UTSA run ends in CUSA title game; NCAA tournament probably up next

UTSA's Ryan Flores, shown in a May 29 home game, homered in the ninth inning of Sunday's game. - file photo

UTSA’s Ryan Flores, shown in a May 29 home game, homered in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game. – file photo

(Editor’s note: Updated with all-tournament team members)

Louisiana Tech edged UTSA 9-8 in a back-and-forth game in the Conference USA baseball tournament title game Sunday in Hattiesburg, Miss.

The Bulldogs ended the Roadrunners’ quest for the tournament title and the NCAA tournament automatic bid that goes with it.

UTSA (38-20) has never received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, but that is expected to change this week. The Roadrunners’ credentials for an at-large bid this season include 11 victories over nationally ranked teams and a strong showing in the CUSA tournament. The NCAA tournament teams will be announced Monday at 11 a.m.

UTSA won its first three games of the CUSA tournament to reach the title game. Lousiana Tech was playing its third game in three days, including a loss to Old Dominion on Saturday.

The Roadrunners came from behind multiple times in the game. UTSA’s Ryan Flores led off the top of the ninth with a home run to tie it 8-8. Louisiana Tech’s Steele Netter singled down the right-field line with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to drive home the winning run.

After Louisiana Tech retook the lead 6-5 in the bottom of the sixth, UTSA went in front 7-6 in the top of the seventh on a two-run homer by Ian Bailey, his team-high 16th blast of the season. Louisiana Tech immediately answered and took the lead 8-7 with two runs in the bottom of the seventh.

That set the stage for the dramatic ninth inning.

Louisiana Tech took an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first.

UTSA went in front with a four-run fourth inning that saw the Roadrunners go from three runs down to a 4-3 lead in the stretch of three batters. UTSA got the rally going with a leadoff walk by Josh Killeen, a double by Chase Keng and then Bailey was hit-by-pitch. Garrett Poston broke the scoring ice with a two-run, bases-loaded double. Groundball outs by Matt King and Jonathan Tapia brought in a run each to tie the game and then put UTSA in front.

Records:

UTSA 38-20
Louisiana Tech 42-19

Notable:

– Louisiana Tech had nine hits in the title game, to seven for UTSA. No UTSA batter had more than one hit.

– UTSA used seven pitchers. Ulises Quiroga had the longest stretch on the mound. He went 2 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed one hit with two strikeouts and one walk.

– Braylon Owens pitched the eighth and nine innings and took the loss.

– UTSA’s Flores, Keng, Poston and Luke Malone were named to the 2022 CUSA all-tournament team.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Game 1: Old Dominion 18, Middle Tennessee 7 (7 innings)

Game 2: Louisiana Tech 4, Charlotte 0

Game 3: Southern Miss 4, UAB 3

Game 4: UTSA vs. Florida Atlantic, postponed until Thursday, 9 a.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Game 4: UTSA 6, Florida Atlantic 4

Game 5: Charlotte 22, Middle Tennessee 0

Game 6: Louisiana Tech 7, Old Dominion 2

Game 7: Florida Atlantic 11, UAB 1 (7 innings)

Game 8: Southern Miss vs. UTSA, postponed until Friday, 10 a.m.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Game 8: UTSA 7, Southern Miss 6

Game 9: Old Dominion 13, Charlotte 4

Game 10: Southern Miss 5, Florida Atlantic 0

SATURDAY’S GAMES

Game 11: Old Dominion 9, Louisiana Tech 6, 13 innings

Game 12: UTSA 11, Southern Miss 2 (Southern Miss eliminated)

Game 13: Louisiana Tech 8, Old Dominion 7 (Old Dominion eliminated)

SUNDAY’S GAME

Game 15: Championship – Louisiana Tech 9, UTSA 8

UTSA rolls into CUSA tournament title game; Hallmark said Roadrunners are NCAA worthy

UTSA's Daniel Garza pitching against Marshall on May 6, 2022, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Daniel Garza, shown in a May 6 home game, pitched eight innings in relief Saturday as the Roadrunners clinched a spot in the CUSA tournament championship game – file photo.

(Updated with late Louisiana Tech-Old Dominion game)

UTSA is headed for the Conference USA tournament championship game – and probably the NCAA tournament as well.

The Roadrunners stayed unbeaten in the conference tournament with an 11-2 beatdown of top-seeded Southern Miss on Saturday afternoon.

