story of the day. He was strong. He worked 7 and 1/3 innings and yielded only one run on three hits, striking out seven and walking just one.

Last week, UTSA opened its season on the road against the Tarleton State Texans and won two out of three largely on the strength of their offense. They won 21-5 and 12-8 and then lost in the finale, 12-1.

Ian Bailey. The UTSA baseball team playing Seattle in Game 2 on opening day Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

Ian Bailey, a senior from Stevens, leads the Roadrunners with a .450 batting average through five games. He has nine hits. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Through five games combined against Tarleton and Seattle, two programs affiliated with the Western Athletic Conference, UTSA’s pitching staff ERA is 5.40, down slightly from last year’s 5.92.

In addition, UTSA pitching is holding opponents to a .259 batting average. Last year, teams hit .277 against the Roadrunners.

UAB Blazers pound it inside to down UTSA, 68-56

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Dhieu Deing. UAB beat UTSA 68-56 on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, in Conference USA men's basketball at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Guard Dhieu Deing came off the bench to lead the UTSA Roadrunners with 16 points Thursday in a 68-56 loss to the UAB Blazers. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The UTSA Roadrunners sank six three-pointers in the first half and played the powerful UAB Blazers to within seven points at halftime.

After that, the shots did not fall as frequently as they would have liked.

As a result, the bigger and more athletic Blazers claimed a 68-56 victory at the UTSA Convocation Center, winning their 21st game of the season, while handing the embattled Roadrunners their 20th loss.

It is UTSA’s first 20-loss season in six years.

KJ Buffen. UAB beat UTSA 68-56 on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, in Conference USA men's basketball at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Forward KJ Buffen led the Blazers with 16 points. He hit 6 of 12 from the field and 4 of 5 at the free throw line. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners dug themselves a hole with 12 turnovers in the first half, allowing UAB to step up the pace of the game.

“We got to do a better job taking care of the ball, getting in the paint better and being stronger with the ball,” guard Erik Czumbel said.

The Blazers dominated the game inside, as they produced a 42-24 margin in points in the paint.

Forward KJ Buffen led UAB with 16 points, and guard Jordan Walker added 14. Guard Tavin Lovan and center Trey Jemison had 10 apiece.

For UTSA, guard Dhieu Deing scored 16 points. Center Jacob Germany had 14 points and seven rebounds. Czumbel added seven points, six assists and four rebounds.

In the first half, the Roadrunners stayed within reach by hitting 6 of 12 on three point attempts. After intermission, they made only 2 of 10 from behind the arc.

Lachlan Bofinger. UAB beat UTSA 68-56 on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, in Conference USA men's basketball at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Lachlan Bofinger battles 7-foot, 260-pound center Trey Jemison of the UAB Blazers.- Photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners were without high-scoring guard Jordan Ivy-Curry, who left the team on Tuesday and entered the transfer portal.

Ivy-Curry’s departure was the latest in a series of distractions that have haunted the team this season, but Czumbel said players are dealing with them.

“I think we’ve handled it the right way,” he said. “We keep sticking together. We have a bunch of good guys in our locker room. That’s not an issue. We just got to lock in on the basketball side of things.”

With the loss to the Blazers, the Roadrunners fell to 9-20 on the season, hitting the 20-loss mark for the first time since a Brooks Thompson-coached 2015-16 season, when they finished 5-27.

“We just got to stay together, keep being positive,” Czumbel said. “We still have a shot. We have chance to win the tournament. Anything is possible. We just got to get on a roll these next few games.”

UTSA hosts C-USA West Division leading North Texas and a good Rice team next week to close out the regular season.

Darius McNeill. UAB beat UTSA 68-56 on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, in Conference USA men's basketball at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Darius McNeill produced eight points and two rebounds. McNeill played 33 minutes in the absence of Jordan Ivy-Curry, who has left the team and entered the transfer portal. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“We got tough opponents ahead of us,” Czumbel said. “That’s the good part. We have to face up to really good teams. It’s a challenge every night. I think we can improve and get ready for the tournament.”

