Tag Archives: UTSA Roadrunners

AAC baseball: UTSA looks for a bounce-back weekend against South Florida

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The second-place UTSA Roadrunners have seven games remaining in the regular season, including three at home this weekend against the South Florida Bulls, to rekindle their title hopes before the American Athletic Conference tournament.

Pat Hallmark. UTSA beat A&M-Corpus Christi 4-2 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday, April 15, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA has lost two straight and four of its last seven, but history shows that it only takes a spark to ignite a Pat Hallmark-coached team in May. – Photo by Joe Alexander

First pitch between South Florida and UTSA is at 6 tonight.

For six UTSA players, the weekend has added meaning in that it’s likely the last time they will suit up at Roadrunner Field.

Daniel Garza, Ulises Quiroga, Ryan Ward, Alexander Olivo, Caleb Hill and Fischer Kingsbery all will be recognized Saturday in a Senior Day ceremony.

For the team, the last two weekends haven’t gone as planned. Rice won two of three from UTSA in Houston from April 26-28.

After the Roadrunners downed I-35 rival Texas State in non-conference, they hosted the Wichita State Shockers last weekend and dropped two of three on their home field.

Overall, UTSA is 3-4 in its last seven coming into the series opener tonight against South Florida.

UTSA’s last two games, in particular, dampened momentum considerably. Playing a doubleheader at home last Saturday, the Roadrunners dropped both to the Shockers, 11-2 and 8-4.

In the series finale, they established a 2-0 lead through six shutout innings behind starting pitcher Braylon Owens and couldn’t close the deal.

Even though the Roadrunners had posted a 21-1 record on the season with a lead going into the seventh, they couldn’t hold on.

But, as disappointed as fans may be at the moment, it’s best to remind that it only takes a few sparks to ignite a team coached by Pat Hallmark in May.

If the Roadrunners are looking for inspiration, they could consider their circumstances in 2022, when they were locked in the Conference USA title race in the last month and proceeded to drop three league games in a row.

Regardless, on the last weekend of the regular season, they bounced back from an 11-run loss at home to the UAB Blazers and beat UAB twice in the next two days.

At the C-USA tournament, they kept playing well, winning three in a row, including two straight from a nationally-ranked, top-seeded host in Southern Miss. The Roadrunners completed a 38-win season with a 9-8 loss to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in the title game.

Tonight’s opponent, the Bulls, are deep in the doldrums.

They’re slumping at 3-12 in their last 15. Moreover, they’ve dropped their last three series in conference to fall into a tie for seventh in the standings, though they did defeat AAC leader East Carolina 5-4 on the road last Sunday.

Tampa-based South Florida traveled to Gainesville and lost Tuesday night to the Southeastern Conference’s Florida Gators, 4-1. Based on recent history, it would not be wise to count out Coach Billy Mohl’s Bulls, either.

In 2021, they enjoyed a memorable ride, taking a losing record into the AAC tournament before rising up to claim the conference’s postseason title and the NCAA automatic bid. The Bulls beat the Central Florida Knights to advance.

Later, they used the momentum to barge into the NCAA Gainesville Regional and won it, defeating host Florida in the opener and then Miami before knocking off South Alabama in the title game. Advancing to the Super Regional round, they were finally eliminated in Austin by the Texas Longhorns.

In two weeks, eight of the AAC’s 10 baseball programs will congregate in Florida to play for the NCAA’s automatic bid. The tournament is scheduled for May 21-26 in Clearwater. The NCAA tournament starts the next weekend.

Right now, East Carolina is considered as a strong contender to host an NCAA first-weekend regional.

Records

South Florida 23-25, 9-12
UTSA 27-20, 13-8

Coming up

AAC series – South Florida at UTSA
Friday – 6 p.m.
Saturday – 2 p.m.
Sunday – 11 a.m.

Non-conference
Tuesday, May 14 – UIW at UTSA, 6 p.m.

AAC regular-season finale
May 16 – UTSA at Florida Atlantic, 5:30 p.m.
May 17 – UTSA at Florida Atlantic, 3 p.m.
May 18 – UTSA at Florida Atlantic, 11 a.m.