UTSA will play Louisiana Tech in the tournament title game Sunday at 1 p.m. in Hattiesburg, Miss. Louisiana Tech beat Old Dominion 8-7 in Saturday’s late game to advance.

The Roadrunners have 11 victories this season over nationally ranked teams – including two this week against 14th ranked Southern Miss.

UTSA was projected to need two victories in the conference tournament to have a good shot at an NCAA tournament at-large bid. The Roadrunners not only have three wins this week, they are one win away from winning the CUSA tournament and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Roadrunners coach Pat Hallmark was asked in a postgame interview on ESPN+ if UTSA had done enough to earn an NCAA tournament berth. He answered unequivocally.

“Yes, sure. No doubt,” Hallmark said. “Look who we’re beating. That’s an unbelievable team. We come into their place and beat them twice. Look at everybody else we beat. We beat Stanford, TCU. We beat everybody they put in front of us. So yes, no doubt.”

UTSA took an early lead on Garrett Poston’s two-run homer in the second inning. They added two runs in the third and took control with a six-run outburst in the top of the eighth.

For the second time in the tournament, the Roadrunners got a big relief performance from a pitcher who has experience as a starter. Daniel Garza entered the game in the second inning and held Southern Miss scoreless until the seventh.

Garza, a starter or longer-innings pitcher most of the season, went in with a runner on base and no outs in the second. He got Southern Miss to hit into double plays in the second and third innings. He finished the game, allowing two runs in eight innings and throwing 113 pitches.

UTSA outfielder Garrett Poston batting against Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

Garrett Poston, shown earlier in the season, hit a two-run homer Saturday to give UTSA a 2-0 lead. – file photo

UTSA got the early 2-0 advantage when Poston hit a home run with Josh Killeen on base in the second inning. It was the second blast of the season for the sophomore from League City.

UTSA added on two runs in the top of the third. Jonathan Tapia led off with a walk and Leyton Barry singled to second. An error left runners on second and third with no outs. Shane Sirdashney’s sacrifice fly brought in Tapia to make it 3-0. Killeen’s one out bunt scored Leyton from third to make it 4-0.

Southern Miss scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 4-2. UTSA answered forcefully. Ian Bailey walked and Poston, King, Tapia, Barry, Sirdashney and Flores strung together hits in the top of the eighth as the Roadrunners scored six runs to pull away.

UTSA, the top hitting team in CUSA for the season, finished the game with 15 hits.

“It’s high,” Hallmark said of the Roadrunners’ confidence at the plate. “But we’re a pretty good hitting team. We led the league in average and some other stuff. Top three in pretty much everything. They’ve been confident all year. They’re good baseball players.”

Records:

UTSA 38-19

Southern Miss 43-16

Notable:

– UTSA had pitchers turn in eight or more innings in relief in two of its three games in the tournament. Luke Malone went nine innings and 107 pitches on Thursday and Garza went eight innings and 113 pitches on Saturday.

“Both of them have guts and they’re pretty good pitchers too,” Hallmark said. “We love their guts.”

– UTSA got production from the bottom of the order. Poston batted eighth and had two hits including his home run. King batted ninth and had two hits and two RBI.

– Flores stayed hot at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI. He batted .684 (13-for-19) in five games against Southern Miss this season:
May 13 – 3-4, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB
May 14 – 2-3, 3 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, HR
May 15 – 3-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, HR
May 27 – 2-4, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, HR
May 28 – 3-4, 1 RBI, 0 R, 1 BB
Total – 13-19, 8 RBI, 5 R, 5 BB, 3 HR

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Game 1: Old Dominion 18, Middle Tennessee 7 (7 innings)

Game 2: Louisiana Tech 4, Charlotte 0

Game 3: Southern Miss 4, UAB 3

Game 4: UTSA vs. Florida Atlantic, postponed until Thursday, 9 a.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Game 4: UTSA 6, Florida Atlantic 4

Game 5: Charlotte 22, Middle Tennessee 0

Game 6: Louisiana Tech 7, Old Dominion 2

Game 7: Florida Atlantic 11, UAB 1 (7 innings)

Game 8: Southern Miss vs. UTSA, postponed until Friday, 10 a.m.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Game 8: UTSA 7, Southern Miss 6

Game 9: Old Dominion 13, Charlotte 4

Game 10: Southern Miss 5, Florida Atlantic 0

SATURDAY’S GAMES

Game 11: Old Dominion 9, Louisiana Tech 6, 13 innings

Game 12: UTSA 11, Southern Miss 2 (Southern Miss eliminated)

Game 13: Louisiana Tech 8, Old Dominion 7 (Old Dominion eliminated)

SUNDAY’S GAME

Game 15: Championship – UTSA vs. Louisiana Tech, 1 p.m.