First half

The Blazers made the most of their speed and athleticism, scoring 10 points on fast breaks as they assumed a 37-30 lead at intermission. UAB held a 22-10 edge in points in the paint.

Forward KJ Buffen scored 12 on 5 of 9 shooting. Michael Ertel and Jordan Walker scored seven apiece.

UAB took control early in the half with a 13-0 run. The spurt lifted the Blazers into a 26-14 lead when Ertel hit a shot in the paint with 8:35 remaining.

Jacob Germany, Darius McNeill, Dhieu Deing and Isaiah Addo-Ankrah paced the Roadrunners with six points apiece. Addo-Ankrah, Deing and McNeill all hit a couple of three pointers.

Records

UTSA 9-20, 2-14
UAB 21-7, 11-4

Coming up

March 3 — North Texas at UTSA, 7 p.m.
March 5 — Rice at UTSA, 2 p.m.

C-USA tournament

March 8 — Southern Miss vs. UTSA, at Frisco
March 9-12 — TBA

Roadrunners host the 20-win UAB Blazers tonight

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Looking for a momentum-changing victory after losing 15 of their last 18 games, the UTSA Roadrunners take on the UAB Blazers tonight at 7 at the Convocation Center.

Beating the Blazers won’t be easy.

The visitors have won 20 games, and they boast an explosive offense that averages 80.5 points. Jordan ‘Jelly’ Walker leads the Blazers with 19.2 points 5 assists per game.

The Roadrunners are down to nine scholarship players — eight of whom are in the playing rotation — after starting guard Jordan Ivy-Curry left the program earlier in the week.

Nevertheless, UTSA center Jacob Germany has been a steady presence in the paint, and coach Steve Henson said his players continue to practice well.

The key will be finding some consistency in the last three regular-season games — all against some of the most talented teams in the Conference USA West division.

UTSA closes next week against North Texas and Rice. The Roadrunners will face the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in the first round of the tournament at Frisco. The game will be held March 8 at The Star in Frisco.

Records

UTSA 9-19, 2-13
UAB 20-7, 10-4

Last time out

UTSA — Louisiana Tech hit a flurry of 3-point shots and downed the Roadrunners 95-71 on Saturday in Ruston, La. Jacob Germany had his eighth double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. It was Germany’s fourth double-double with 20 points or more.

UAB — The Blazers had a six point lead with 1:55 remaining and couldn’t hold on. The North Texas Mean Green rallied for a 58-57 victory Saturday in Birmingham, with Tylor Perry hitting a three with three seconds left. The Blazers were limited to 40 percent shooting, including only 3 of 11 from long distance.

Results in February

UTSA — Lost at Rice, 91-78; lost at North Texas, 69-45; lost at Middle Tennessee, 84-75; lost at home to Western Kentucky, 71-65; won at Southern Miss, 98-79 (overtime); lost at Louisiana Tech, 95-71.

UAB — Won at home vs. Middle Tennessee, 97-75; won at home vs. Southern Miss, 84-63; lost at Old Dominion, 81-72; won at home vs. Rice, 92-68; lost at home to North Texas, 58-57.

Coming up

Thursday — UAB at UTSA, 7 p.m.
March 3 — North Texas at UTSA, 7 p.m.
March 5 — Rice at UTSA, 2 p.m.

C-USA tournament

March 8 — Southern Miss vs. UTSA, at Frisco
March 9-12 — TBA

Notable

UAB routed UTSA 87-59 on Jan. 1 in Birmingham. The Roadrunners played that game with a starting lineup that included Germany, Ivy-Curry, Aleu Aleu, Dhieu Deing and Cedrick Alley Jr. Out of that group, only Germany and Deing will be available tonight. Ivy-Curry placed his name in the transfer portal on Wednesday. Aleu is out for the season with a knee injury. Alley has been ruled academically ineligible.