AAC standings

East Carolina 16-5, 37-10
UTSA 13-8, 27-20
Charlotte 11-10, 22-27
Tulane 10-11, 26-23
FAU 10-11, 24-22
Wichita State 10-11, 24-26
South Florida 9-12, 23-25
UAB 9-12, 22-25
Rice 9-12, 19-30
Memphis 8-13, 21-28

This weekend

Memphis at UAB; South Florida at UTSA; Charlotte at Wichita State; East Carolina at Tulane, Florida Atlantic at Rice

AAC tournament

At Clearwater, Fla. May 21-26

Notable

The Bulls have played in the NCAA tournament four times since 2015, including twice under head coach Billy Mohl since 2018.

The Roadrunners are in their fifth season under head coach Pat Hallmark. They won 38 games in each of the past two years but came up short of an NCAA bid each time. UTSA has not been to the NCAA tournament since the 2013 team made it under former head coach Jason Marshall, whose team claimed the automatic bid out of the Western Athletic Conference.

UTSA played in Conference USA in a 10-year span from 2014 through 2023 and before starting in the American this year.

Roadrunners freshman Rob Orloski, the team’s Friday night starter for most of the season, did not pitch in the Wichita State series last weekend. It was the first time this spring that he was not on the mound for a weekend game. His status for South Florida hasn’t been announced. Orloski, who memorably beat East Carolina in the AAC opener at Roadrunner Field on March 22, last pitched on April 30 against Texas State. He started and pitched to four batters before he was relieved.

Wichita State sweeps two from UTSA to win the series

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Braylon Owens made his first start of the season and allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings. UTSA played Wichita State in the second game of an American Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at Roadrunner-Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Braylon Owens was masterful Saturday in yielding only one run on three hits in 6 and 1/3 innings against the Wichita State Shockers. Owens didn’t get a decision as the Shockers rallied late for an 8-4 victory to sweep a doubleheader. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Pinch hitter Josh Livingston ripped a grand slam to highlight a seven-run seventh inning as the Wichita State Shockers rallied for an 8-4 victory over UTSA and a sweep of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.

After winning 11-2 in the first game, the Shockers fell behind 2-0 early. UTSA, sparked by Mason Lytle, scored one run in the first inning and another in the second to get off to a fast start in front of the home fans.

The game continued to go UTSA’s way with pitcher Braylon Owens putting on perhaps his best performance of the season. Owens blanked the Shockers for the first six innings. In the seventh, he retired the first batter he faced and walked the second, prompting UTSA coach Pat Hallmark to make a change.

Ruger Riojas, however, couldn’t stop the Shockers. He gave up three straight hits, with the Shockers scoring once to pull within 2-1. At that point, Fischer Kingsbery entered in relief. But it didn’t slow down the visiting team.

Mason Lytle leads off the bottom of the first inning with a double. UTSA played Wichita State in the second game of an American Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at Roadrunner-Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Mason Lytle leads off the bottom of the first inning with a double. He later scored the first run of the game. – Photo by Joe Alexander

A sacrifice fly brought in a run to tie it and then Kingsbery issued a walk and hit a batter to bring in another run. With a one-run lead and the bases loaded, the Shockers called on Livingston to pinch hit, and he unleashed a swing that that sent a ball sailing over the right field wall for a 7-2 lead.

Wichita State tacked on another run in the eighth. Meanwhile, the Shockers’ pitching seemed to get stronger as the game went on. Brady Hamilton, Tyler Dobbs and Hunter Holmes and kept the Roadrunners off the scoreboard for six straight innings, from the third through the eighth.

In the ninth, the Roadrunners made it interesting against Nate Adler. Matt King doubled and Alex Olivo hit a two-run homer, slicing it down the line and off the left field foul pole. At that point, Adler retired Diego Diaz on a ground ball and struck out Mark Henning to end it.

