UTSA surges into the AAC lead with a third straight weekend series victory

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Ty Tilson, Caleb Hill and Lorenzo Moressi hit home runs to back the pitching of Ulises Quiroga as the UTSA Roadrunners cruised to their second run-rule victory in two days, a 13-1 decision over the Charlotte 49ers.

Next up for UTSA is a Tuesday night non-conference road game at third-ranked Texas A&M. The Roadrunners will carry some momentum into College Station, having won nine of their last 11 ball games.

Pat Hallmark. UTSA beat 10th-ranked East Carolina 4-2 in American Athletic Conference baseball on Friday, March 24, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Pat Hallmark’s UTSA Roadrunners have won nine of their last 11 games leading into Tuesday night’s matchup at third-ranked Texas A&M. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Included in their run of success are American Athletic Conference series victories over the East Carolina Pirates, the Tulane Green Wave and the 49ers.

UTSA, leading the AAC standings by one game after three weekends, won two of three against nationally-ranked East Carolina, swept three on the road at Tulane and took two of three from Charlotte.

The Roadrunners played both the Pirates and the 49ers at home and asserted themselves against programs picked in the AAC preseason poll to finish first and second, respectively, in the recently reconfigured conference.

Charlotte won the series opener on Friday night, claiming a 10-5 decision. UTSA bounced back to win 14-4 on Saturday afternoon. Both Saturday and Sunday’s games were halted in the seventh inning with the Roadrunners leading by 10 runs or more.

Tilson ignited UTSA in the series finale when he entered the game as a pinch hitter with two out and two on base in the bottom of the fourth. He promptly drilled a three-run homer off 49ers relief ace AJ Wilson as the Roadrunners took a 5-1 lead.

Hill and Moressi both slammed homers in the sixth inning. Hill went to the opposite field, slicing a ball to left. Moressi drilled a ball to right center for UTSA’s second three-run shot of the game.

Meanwhile, Quiroga (3-0) earned the pitching victory by working six innings. He allowed one run on three hits and walked three. Quiroga was good with his command when he needed it and struck out a season-high seven.

Records

Charlotte 14-18, 4-5
UTSA 19-13, 7-2

Coming up

UTSA at Texas A&M, Tuesday, 6 p.m.

Notable

Mason Lytle’s 17-game hitting streak came to an end in the series finale against Charlotte. The junior from Pearland High School went 0 for 4 on the day. Lytle had hit safely in every game he had played since March 9. In those 17 games, he had 39 hits in 80 at bats for a .488 average. In addition, Lytle had posted multiple hits in 14 straight games. In that streak, he was 36 of 54 for a .562 average.

Lorenzo Moressi clubs a three-run homer in a five-run sixth inning for UTSA.
-Video from UTSA athletics on X, formerly Twitter