UAB shot 49.2 percent in the first meeting, with KJ Buffen scoring 20 points and Walker 19. Buffen also led the way on the boards.

Coach says Ivy-Curry ‘just felt like he need a fresh start’

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HIgh-scoring sophomore guard Jordan Ivy-Curry has left the UTSA basketball program and has entered the transfer portal in hopes of catching on with another team.

“We sat down and talked yesterday,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said Wednesday. “He’s been over to compliance, a pretty simple process. Went over to compliance and signed the paperwork, so he is in the transfer portal as of yesterday afternoon.”

The issue with Ivy-Curry, a starter and one of the team’s leading scorers, has emerged as the latest in a string of misfortune to befall the Roadrunners this year.

UTSA has lost two players to season-ending injuries, Adrian Rodriguez in preseason camp and Aleu Aleu at midseason. Starting power forward Cedrick Alley Jr., ruled academically ineligible, was another midseason casualty.

Guard Dhieu Deing left the team and sat out seven games before deciding to return in late January.

In addition, the Roadrunners have had multiple interruptions with players going in and coming out of Covid-19 protocols. Given all the adversity, it’s not surprising that UTSA is 9-19 overall and 2-13 in Conference USA.

Henson said Ivy-Curry remains enrolled in classes.

“He needs to do that for his sake,” Henson said. “He’s done a really good job the last couple of weeks and is in great academic standing. As long as he handles it and I think he’s planning on handling it, his next step will be affected by what he does in the classroom.”

The coach said he doesn’t know where Ivy-Curry is looking for another opportunity.

“I don’t think he’s got a place in mind, is what he told us,” Henson said. “I think he’s going to wait and see what opportunities are there. He’ll have a bunch. Those people will start calling right away.”

Ivy-Curry averaged 13.9 points in 21 games this season. He sat out six games in Covid-19 protocols and one with a sprained ankle. Ivy-Curry, nicknamed ‘Juice’ for his ability to bring the energy, had played in limited minutes off the bench in the team’s last two games but was not 100 percent.

He didn’t practice this week and then came to Henson after Tuesday’s practice.

“Just felt like he wanted a fresh start,” Henson said. “We’re going to support him, love him and wish him well. He did some great things for our program. He’ll have a lot of success at his next stop, wherever that might be.

“We’ll be pulling for him and cheering for him.”

Records

UTSA 9-19, 2-13
UAB 20-7, 10-4

Coming up

Thursday — UAB at UTSA, 7 p.m.
March 3 — North Texas at UTSA, 7 p.m.
March 5 — Rice at UTSA, 2 p.m.

C-USA tournament

March 8 — Southern Miss vs. UTSA, at Frisco
March 9-12 — TBA

Willis scores 30 as Louisiana Tech routs UTSA, 95-71

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Keaston Willis scored 30 points and Cobe Williams added 19 Saturday night as the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs jumped on UTSA early and cruised to a 95-71 victory in Conference USA basketball.

Willis, a sophomore transfer from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, hit 10 of 14 shots from the field and 8 of 12 from three-point distance.

Leading by 15 points at intermission in the game played at Ruston, La., the Bulldogs kicked their offense into high gear, boosting the lead on the Roadrunners to as many as 28 with eight minutes remaining.

“Got whooped in every phase,” UTSA coach Steve Henson told the team’s radio broadcast.

As a result, Louisiana Tech made amends for a 63-60 loss at home to the UTEP Miners, while UTSA failed to capitalize on momentum from a 98-79 overtime road victory against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, with both games played Thursday night.

UTSA shot 24 percent in the first half and 41.7 percent for the the game en route to their 15th loss in their last 18 games.

In so many of their losses this season, the Roadrunners failed to get enough players involved in the scoring, and it happened again against the Bulldogs.

Center Jacob Germany produced 21 points and 10 rebounds. Gurd Dhieu Deing scored 15. But after that, there was not much production.