UTSA and Southern Miss aren’t done yet

Sammy Diaz hit one of UTSA's four home runs. UTSA baseball beat Southern 15-4 on Friday, March 4, 2022, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

Sammy Diaz had three hits and two RBI in a regular-season victory over Southern Miss on May 13. – file photo

UTSA and Southern Miss have gone at it four times this year on the baseball field.

They’ll play at least one more before they’re done.

Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. matchup in the Conference USA tournament will be their fifth – and their second day in a row.

A UTSA victory would send the Roadrunners on to the tournament championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Since the Roadrunners won their first two tournament games, UTSA only needs one win Saturday to advance.

Because the Golden Eagles already have a loss in the double-elimination tournament, Southern Miss would need to beat UTSA two games in a row Saturday to advance.

If Southern Miss wins Saturday afternoon, the same teams play again – their sixth meeting of the season – later in the day Saturday.

UTSA beat Southern Miss 7-6 on Friday morning in the second round of the CUSA tournament. Southern Miss earned a rematch with a 5-0 victory over Florida Atlantic on Friday night.

The Roadrunners (37-19) and Golden Eagles (43-15) have split their games so far this season.

All their meetings have been in Hattiesburg, Miss. – home of the Golden Eagles as well as the site of the conference tournament.

UTSA opened the three-game regular-season series in Hattiesburg with an 8-7 victory on May 13. Ryan Flores and Sammy Diaz had three hits each and Diaz and Leyton Barry had two RBI each.

Southern Miss won 8-3 on May 14 and 9-5 on May 5.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

Game 11: Louisiana Tech vs. Old Dominion, 9 a.m. (Old Dominion eliminated with a loss)

Game 12: UTSA vs. Southern Miss, 12:30 p.m. (Southern Miss eliminated with a loss)

Game 13: TBD, if necessary, 4 p.m.

Game 14: TBD, if necessary, 7:30

SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE

Game 15: Championship, 1 p.m.

UTSA knocking on door of NCAA tournament after win over Southern Miss

UTSA's Ryan Flores homered in the ninth inning for the winning run against Southern Miss in the Conference USA tournament on Friday, May 27, 2022. - file photo

UTSA’s Ryan Flores homered in the ninth inning for the winning run against Southern Miss in the Conference USA tournament on Friday, May 27, 2022. – file photo

(Updated with result of Game 9 and 10)

Expectations around UTSA were that the Roadrunners needed two wins in the Conference USA baseball tournament to be in strong position to earn an NCAA tournament at-large bid.

The ultimate outcome from UTSA’s standpoint would be to win the CUSA tournament and the automatic bid that comes with it.

UTSA claimed its second CUSA tournament win Friday morning in Hattiesburg, Miss. The Roadrunners beat top-seeded Southern Miss 7-6 in the winners bracket.

The Roadrunners (37-19) advanced to Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. CUSA tournament quarterfinals with a chance to advance to Sunday’s championship. They will face Southern Miss one more time.

A back-and-forth game came down to a solo home run by UTSA’s Ryan Flores in the top of the ninth. That broke a 6-6 tie. It was his third home run against Southern Miss this season – all on the Golden Eagles’ home field.

“Clearly he likes to hit here,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said in a postgame interview on ESPN+. “We played here two weeks ago. He hit the ball well here and they’ve got the best pitching staff in the league and one of the best staffs in the country. Flo just likes hitting here I guess so I hope he stays hot.”

Simon Miller (4-3) pitched the final 2 2/3 innings for UTSA to earn the win. He allowed one run on two hits.

The Roadrunners scored one or two runs in each of the last four innings in a game that stayed close the whole way.

Matt King and Jonathan Tapia hit back-to-back doubles in the top of the eighth – King scoring on Tapia’s hit to put UTSA in front 6-5. Southern Miss scored in the bottom of the inning to even it at 6-6.

“I’m a little flustered,” Hallmark said. “We didn’t play great. We made some mistakes. I think we played really hard.