Series glance

Friday: UTSA 6, Wichita State 5
Saturday: Wichita State 11, UTSA 2
Saturday: Wichita State 8, UTSA 4

Records

Wichita State 24-26, 10-11
UTSA 27-20, 13-8

Coming up

South Florida at UTSA, next weekend, May 10-12

Game 1 recap

Kam Durnin homered and produced four RBI, and lefthander Caden Favors pitched a complete game Saturday afternoon, allowing the Wichita State Shockers to snap a four-game losing streak with an 11-2 victory over UTSA at Roadrunner Field.

Wichita State pitcher Caden Favors. UTSA lost to Wichita State 11-2 in American Athletic Conference baseball on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Wichita State’s Caden Favors pitched a complete game to beat UTSA 11-2 in the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader at Roadrunner Field.- Photo by Joe Alexander

With the win, coming in the first game of a doubleheader, the Shockers evened a three-game series at one win apiece. The teams were scheduled to play the third game Saturday night.

Durnin drove in a run with a ground ball in the second inning. In the third, he singled and drove in two more, and in the ninth, he drilled a solo homer as the Shockers poured it on with three runs, expanding their lead to nine.

Favors (7-4) allowed only five hits and one earned run to earn the victory. Spotting his fastball and mixing in off-speed stuff, he shut out the Roadrunners from the fourth through the ninth innings.

Ulises Quiroga (6-1) took his first loss of the season. He worked five and 1/3 innings, giving up five runs (four of them earned) on five hits.

The Shockers continued to hit the Roadrunners bullpen, which yielded five runs on 10 hits. For the Roadrunners, the final score ended up being their widest margin of defeat this season.

UTSA entered play Saturday in second place, two games behind East Carolina, in the American Athletic Conference standings.

Ty Tilson. UTSA lost to Wichita State 11-2 in American Athletic Conference baseball on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA third baseman Ty Tilson has his eye on the ball during the opener of a doubleheader against Wichita State. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA takes Game 1 of the series, downing Wichita State, 6-5

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Daniel Garza. UTSA beat Wichita State 6-5 in American Athletic Conference baseball on Friday, May 3, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA senior righthander Daniel Garza pitched four innings in middle relief, giving up three runs while striking out five. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Relief pitcher Fischer Kingsbery came to the rescue, retiring two straight batters in the the ninth inning with the potential tying run at first base, as UTSA held off the Wichita State Shockers 6-5 Friday night at Roadrunner Field.

The Roadrunners won the opener of a three-game series in the American Athletic Conference despite giving up two solo home runs in the ninth and getting out-hit, 12-7.

James Taussig. UTSA beat Wichita State 6-5 in American Athletic Conference baseball on Friday, May 3, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

James Taussig makes a play in right field on a night when the Roadrunners played error-free baseball – Photo by Joe Alexander

Lane Haworth led off the inning by cranking his second homer of the game, this one off UTSA relief ace Ruger Riojas. One out later, Derek Williams re-directed another pitch from Riojas over the wall to bring the Shockers to within one run.

After Riojas walked Dayvin Johnson, UTSA coach Pat Hallmark made a change. He brought in Kingsbery to end the threat. Kingsbery responded by retiring Mauricio Millan on a fly ball to right. Jaden Gustafson made the last out, bouncing to the second baseman.

With the win, second-place UTSA stayed within two games of the streaking, first-place East Carolina Pirates in the AAC race. Earlier in the evening, the Pirates won 11-1 in seven innings on the run rule over the South Florida Bulls. It was their ninth straight victory.

Meanwhile, on the UTSA campus, both the Roadrunners and the Shockers were locked in a 1-1 tie with one out in the bottom of the sixth when rain forced umpires to stop the game and wave teams off the field. UTSA had the bases loaded at the time. The game was delayed by about a half an hour.

Hector Rodriguez. UTSA beat Wichita State 6-5 in American Athletic Conference baseball on Friday, May 3, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA third baseman Hector Rodriguez contorts his body after fielding a ground ball and fires to first base. – Photo by Joe Alexander

When it started again, the Shockers had changed pitchers, with lefty Hunter Holmes in the game. The Roadrunners responded by going with a pinch-hitter, Tye Odom, who had not played for almost a month nursing an ankle sprain. Odom grounded to the right side for a 2-run single.

The ball high-hopped to the second baseman, who appeared to lose his footing and then did not field it cleanly.