Isaiah Addo-Ankrah scored 21 on Thursday at Southern Miss. He was held to six against Louisiana Tech. Erik Czumbel had 16 against the Golden Eagles but was held scoreless against the Bulldogs.

Guard Jordan Ivy-Curry, coming back from an ankle injury, was also scoreless.

With the loss, UTSA fell to 0-2 against Louisiana Tech this season. LA Tech downed UTSA 79-63 on Jan. 8 in San Antonio.

First half

Louisiana Tech produced a series of highlight-reel moments in the first half, knocking down eight 3-pointers and two crowd-inspiring dunks en route to a 42-27 lead on the UTSA Roadrunners.

Willis hit five of the 3-pointers and had 17 points. Williams energized the fans with a dunk that pushed the Bulldogs to a 28-7 lead.

He came down the baseline and elevated before catching a lob from Kenneth Lofton Jr., and then slamming it. Not to be outdone, Amorie Archibald streaked downcourt on a fast break and threw down a tomahawk late in the half.

The Roadrunners were fortunate, in a sense, to be down by only 15 at halftime. They fell behind 10-0 and 18-2 in the game’s opening moments. They trailed by 21 three times before they started to attack and get to the free throw line.

Two free throws by Deing with 38 seconds left cut the lead to 40-27. For the half, the Roadrunners hit only 6 of 25 shots from the field and committed eight turnovers. Germany led the team at the break with nine points.

Records

UTSA 9-19, 2-13
Louisiana Tech 19-7, 10-4

Coming up

Feb. 24 — UAB at UTSA.
March 3 — North Texas at UTSA.
March 5 — Rice at UTSA.

Quotable

“We started the game with turnovers. They got hot right out of the gate. We wanted to open the game with a little bit of zone.

“We never even got into it, they were scoring so fast. Just a horrible start to the game, both ends of the floor,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said on the team’s radio broadcast.

Added Henson: “We dug a huge hole in both halves and got whooped in every phase. Couldn’t keep the ball in front. Couldn’t get to the three-point shooters.

“Crazy part of is that Lofton never really (got) going. You know, he had some foul trouble.

“He’s a big part of what they do. They got so many good players around him, they were able to do it on a night when it wasn’t his best night.”

UTSA aims for another road victory at LA Tech

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Coming off an emotional victory, the UTSA Roadrunners will attempt to complete a two-game road sweep today when they play the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

Tipoff against one of the top teams in the Conference USA West division is at 6 p.m. in the Thomas Assembly Center at Ruston, La.

The Roadrunners were 0-10 on the road this season before they downed the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 98-79 in overtime Thursday night in Hattiesburg.

Led by Dhieu Deing and Isaiah Addo-Ankrah, UTSA knocked down 15 three-pointers in the victory over Southern Miss, hitting all five from beyond the arc in OT.

The Roadrunners outscored the Golden Eagles 22-3 in the five-minute, extra period.

With the victory, UTSA snapped out of a two-month funk, during which they lost 14 out of 16 games.

Louisiana Tech downed UTSA 79-63 on Jan. 8 in San Antonio, as guard Amorie Archibald scored 31 points for the Bulldogs.

Lately, the Dogs have hit a rough patch, losing four of their last seven games. In their last outing, they lost 63-60 at home to the UTEP Miners on Thursday night.

Louisiana Tech made 16 turnovers and missed 14 free throws in the loss to UTEP.

Records

UTSA 9-18, 2-12
Louisiana Tech 18-7, 9-4

Coming up

Feb. 24 — UAB at UTSA.
March 3 — North Texas at UTSA.
March 5 — Rice at UTSA.

Tapia says UTSA pitching could be ‘the heart of the team’

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Fifth-year UTSA senior Jonathan Tapia is projected to start in center field tonight at Tarleton State but also is also expected to play this season in the infield. — File photo by Joe Alexander

Jonathan Tapia, a fifth-year UTSA senior from O’Connor High School, will lead the Roadrunners into Stephenville tonight as they open the college baseball season on the road against the Tarleton State Texans. Tapia, a preseason pick on the all-Conference USA team, has graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and is working on his master’s in business. I met Tapia earlier this week for an interview at Roadrunner Field.