“They’re (Southern Miss) tough. They’re playing at home. They got the crowd. Then we turned it back around.”

UTSA scored twice in the seventh. The Roadrunners took advantage of a two-run error. That set up a run by Leyton Barry from third on a ground ball and a run by Shane Sirdashney on a Josh Killeen hit.

The Roadrunners got a run in the sixth when Garrett Poston doubled in Chase Keng.

UTSA got on the board first with two runs in the top of the third. King scored from third on a fielder’s choice and Killeen singled in Barry.

RYAN FLORES VS. SOUTHERN MISS

UTSA has played Southern Miss four times in 2022 – all on the Golden Eagles’ home field in Hattiesburg. Flores had hits in all four games including home runs in three of four:

1st game – 3-4, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB
2nd game – 2-3, 3 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, HR
3rd game – 3-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, HR
4th game – 2-4, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, HR
Totals – 10-15, 8 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 3 HR

NOTABLE:

UTSA awaits the winner of Friday’s 5 p.m. elimination game. As of now, that could set up yet another meeting with Southern Miss, which faces Florida Atlantic.

UTSA had 12 hits including two each from Tapia, Barry, Flores, Killeen and King. The Roadrunners recorded three doubles.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Game 1: Old Dominion 18, Middle Tennessee 7 (7 innings)

Game 2: Louisiana Tech 4, Charlotte 0

Game 3: Southern Miss 4, UAB 3

Game 4: UTSA vs. Florida Atlantic, postponed until Thursday, 9 a.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Game 4: UTSA 6, Florida Atlantic 4

Game 5: Charlotte 22, Middle Tennessee 0

Game 6: Louisiana Tech 7, Old Dominion 2

Game 7: Florida Atlantic 11, UAB 1 (7 innings)

Game 8: Southern Miss vs. UTSA, postponed until Friday, 10 a.m.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Game 8: UTSA 7, Southern Miss 6

Game 9: Old Dominion 13, Charlotte 4

Game 10: Southern Miss 5, Florida Atlantic 0

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

Game 11: Lousiana Tech vs. Old Dominion, 9 a.m.

Game 12: UTSA vs. Southern Miss, 12:30 p.m.

Game 13: TBD, if necessary, 4 p.m.

Game 14: TBD, if necessary, 7:30

SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE

Game 15: Championship, 1 p.m.

Roadrunners move into second place in the C-USA standings

The UTSA Roadrunners cranked out four home runs to back the pitching of sophomore Daniel Garza Friday night, rolling to an early five-run lead en route to a 13-2 Conference USA victory over the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.

In a C-USA series opener at Reese Smith Jr. Field, in Murfreesboro, Tenn., UTSA’s Leyton Barry enjoyed a monster day with two home runs and five RBIs. Ryan Flores and Chase Keng also homered for the Roadrunners, who won their fifth straight game.

Garza (2-0) was masterful, throwing a career-high 85 pitches, while working into the sixth inning. In all, he pitched 5 and 2/3 innings and gave up one run on five hits. Garza walked one and struck out seven.

With the victory, the Roadrunners won for the 16th time in their last 19 games and moved into sole possession of second place in the conference standings, three games behind the fourth-ranked Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

The Blue Raiders entered the game on a hot streak, having won two of three last week at Louisiana Tech to claim their fifth straight series victory in the conference. But while Garza was shutting down the home team early, Leyton Barry hit a solo home run in the third inning.

Flores hit a solo of his own in the fourth, and Barry followed later with a three-run shot, boosting UTSA into a 5-0 lead against Middle Tennessee starter Zach Keenan.

Records

UTSA 29-13, 13-6
Middle Tennessee 21-18, 11-8

C-USA leaders

Southern Miss 16-3
UTSA 13-6
Louisiana Tech 12-7
Florida Atlantic 12-7
Old Dominion 11-8
Middle Tennessee 11-8

Coming up

Saturday — UTSA at Middle Tennessee State, 3 p.m.
Sunday — UTSA at Middle Tennessee State, 11 a.m.

UTSA rallies to win 9-8 behind freshman pitcher Braylon Owens

UTSA reliever Braylon Owens got the win in Sunday's victory over Florida International at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

Braylon Owens, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound righthander from Elgin, improved his record to 2-1 on the season as UTSA downed the FIU Panthers 9-8 at Roadrunner Field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Braylon Owens pitched 2 and 2/3 innings of scoreless relief on Sunday as the UTSA Roadrunners rallied to win 9-8 and complete a three-game Conference USA sweep of the Florida International Panthers.

