Tag Archives: UTSA Roadrunners

Jenkins, Coleman return to UTSA women’s basketball for 2024-25

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Forwards Jordyn Jenkins and Elyssa Coleman will return to play for a resurgent UTSA women’s basketball team next season, coach Karen Aston said.

Both players opted into the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes whose careers were affected by the Covid pandemic, which wiped out the 2019-20 NCAA postseason in both men’s and women’s basketball.

“I’m so excited that these two young women have the desire and commitment to stay at UTSA and help to continue to move the needle,” Aston said in a UTSA news release.

Jenkins averaged 17.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in 12 games after returning from a 10-month knee injury rehabilitation. She also shot 47.9 percent from the field.

Jenkins played two seasons at Southern Cal before transferring. The 6-footer from Kent, Wash., became an all-Pac 12 player at USC as a sophomore in 2021-22. In 22-’23, she averaged 20.6 points in her first year with the Roadrunners and was named Conference USA Player of the Year.

Coleman spent one season at the University of Texas in ’20-21 but did not play because of an injury. Opting to leave the Longhorns, the 6-foot-3 post from the Houston area has been a fixture with the Roadrunners for the past three seasons.

Last season, she averaged 10.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and had 45 blocked shots in 32 games.

UTSA women’s basketball has enjoyed a renaissance over the past three seasons. In the year before Aston’s arrival, the Roadrunners finished 2-18 and 0-14 in Conference USA. With Aston at the helm, the team improved to finish 7-23, 13-19 and 18-15 over the next three seasons.

Last season, the Roadrunners ended a drought of eight years with losing records. After securing the No. 4 seed in the American Athletic Conference postseason tournament, they won a game and then lost in the semifinals.

But with the winning record, they reached the national postseason for the first time since 2009 by accepting a berth in the WNIT. When they defeated Northern Colorado in the WNIT first round, it was the first postseason victory in program history.

UTSA bowed out in the WNIT’s second round with a loss at Wyoming.

Baseball: First-place Roadrunners to host the always-dangerous Charlotte 49ers

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Mason Lytle. UTSA lost to UT-Arlington 10-9 in the Roadrunners' baseball season opener on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Mason Lytle (No. 3) leads the American Athletic Conference in hitting at .405 entering a series against Charlotte tonight at Roadrunner Field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

In a development that should be welcomed by fans of the UTSA Roadrunners, slugging outfielder Cam Fisher is playing professional baseball this spring.

As the 131st pick in the draft last summer, he is now toiling in the Houston Astros’ organization, preparing to suit up in the coming days for the Asheville (N.C.) Tourists in the High-A South Atlantic League.

Last year, Fisher put on a power show for the ages with the Charlotte 49ers, slamming 30 home runs, all while leading his collegiate team to the Conference USA postseason title and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

His performance comes to mind today as the 49ers prepare to open a three-game series in San Antonio at Roadrunner Field.

Last year, Coach Robert Woodard’s team emerged as one of only a few to gain the upper hand on UTSA in head-to-head matchups. Charlotte won two of three against UTSA, splitting two in the regular season and then claiming an 11-2 victory on May 25 in Houston at the C-USA tournament.

It was a crushing season-ending loss for the Roadrunners, who had won 38 games and finished second in conference, only to bow out of the double-elimination tournament at 0-2.

The 49ers, who also had lost on opening day, used it as a springboard to win five straight in four days en route to claiming the C-USA postseason crown and the NCAA automatic bid.

A year later, the two teams meet again. The Roadrunners will host the 49ers in an American Athletic Conference series opener that starts at 6 tonight. Tomorrow, they’ll play at 2 p.m., followed by a Sunday matinee that will get underway at noon.

I didn’t get a chance to chat with any of the Roadrunners this week, but I doubt that the last game of last season is at the top of anyone’s mind right now.

In fact, Matt King and Caleb Hill are probably going to be the only two position players on the field for UTSA tonight who also started in the field against Charlotte last May in Houston, at Reckling Park.

But most interesting, to me, is the contrast in what is happening with the two ball clubs right now, balanced against their recent history.

From the historical perspective, Charlotte has the edge, with two NCAA tournament appearances (2021 and 2023) in the past four seasons. UTSA, meanwhile, hasn’t had an NCAA trip in 11 years.