How do you think the team looks?

The team looks good. It’s the first weekend, and, you know, we’re going to see how the first weekend goes. We’re going to look to sweep. But Tarleton is a good team. So, they’re going to come out and give us (their) best shot.

What about for the long term? What do you think is this team’s potential?

I really think our (pitching) staff is going to be good. The heart of the team. We’re going to have guys coming out of the pen. Four or five guys coming out of the pen. So, we’re going to have that. Hitting’s going to come along, too. Hitting comes and goes. You got to have pitching to win games.

What about the pitching staff makes you so optimistic?

We got a lot of new guys. New faces. Guys with good stuff. Guys with velo.

What about from your vantage point. You’re starting in center on Friday night. What do you see in terms of the defense up the middle?

Defense is going to be solid. That’s going to be one of our strong points. Our infield coach emphasizes that defense wins games. I really think that’s going to be our emphasis this year.

Shortstop Kody Darcy is a new face. What do you see from Kody?

I love Kody. Kody’s a good guy. He’s going to be in our lineup every day. He brings a good (skills at) shortstop and a good bat as well.

I see from watching this practice today that he’s got a lot of range.

Yeah, we need that up the middle.

Are you going to be all over the place this year, defensively? I saw you played center today. A little at third. A little at second?

Per usual. I’m going to be utility. I like that. You got to keep the mind guessing. Is what I like to say.

A friend of mine says he saw you shifted from third base to second in one inning last year.

I think it was in the Rice series I did that. I was at third, and then when a lefty (hitter) would come up, I’d go to second. It’s interesting in the scorebook, because (a ground ball to second) will be a 5-3 putout in the book.

Do you like having that multi-faceted role with the team?

I enjoy it. I think it brings versatility to our team and also to me. I’m pretty confident, wherever I play. Coach asks me where I want to play. I say, I just want to play. I just want to help the team, honestly.

What do you remember most about last season?

Last season? Last season was kind of a blur, honestly. As a team, I really think we swung the bat really well. And I think this year’s going to be the same thing. Like I said, hitting comes and goes. We might struggle, but in the next game, it’ll come back.

You went to C-USA tournament in Ruston last year and lost two games in extra innings. Two one-run games in extra innings. How long did it take you to get over that?

Yea, man, it was tough. Obviously, we played a good LA Tech team. Losing to them by one run in extra innings. We played them the week before and lost to them in extra innings, as well. It just shows that we can hang with the big dogs up there.

How do you feel about this being your last ride with the Roadrunners?

I’m going to go out there and give it all I got, like I’ve done all four years. Just going out with the guys and having fun. I mean, that’s all you can do. It’s just a game. I mean, you got to have fun playing baseball.

What about your academics? You’ve been honored by the conference a few times. Do you want to brag about your academics a little?

I don’t really like to brag about myself. I mean, I just … school’s hard, as it is. That’s why I’m going to school. Playing baseball and going to school, my family and everybody just keep me on top of everything. Especially our advisor. Beth Noteware. She always helps us with everything that we need.

You study kinesiology, right. Have you graduated already?

I’ve already graduated. I’m doing my master’s in business right now. I’m doing that right now. I’ll finish that up next fall.

What do you hope to do with kinesiology, plus business?

Evidently, I want to open up my own business. A baseball-related business. Kind of like the D-1s that you see in Boerne. All of that stuff. I kind of want to do that. There’s a lot of things I could do right now with a masters in business degree. That’s kind of what I want to do.

Are you going to try to play some pro ball next year?

Yes sir. That’s the No. 1 goal right now, (although, and) I forgot who told me this. But, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t go play pro ball. I gave it all I got all five years (here). That’s all I can ask for.