Owens entered the game in the seventh inning. He allowed three hits and walked one, but he also made some big pitches in striking out two for the Roadrunners, who improved to 27-13 on the season and to 12-6 in the C-USA.

Jonathan Tapia delivered a solo home run and Ryan Flores added an RBI in the bottom of the seventh as the Roadrunners forged an 8-8 tie. After Owens held FIU scoreless in the top half of the eighth, UTSA made it 9-8 in the bottom half on a Garrett Poston RBI single.

Owens retired three straight in the ninth to nail down the victory, which improved UTSA’s record to 14-3 over its last 17 games. The Roadrunners are 10-2 in their last 12 in C-USA play.

Southern Miss leads the conference standings at 16-2, with UTSA and Louisiana Tech tied for second at 12-6. Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee tied for fourth at 11-7.

UTSA has a tough week ahead, hosting nationally-ranked Texas State on Tuesday and then traveling for a weekend series at Middle Tennessee.

Records

UTSA 27-13, 12-6
FIU 11-26, 4-14

Coming up

Tuesday — Texas State at UTSA, 6 p.m.
Friday — UTSA at Middle Tennessee 6 p.m.
Saturday — UTSA at Middle Tennessee 3 p.m.
Sunday — UTSA at Middle Tennessee, 11 a.m.

Chanclas’ Flores makes the most of a tough year in baseball

Flying Chanclas first baseman Ryan Flores from University of the Incarnate Word hitting his first double of the game against the Cane Cutters on Saturday, July 4, 2020, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander

Ryan Flores, who had been serving food at a barbecue restaurant in Corpus Christi earlier this spring, has batted .303 with a team-high 16 RBI for the Flying Chanclas this summer. – Photo by Joe Alexander

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down college baseball in March, Ryan Flores treated the abrupt change in his lifestyle sort of like a fastball tailing away on the outside corner — by slapping it into the opposite field for a base hit.

In other words, he made the best of a tough situation.

A little more than four months later, as Flores continues to bang out the hits to all fields, the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio are reaping the rewards, qualifying as a first-year franchise for the playoffs in the Texas Collegiate League.

On the eve of a series against the Brazos Valley Bombers, Flores said the Chanclas are thrilled just to have played in a season, let alone get the opportunity to compete in a postseason.

“I think we’re all just happy to be out playing again, because the past fourth months has been the longest we’ve all been without baseball in, like, five or six years,” he said. “So we’re just happy to be out there to try and win games.”

Flores, from Corpus Christi Carroll and the University of the Incarnate Word, has been a difference-maker.

His .303 batting average and team-leading 16 RBI in 23 games are two major reasons that the Chanclas have a chance in a best-of-3 South divisional series that starts Tuesday night at Wolff Stadium.

Naturally, he’d like to see the team win the championship to cap off what has been a crazy year for everyone on the roster.

“It would mean a lot,” Flores said. “We’re very excited to get out there and get a ring and hopefully bring back a championship to a team that was just (created) this year. Just bring it back to San Antonio, because, I know the fans enjoy coming out to the games.

“That would make me really happy if we could bring back a championship for the fans.”

In the spring, Flores’ hopes of helping UIW win a Southland Conference championship during his junior year were dashed. The season was called off after 16 games. His whole life was upended, really, because the campus was closed.

In response, Flores knew he’d need to make a plan on how to finish out his semester. How to further his career. How to make the best of it.

Flores, a practical man, decided that he would return to Corpus Christi, live at home and take his UIW classes online.

He decided he’d also work some shifts at the Salty Oak, a barbecue restaurant, to make a little extra money.

The best entree on the menu? If you ask Flores, it’s “The Big Salty.”

“It’s a two-pound sandwich with brisket, pulled pork, sausage, and cole slaw on top — just a big ‘ol sandwich,” he said. “That’s my favorite.”

So, while Flores was toiling with his UIW classes virtually and working to carry out food to curb-side customers at the Salty Oak, he was also trying to carve out enough time for baseball practice.

Working on his game was a chore, because with the pandemic, most fields were closed. He finally found one facility, known as the “Cage Nation USA,” where he’d go with friends to tinker with his craft.