Under Coach Pat Hallmark, the Roadrunners have won 38 games in each of the past two seasons, only to come up short of the national tournament each time.

Now, here we are, with the 49ers incoming.

In the here and now, the Roadrunners are rolling, having won six games in a row and seven of eight, including a two-of-three series victory at home over powerhouse East Carolina and a three-game road sweep last week at Tulane.

UTSA (17-12, 5-1) shares the lead in the American with Wichita State, while Charlotte (13-16, 3-3) is showing signs of progress but hasn’t quite put it all together just yet. Even though the 49ers won two of three at home last week against the South Florida Bulls, their record over the past months indicates some unresolved issues.

For Charlotte, a six-game losing streak replete with problems in scoring runs ended only on March 24 with a 13-1 road win at Florida Atlantic.

At the same time, even without a Cam Fisher, an Austin Knight, a Jack Dragum or any of the other departed standouts that made the 49ers so dangerous last season, I have a feeling that they will show up at Roadrunner Field tonight ready to play and do damage.

My forecast? I don’t know who will win the series, but I do have a feeling that a highly-competitive three days of college baseball is looming.

Coming up

Tonight: Charlotte at UTSA, 6 p.m.
Saturday: Charlotte at UTSA, 2 p.m.
Sunday: Charlotte at UTSA, noon

Records

Charlotte 13-16, 3-3
UTSA 17-12, 5-1

UTSA rallies past UIW, 7-4, extends winning streak to six

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners extended their winning streak to a season-high six games Tuesday afternoon with a 7-4 victory over the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals.

Within the six-game streak, the Roadrunners have played their last five games on the road and have won them all.

The Cardinals, playing at home at Sullivan Field on a sunny afternoon, took a 3-0 lead in the first inning against Roadrunners starter Fischer Kingsbery. Dalton Beck’s RBI single brought in the first run, and Ryan Scott followed with a two-run homer off the foul pole in right field.

The Roadrunners came alive with five runs in the fourth. First, Tye Odom ripped a two-run double. Then, Broc Parmer added an RBI single. Mason Lytle capped the uprising with a two-run single to right for a 5-3 lead.

Lytle went two for five to extend his batting streak to 15 games.

UTSA hasn’t lost since March 23 in a 14-10 setback at home to the then 10th-ranked East Carolina Pirates. Since then, the Roadrunners closed out an American Athletic Conference home series with a 6-5 victory over the Pirates.

A few days later, they started their road trek, winning 9-7 at Baylor, followed by a three-game AAC sweep at Tulane.

The Roadrunners won 6-3, 11-7 and 12-6 in New Orleans for their first sweep of a conference series on the road since the 2015 season.

Records

UTSA 17-12
Incarnate Word 15-12

Coming up

(AAC) Charlotte at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.
(AAC) Charlotte at UTSA, Saturday, 2 p.m.
(AAC) Charlotte at UTSA, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Notable

Utility man Isaiah Walker, considered one of the ball club’s best players, played in a game for the first time since the second day of the regular season. Walker started at second base and went one for three at the plate. He last played on Feb. 17 at home against UT Arlington when he suffered a hamstring injury.

UTSA wins 12-6 to sweep three games from Tulane on the road

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Red-hot Mason Lytle homered in his fourth straight three-hit performance Sunday afternoon as the UTSA Roadrunners recorded an American Athletic Conference series sweep on the road with a 12-6 victory over the Tulane Green Wave.

Playing their inaugural season as members of the American, the Roadrunners took three games in three days against the Green Wave and moved into a tie for first with the Wichita State Shockers.

Records

UTSA 16-12, 5-1
Tulane 15-13, 2-4

Coming up

UTSA at Incarnate Word, Tuesday, 2 p.m.

Notable

For UTSA, the road sweep was the program’s first in conference play since March of 2015 at Marshall. In addition, the victory was UTSA’s fifth straight, a season high.

Lytle continued his hot hitting with a three-for-five day. The junior from Pearland High School, a transfer from Oregon, hit safely in his 14th straight game. In that span, Lytle has 32 hits in 67 at bats for a .477 average.