With the Wichita State infielder having trouble picking it up, Odom made it safely to first base while both Alex Olivo and James Taussig scored. Olivo scored easily from third and Taussig, remarkably, came all the way around from second, lifting the Roadrunners into a 3-1 lead.

Records

Wichita State 22-26, 8-11
UTSA 27-18, 13-6

Coming up

Wichita State at UTSA, Saturday, 2 p.m.
Wichita State at UTSA, Sunday, 1 p.m.

JB’s video replay


UTSA starter Zach Royse fans Wichita State’s Derek Williams to complete a 1-2-3 top of the first.


Wichita State freshman Tommy LaPour gets a strikeout at the end of the fourth inning. He had a no hitter and a shutout at the time. LaPour yielded three runs on four hits in 5 and 2/3 innings. He struck out nine.


UTSA’s Hector Rodriguez flares a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring teammate Isaiah Walker from third, to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth.

AAC baseball: UTSA set to host Wichita State in a three-game series

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With seven College World Series trips in their storied history, the Wichita State Shockers enter tonight’s game with a 22-25 record, including 8-10 in the American Athletic Conference. – Video by Jerry Briggs

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Trailing the first-place East Carolina Pirates by two games, the UTSA Roadrunners will host the Wichita State Shockers this weekend in a three-game series in the American Athletic Conference.

The opener is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m.

Records

Wichita State 22-25, 8-10
UTSA 26-18, 12-6

Setting the stage

The tradition-rich Shockers, tied for sixth in the standings, come into San Antonio led by first-year coach Brian Green to meet Pat Hallmark’s second-place Roadrunners.

Wichita State’s baseball program has a history dating to 1899. The Shockers’ modern era opened in 1978 under coach Gene Stephenson. Wichita State won the 1989 College World Series title and reached the CWS seven times.

Mason Lytle circles the bases after hitting a fourth-inning grand slam. UTSA beat Texas State 11-9 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Mason Lytle hit a go-ahead grand slam in UTSA’s 9-7 victory over Texas State on Tuesday night. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Shockers have sent 42 players to the major leagues, including pitcher Darren Dreifort, 1990s-era World Series hero Joe Carter and Alec Bohm, the current starting third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Bohm, 27, is second in the major leagues with a .362 batting average.

In a rebuilding mode, Wichita State hasn’t reached the NCAA tournament since 2013. The Shockers started this season fast, forging a 19-10 record through the first few days of April. Moreover, the Shockers went 5-1 in their first two weekends in conference.

Since then, they have fallen on hard times, going 3-15 overall and 3-9 in the AAC.

Last weekend in a conference series, the Shockers dropped two of three at home to Tulane. Facing a couple of tough mid-week road games, they lost at Oklahoma State Tuesday and at Kansas on Wednesday.

Wichita State’s 22-25 overall record may be deceiving considering its schedule to date has included 16 non-conference games against Power 5 competition.

The Shockers are 3-13 in those games, including 2-5 at home, 0-6 on the road and 1-2 at neutral sites.

On Feb. 18, Wichita State beat the 18th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in Jacksonville, Fla. They also defeated Nebraska 9-3 on March 13 and edged Kansas 7-6 on April 3, both at home.

By contrast, UTSA has played six non-conference games against the Power 5, winning four of them and losing two. On the NCAA’s ratings percentage index computer, the Roadrunners are 95th and the Shockers 130th through Wednesday night.

With three weeks left in the regular season, both are facing situations where they’ll likely need to win in the AAC’s postseason to qualify for the 64-team NCAA tournament.

Coming up

AAC series – Wichita State at UTSA
Friday – 6 p.m.
Saturday – 2 p.m.
Sunday – 1 p.m.

AAC standings

East Carolina 14-4, 35-8
UTSA 12-6, 26-18
Tulane 9-9, 25-20
FAU 9-9, 22-20
Charlotte 9-9, 20-25
South Florida 8-10, 22-22
Wichita State 8-10, 22-25
Rice 8-10, 18-26
UAB 7-11, 20-23
Memphis 6-12, 19-26

This weekend: Rice at Charlotte; Wichita State at UTSA; UAB at FAU; South Florida at East Carolina; Memphis at Tulane.