Given his erratic workout schedule during the spring, it’s surprising in a way that he became such an offensive force with the Chanclas this summer. How did he do it?

“I’m not really sure,” Flores said. “I guess I’ve always been a good hitter, wherever I’m at. The way (Chanclas players) expected it to be, all the hitters were going to be behind, because all the pitchers were going to be able to throw during quarantine, while we hadn’t seen any live pitching or anything.

“It took a few games to get into it. But after awhile, I started getting my timing down and started getting back into rhythm. Started doing well.”

In watching Flores, it’s easy to see that he has worked hard at his game for some time. A left-handed hitter, his bat whips around swiftly and smoothly on a slightly upward arc.

He can jerk the ball to right field, but he also knows how to shoot line drives down the third-base line, a skill that will come in handy in his future endeavors.

Flores said he really felt like he started to make rapid improvements as a hitter when he arrived at UIW in 2017.

“My freshman year of college, is when I started getting better, (using) my legs and staying through the ball, rather than pulling off of everything,” he said. “It’s really been the last few years that I started to know myself as a hitter.”

His ability to hit to the opposite field could help immensely on the next level. Does he want to play pro ball? You bet, he does.

“I really think about it every day, honestly,” Flores said. “It’s the main goal for me. I’ve been dreaming about that since I was three or four years old.

“It’s just crazy that I’ve had those same dreams the past 15 or 16 years of wanting to play professional baseball, and how close I’m getting to it … I’m really hoping to get picked up by somebody.”

In the meantime, the Chanclas’ RBI leader would love to make something happen this week, for the fans and for his teammates, particularly against Brazos Valley.

The Bombers handcuffed Chanclas hitters in winning three straight games in Bryan a little more than a week ago.

“We’re just trying to redeem ourselves after that last not-so-lucky trip,” Flores said. “So we’re getting really prepared. We had practice (Monday). We’re really excited to get out there and play them again.”

Records

Brazos Valley (19-11)
San Antonio (16-12)

Playoff schedule

Here is the TCL playoff schedule as spelled out in a Monday morning Twitter post from the league office:

South Division

Brazos Valley Bombers at the Flying Chanclas, 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, at Wolff Stadium, San Antonio.

Flying Chanclas at Bombers, 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, at Travis Field, Bryan.

(If necessary) Flying Chanclas at Bombers, 7:05 p.m., Thursday, at Travis Field, Bryan.

North Division

Amarillo Sod Squad at Tulsa Drillers, 7:05 p.m., Tuesday.

Tulsa at Amarillo, 7:05 p.m., Wednesday.

(If necessary) Tulsa at Amarillo, 7:05 p.m. Thursday.

Championship game

Teams TBA, at either Amarillo, or the South Division winner’s home ball park, 7:05 p.m., Saturday

Chanclas down Sod Squad to end skid, stay in playoff hunt

Image

Jalen Battles doubles to left-center field to drive in the Flying Chanclas' first two runs of the game in the fourth inning against the Amarillo Sod Squad on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jalen Battles doubles to left-center to drive in the Flying Chanclas’ first two runs in the fourth inning against the Amarillo Sod Squad. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

After losing four straight games, the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio rebounded Wednesday with a 5-1 victory over the Amarillo Sod Squad, keeping alive hopes for a spot in the Texas Collegiate League playoffs.

A crowd of 591 at Wolff Stadium watched as the Chanclas snapped out of their funk on offense with 10 hits.

They scored two runs in the fourth inning and three in the sixth to back the pitching of Marcelo Perez, Arturo Guajardo and Garrett Egli, who combined on a seven-hitter while striking out 14.

The Flying Chanclas' Johnny Hernandez scores the first run of the game on a double by Battles. - photo by Joe Alexander

Johnny Hernandez scores the first run of the game on a double by Jalen Battles. – photo by Joe Alexander

Perez, from TCU, pitched six scoreless innings, allowed four hits and struck out eight.

Offensive standouts included Jalen Battles, whose two-run double in the fourth gave the Chanclas the lead and some much-needed momentum.

Also, Kyte McDonald ignited the three-run sixth with a one-out double. Ryan Flores highlighted the uprising with an RBI single for the third run of the inning to make it 5-0.

During the four-game losing streak, the Chanclas produced only five runs on 22 hits. In that time, they batted a cool .173 as a team.