In a streak within a streak, he also has recorded multiple hits in 11 straight games, including four straight with three hits. For the season, Lytle’s batting average is listed at .405. He entered the day leading the American in that category.

In the series finale, Hector Rodriguez and Caleb Hill also produced big numbers at the plate. Rodriguez had three hits and three RBIs. Hill had two hits and two RBIs.

Lytle’s homer came in the fourth inning, a three-run shot that he pulled to left field. The blast lifted the Roadrunners into a 6-2 lead.

Starting pitcher Ulises Quiroga (2-0) set a career-high by working seven innings. The righthander from Baytown allowed two runs on four hits. Quiroga walked three and struck out five.

UTSA clinches its first AAC road series with an 11-7 victory over Tulane

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners scored four runs in the top of the first inning Friday night and cruised to their fourth straight win, an 11-7 road victory over the Tulane Green Wave.

With the win, the Roadrunners also clinched their first road series in the American Athletic Conference. UTSA has won two straight games in the past two nights at Tulane, in New Orleans, going into Saturday’s series finale.

UTSA, breaking out with 17 hits, won the game with offense. But the defense played well, committing only one error, and the pitching with Zach Royse and Daniel Garza seemed to get tough when it counted.

Garza (2-1) earned the victory by pitching 5 and 1/3 innings. He allowed three runs on six hits and struck out seven. Garza shut out Tulane in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

On offense, Tye Odom produced four hits and three RBIs. Mayson Lytle had three hits in extending his streak with at least one hit to 13 games, during which he has produced a .468 batting average. He has had multiple hits in his last 10 games.

Records

UTSA 15-12, 4-1
Tulane 15-12, 2-3

Coming up

UTSA at Tulane, Saturday, noon.

Notable

UTSA strung together five straight hits and scored four runs in the first inning off Tulane righthander Chandler Welch. With one out, Mason Lytle singled to left, extending his hitting streak to 13 games.

Alex Olivo followed with a long fly ball, a single, that was dropped at the wall. Since Lytle couldn’t risk running full speed, he stopped at second. At that point, UTSA started to play aggressively, executing a hit and run with Matt King, who laced an RBI single to center.

On the next play, with runners at first and second, Tulane caught a break when James Taussig’s hot shot to the right side hit King on the foot. As a baserunner, King was out automatically and Taussig was on first with a single.

From there, the Roadrunners exploded, with Tye Odom smashing a long fly ball that got over the center fielder’s head for a two-run triple. On the play, a relay throw was wild and skipped into the Tulane dugout. Odom was awarded an extra base, and he scored to make it 4-0.

Baseball: UTSA rolls past Tulane 6-3 in series opener at New Orleans

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners on Thursday kept playing winning baseball in the early days of the American Athletic Conference race, cruising to a 6-3 road victory over the Tulane Green Wave.

In the first game of a three-game series at New Orleans, UTSA took charge behind the pitching of Rob Orloski and Ruger Riojas and the hitting of Mason Lytle, Matt King and Tye Odom.

Orloski allowed only one run on five hits in the first 4 and 1/3 innings, followed by the final 4 and 2/3 from Riojas.

Riojas gave up two runs on three hits, including a two-run homer in the ninth by Colin Tuft, to end the game. He struck out seven and walked none and picked up the win, improving his record to 5-0.

Tulane lefthander Luc Fladda (0-1) took the loss despite pitching fairly well. He yielded only three runs on six hits. Fladda had the Roadrunners swinging and missing, striking out eight.

Lytle, UTSA’s leadoff man, extended his hitting streak to 12 games. He went three for five for his ninth straight multi-hit game.

King, batting second, had four hits in five at bats, including two doubles and an RBI. Odom delivered with a solo homer in the fourth inning.

The Roadrunners entered the series on an upswing, having won two of three at home last week against the nationally-ranked East Carolina Pirates. The Roadrunners also won a non-conference road game Tuesday night, beating the Baylor Bears, 9-7, in Waco.

Records

UTSA 14-12, 3-1
Tulane 15-11, 2-2

Coming up

UTSA at Tulane, Friday, 6:30 p.m.; UTSA at Tulane, Saturday, noon.

Baseball: UTSA wins on the road at Baylor, 9-7

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Hector Rodriguez stroked a go-ahead, two-run double and Caleb Hill followed with an RBI single in the seventh inning Tuesday, helping the UTSA Roadrunners rally to down the Baylor Bears 9-7 in Waco.

Trailing by one run with two outs in the seventh, the Roadrunners came alive when Rodriguez pulled a hard ground ball just inside the bag at first and into the right field corner, scoring two runs to make it 8-7.

Caleb Hill followed with his third hit of the night, an RBI single, to make it 9-7.

Braylon Owens (2-1) completed a two-inning relief effort by shutting out the Bears in the bottom of the seventh. He earned the win.

Fischer Kingsbery worked the eighth and Ruger Riojas pitched the ninth for his third save in the team’s last four games.

Last weekend, UTSA won its first series of games against a Top-10 opponent, taking two of three at home against the East Carolina Pirates.

Two days after an emotional 6-5 victory over the Pirates in the inaugural series as a member of the American Athletic Conference, the Roadrunners followed with their second win in Waco in two years.

In the more than 30-year history of games between the teams, Baylor holds a wide lead in the series, 36-10, including 26-6 in its home ball park.

UTSA has started to make some progress, however, winning 8-3 last year and winning again this season for the first back-to-back victories against Baylor since 1994.

A concern for the Roadrunners developed late in the game after Hill got his hit in the seventh and ran to first base. A trainer came out to check on him. Though he remained on the field, he pulled up slightly running to second base after a Mason Lytle single.

A few minutes later, UTSA coaches took their leading hitter out of the game and sent a defensive replacement into the outfield.

Regardless, it was another big night for the Roadrunners, who continue to swing hot bats. Entering the game batting better than .300 as a team, they had 15 hits against the Bears, including three by Hill and three by Lytle.

UTSA also showed resilience, rallying from deficits of 5-3 after three innings and 7-5 after four. In addition, the team showed it was capable of winning in the mid-week, evening its record to 3-3 in games played on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

The Roadrunners have a weekend series in the American Athletic Conference on the horizon, as they’re set to play three in three days starting Thursday in New Orleans against Tulane.

Records

UTSA 13-12
Baylor 8-16

Coming up

(AAC) UTSA at Tulane, Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
(AAC) UTSA at Tulane, Friday, 6:30 p.m.
(AAC) UTSA at Tulane, Saturday, noon

Baseball: UTSA wins inaugural AAC series against 10th-ranked East Carolina

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Mason Lytle ignited the offense early. Daniel Garza and Ruger Riojas pitched with a purpose at the end. As it turned out, the UTSA Roadrunners claimed a 6-5 victory Sunday over the 10th-ranked East Carolina Pirates

In their first weekend of play as a member of the American Athletic Conference, the Roadrunners won two of three off the defending champions. It is the first time in the history of the program that UTSA has won a series against a Top-10 opponent.
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In Game 1 on Friday night, freshman Rob Orloski combined with Riojas to pitch the Roadrunners to a 4-2 victory over East Carolina and All American Trey Yesavage. On Saturday, the Pirates bounced back, winning 14-10 behind a 16-hit attack.

UTSA claimed the rubber match on a cool and cloudy Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Field despite four home runs by the hard-hitting visitors from Greenville, N.C.

East Carolina kept pounding away all day with homers by Justin Wilcoxen, Dixon Williams, Joey Berini and Ryan McCrystal.

The Roadrunners took charge early, leading 2-0 after one inning and 4-1 after two as centerfielder Mason Lytle and catcher Broc Parmer led the way.

In the top of the first, Parmer back-handed a ball on a pitch that hit the turf. He came up and threw out Clark Cunningham trying to take second base to end the inning. Later, Lytle ignited the offense with a one-out single and a stolen base.

To cap the bottom of the first, Parmer doubled to left and drove in a run to make it 2-0. Thanks to the pitching and the defense, the Roadrunners would hold on to the lead for the remainder of the afternoon.

A pitching threesome of Ulises Quiroga, Garza and Riojas got the job done. Quiroga started and worked four innings. Though he gave up three runs, he also kept the Roadrunners in the game with a sharp breaking pitch. He struck out four.

Garza entered in the fifth inning and worked into the eighth. Pounding the strike zone and walking none, he seemed to be in full control to all but two batters. Perini touched him for a two-out solo homer in the sixth. Later, McCrystal launched a solo shot of his own to lead off the eighth.