Coming into Wednesday night, they had been shut out in two of their last three games and had scored runs in only two of their past 37 innings.

The Flying Chanclas' Grant Smith scores the second run of the game on a double by Jalen Battles in the fourth inning against the Amarillo Sod Squad on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander

Grant Smith, from first base, races around to score on Battles’ blast to make it 2-0. – photo by Joe Alexander

They finally broke through in a two-run fourth. With two outs, Johnny Hernandez singled, Grant Smith walked and Battles drove both of them home with a two-run double off Amarillo starter Jared Lyons.

In the sixth, a walk and then a double off the bat of McDonald set up another big inning, putting runners at second and third with one out.

The Chanclas scored on Smith’s sacrifice fly, a wild pitch and a run-scoring single by Flores, the team’s RBI leader.

Runs-hits-errors

Amarillo — 1 7 0
San Antonio — 5 10 0
Please click on a link here to see Wednesday night’s box score.

Records

Amarillo 16-10
San Antonio 14-11
Please click on a link here to see the TCL standings after Wednesday night’s games.

Coming up

Amarillo at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m. Thursday. Next, three games vs. Round Rock. San Antonio at Round Rock, 7:05 p.m. Friday. Round Rock at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m. Saturday. San Antonio at Round Rock, 7:05 p.m. Sunday. (End of regular season).

Playoff races

In the TCL, two teams from each division qualify for the playoffs. With four days left in the regular season, eight teams remain alive — four in the South and four in the North.

In the South, Round Rock and Brazos Valley (both 15-11) are tied for first, followed by the Chanclas (14-11) and the Acadiana Cane Cutters (11-13). Round Rock tightened the race Wednesday with a 5-0 victory at home over Brazos Valley.

The North is also a four-team race featuring the Sod Squad (16-10), the Tulsa Drillers (15-10), Frisco RoughRiders (14-10) and the Amarillo Sod Dogs (14-12). Tulsa beat the Sod Dogs 5-3 on the road in Amarillo.

Flying Chanclas starting pitcher Marcelo Perez went six shutout innings and allowed four hits with eight strikeouts and two walks against the Amarillo Sod Squad on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander

Flying Chanclas starting pitcher Marcelo Perez went six shutout innings and allowed four hits, with eight strikeouts and two walks. – photo by Joe Alexander

RBI machine: Chanclas’ Flores drives in three more in 4-3 victory

Ryan Flores doubled, had a sacrific flying and drove in three of the Flying Chanclas' four runs against the Brazos Valley Bombers on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander

Ryan Flores doubled, had a sacrific fly and drove in three of the Flying Chanclas’ four runs against the Brazos Valley Bombers on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander

Ryan Flores produced three RBI for a team-best 15 on the season Thursday night in pacing the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio to a 4-3 victory over the Brazos Valley Bombers.

A season-high crowd of 1,521 at Wolff Stadium watched as Chanclas starter Logan Garza pitched into the sixth inning to stifle the Bombers.

With the victory, the Chanclas (13-7) gained a game in the standings against the Bombers (12-9) in a duel for the South Division title in the Texas Collegiate League.

The teams will play another three games starting Friday night in Bryan, all at Travis Field. Both teams have nine to play in the regular season.

With the Bombers playing in San Antonio, the Chanclas made the best of it, winning two of three games this week.

The Flying Chanclas' Jordan Thompson slides into third with a fifth-inning triple against the Brazos Valley Bombers on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. Thompson also walked and scored twice. - photo by Joe Alexander

The Flying Chanclas’ Jordan Thompson slides into third with a fifth-inning triple against the Brazos Valley Bombers on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. Thompson also walked and scored twice. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Brazos Valley cruised 6-1 in the opener Tuesday night to take the lead in the South by a half a game, before San Antonio turned it on with a 15-2 victory Wednesday night.

On Thursday, the Chanclas jumped out to an early lead and then held off the Bombers at the end, improving to 9-3 in their last 12 games.

In the bottom of the first inning, Flores mashed a sacrifice fly ball to center to drive in Jordan Thompson to make it 1-0. In the top of the second, the Chanclas’ defense came up big with their second double play in two innings.

When they came to bat in the bottom half, they made it 2-0 with the help of the help of the Bombers, who committed two infield errors.

Flores drove in single runs in both the fifth and the seventh. In the seventh, he hammered an opposite field drive into the left field corner that scored Thompson and made it 4-1. He was out at third trying to turn it into a triple.