After the McCrystal blast cleared the wall in left and pulled East Carolina to within 6-5, UTSA coach Pat Hallmark called on Riojas, his ace, who threw 41 pitches in a three-inning save Friday night. Riojas promptly registered two strikeouts and induced a ground ball to end it.

In the ninth, the Pirates threatened again when Cunningham delivered a two-out double into the left-center gap. Riojas finished the game by getting Jacob Jenkins-Cowart to bounce a ball to shortstop Matt King, who fired to first for the third out.

Riojas, in all, worked two scoreless innings, allowing only a hit, while striking out two. In the process, he lowered his earned run average to 1.44.

Lytle, a transfer from the University of Oregon, continued his strong play. He finished the game two for four to extend his hitting streak to 10 games and raise his batting average to .371. He stole three bases and scored twice.

Defensively, Lytle made a diving catch in center in the second inning for his second gem of the weekend.

Parmer, one of three newcomers to play catcher for the Roadrunners this season, is making a bid for the lead role. He made multiple stops on pitches that were difficult to handle, including one when the Pirates had a runner at third base. At bat, he finished three for four with two doubles, lifting his average to .358.

Alex Olivo and Zane Spinn also had two hits in the Roadrunners’ 10-hit attack. Olivo delivered an RBI single in the first. Spinn had an RBI double in the second and later scored on a Caleb Hill sacrifice fly to make it 4-1.

Records

East Carolina 16-6, 1-2
UTSA 12-12, 2-1

Coming up

UTSA at Baylor, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
AAC – UTSA at Tulane, Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
AAC – UTSA at Tulane, Friday, 6:30 p.m.
AAC – UTSA at Tulane, Saturday, 1 p.m.

Basketball: An 18-win season comes to an end for the UTSA women

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Malene Pedersen poured in 15 of her game-high 24 points in the first half as the Wyoming Cowgirls dominated early in an 80-64 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners in the second round of the WNIT.

Playing at home, the Cowgirls of the Mountain West Conference pushed out to a 25-point lead at halftime and then held off the Roadrunners to advance to the tournament’s round of 16.

As the game ended in Laramie, Wyo., so, too, did the Roadrunners’ best season in 15 years. UTSA finished with an 18-15 record for its first winning season since 2015. The 18 wins were the most by a women’s basketball team at UTSA since the 2009 squad won 24.

UTSA also went 10-8 to finish tied for fourth in the American Athletic Conference. Playing in the American for the first time, the Roadrunners won a game at the AAC tournament and then bowed out in the semifinals.

Even with the loss, they advanced to the WNIT and won at home last Thursday in the first round, beating Northern Colorado, 80-62. It was the first win in a national postseason event for the UTSA women in their 43-year history.

The Cowgirls, playing on their home court, proved to be too tough for the Roadrunners. They shot 50 percent from the field for the game and made eight 3-pointers. Wyoming started fast, building a 26-8 lead after one quarter. By halftime, the Cowgirls’ lead ballooned to 45-20.

Jordyn Jenkins scored 28 points to lead the Roadrunners. Jenkins, in her 12th game since returning from an injury that kept her out for the first 21, capped her season by hitting 11 of 20 shots from the field.

Guard Sidney Love added 13 points and six rebounds.

Records

UTSA 18-15
Wyoming 17-14

Pirates rough up Roadrunners’ pitching in 14-10 victory

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The 10th-ranked East Carolina Pirates exploded for 16 hits Saturday afternon en route to a 14-10 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners in the American Athletic Conference.

Tye Odom crushed a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning to bring the Roadrunners to within two runs of the lead.

But the Pirates, who had scored six runs of their own in the eighth, answered with two more in the top of the ninth to put the game away.

Reliever Danny Beal shut down UTSA in its last at bat to secure the victory.

With the win, the Pirates rebounded from a 4-2 loss to the Roadrunners Friday night and evened the American Athletic Conference series at one win apiece.

The series finale is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. at Roadrunner Field.

Records

East Carolina 16-5, 1-1
UTSA 11-12, 1-1

Coming up

Series finale: East Carolina at UTSA, Sunday, 1 p.m.