Garza pitched the first five innings and Johnny Panatex entered to take care of the next three.

Garza struck out eight and allowed the only run of the game in the sixth. Panatex was particularly effective, holding the Bombers scoreless on two hits while striking out four.

The Bombers made it interesting in the ninth, scoring twice and putting runners at first and second with two out against Garrett Egli.

Grayson Tatrow, who had two hits on the night, flared one to left that looked like it had a chance to drop for a hit. But Anthony Forte raced in to make the grab for the final out.

Flying Chanclas starting pitcher Logan Garza threw five innings, allowed one run and struck out eight batters to get the win against the Brazos Valley Bombers on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander

Flying Chanclas starting pitcher Logan Garza threw five innings, allowed one run and struck out eight batters to get the win. – photo by Joe Alexander

Runs-hits-errors

Brazos Valley 3 11 2
San Antonio 4 8 1
Please click on the link for Thursday night’s box score.

Records

Brazos Valley 12-9
San Antonio 13-7

Flying Chanclas reliever Johnny Panatex pitched three scoreless innings and allowed two hits while striking out four against the Brazos Valley Bombers on Thursday at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander

Flying Chanclas reliever Johnny Panatex pitched three scoreless innings and allowed two hits while striking out four. – photo by Joe Alexander

Coming up

San Antonio at Brazos Valley, Friday at 7:05 p.m.

Notable

Flores and Thompson are both on batting tears. Flores, from Corpus Christi Carroll and the University of the Incarnate Word, is hitting .357 on a seven-game batting streak and .323 for the season … In the streak, he is 10 for 28 with seven RBI. He has driven in five runs in his last two games.

Thompson, meanwhile, is batting .538 in his last four games. In that stretch he is 7 for 13 with two doubles and a triple. The former standout at Boerne Champion High School has also scored seven runs. The burst has lifted Thompson’s batting average to .312 …

Surging Flying Chanclas win 12-2 for third straight victory

Flying Chanclas first baseman Ryan Flores from University of the Incarnate Word hitting his first double of the game against the Cane Cutters on Saturday, July 4, 2020, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander

Flying Chanclas first baseman Ryan Flores, from University of the Incarnate Word, hits his first double against the Acadiana Cane Cutters. – photo by Joe Alexander

After a slow start to the season, the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio have soared to three straight victories.

The Chanclas, behind the hitting of Ryan Flores and the starting pitching of Derek Klosowski, defeated the Acadiana Cane Cutters 12-2 on Saturday night at Wolff Stadium.

Klosowski hurled four shutout innings and Flores smacked a couple of doubles as the Chanclas improved to 2-0 against the Cane Cutters on the homestand and to 3-2 on the season.

Earlier last week, the Chanclas sputtered in their first two games of the Texas Collegiate League season.

In the opener, played on Tuesday at Amarillo, they committed four errors and struck out 14 times in a 9-6 loss to the Sod Squad. On Wednesday night, they fell flat again, losing 1-0 to the Sod Squad while managing only two hits.

Since then, they’ve turned it around completely.

In the first game of the winning streak, they claimed an 11-5 victory at Amarillo on Thursday. Returning home to the Wolff, they downed the Cane Cutters 7-4 on Friday, before they won going away again on Saturday.

Acadiana pitching was generous in walking 12 batters on a night when the ball club celebrated with a post-game, Fourth-of-July fireworks display.

The teams play the finale of the three-game series Sunday.

Runs-hits-errors

Acadiana 2 – 4 – 3
San Antonio 12 – 8 – 1

Please click on the link for Saturday’s box score.

Records

San Antonio 3-2
Acadiana 1-4

Coming up

Acadiana at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m. Sunday

Notable

Flores, from the University of the Incarnate Word, has played in 113 games for the Cardinals in the past three years. The former standout at Corpus Christi Calallen hit .329 as a freshman, .335 as a sophomore and .270 as a junior during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Klosowski is a 6-1 right-hander who’s on the team at Midland College.

Flying Chanclas starting pitcher Derek Klosowski, a Madison High School graduate, pitched four scorelessy innings against the Cane Cutters on Saturda. - photo by Joe Alexander

Flying Chanclas starting pitcher Derek Klosowski, a Madison High School graduate, pitched four scoreless innings and allowed only one hit. – photo by Joe Alexander