Team leaders

Wichita State

Batting average: Derek Williams .338, Jordan Rogers .309, Camden Johnson .306.
Home runs: Williams 13, Rogers 8, Dayvin Johnson 6, Seth Stroh 6.
RBIs: Williams 36, Stroh 34, Rogers 30, Johnson 30.
Pitching: Caden Favors (6-4, 3.79 ERA), Tyler Dobbs (5-4, 4.47), Tommy LaPour (3-3, 4.86), Nate Adler (1-1, 2.85, 5 saves)

UTSA

Batting average: Mason Lytle .386, Isaiah Walker .344, Tye Odom .342, Caleb Hill .341, Matt King .335, Alex Olivo .331.
Home runs: Lytle 10, Hill 9, James Taussig 6.
RBIs: Lytle 41, King 36, Hill 35, Taussig 30.
Pitching: Ruger Riojas (7-2, 2.91 ERA, 6 saves), Fischer Kingsbery (1-1, 1.61, 5 saves), Braylon Owens (4-1, 6.75), Daniel Garza (3-1, 5.48), Ulises Quiroga (6-0, 3.72), Robert Orloski (3-4, 6.10).

Matt King, Mason Lytle and Co. lead UTSA past Texas State, 11-9

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Mason Lytle (No. 3) celebrates with teammates after his fourth-inning grand slam boosted UTSA into an 8-5 lead against Texas State. The Roadrunners went on to claim victory over their Interstate 35 rivals from San Marcos and a split of their two games this season. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Matt King ignited the offense early with a solo home run and an RBI double, and then Mason Lytle hit a go-ahead grand slam in the fourth inning, helping the UTSA Roadrunners rally past the Texas State Bobcats, 11-9, in an Interstate 35 rivalry game Tuesday night at Roadrunner Field.

The win, coming on a warm and breezy evening in front of an announced 1,070 fans, was significant on a number of fronts for the Roadrunners.

It gave them renewed momentum leading into a weekend home series in the American Athletic Conference against Wichita State. It boosted UTSA coach Pat Hallmark to his 200th career victory, and it also allowed allowed the team to gain a split of two games against Texas State this season.

Braylon Owens pitched 2 2/3 innings and earned the win in relief. UTSA beat Texas State 11-9 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Braylon Owens pitched 2 2/3 innings and earned the win in relief. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Records

Texas State 22-24
UTSA 26-18

Coming up

AAC series: Wichita State at UTSA
Friday – 6 p.m.
Saturday — 2 p.m.
Sunday — 1 p.m.

Notable

A dime novelist probably couldn’t have scripted a more harrowing start for a Roadrunners team that came out flat, steadied itself in the middle innings and finally hung on to win behind the pitching of Braylon Owens, Ruger Riojas and Fischer Kingsbery.

In the beginning, a couple of UTSA pitchers didn’t have great control of their stuff. One walked three batters and threw three wild pitches. On top of that, the infield botched a couple of plays and contributed to the Bobcats scoring four runs in the first inning and one more in the second for a 5-0 lead.

Matt King had three hits including a home run. UTSA beat Texas State 11-9 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Matt King had three hits including a home run as UTSA beat Texas State 11-9 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Fortunately for the Roadrunners, they have a prideful roster of players who compete hard even when they’re not performing at their best, and that’s exactly what happened. Even then, the poor start to the game left Hallmark shaking his head afterward. Asked how he liked his team’s performance, the coach said, “I didn’t love it.”

“I like winning,” Hallmark said. “I mean, winning is nice. But we didn’t play a terrific game. We were fortunate to win.”

Owens came to the rescue for the Roadrunners in the second inning. The Bobcats had a couple of runners on base and were threatening to blow the game open when Aaron Lugo produced an RBI single to right field to make it 5-0.

That’s when Owens started to get tough.

With two runners aboard, he got Texas State RBI machine Daylan Pena on a ground ball to end the inning. Owens (4-1) went on to complete 2 and 2/3 innings to earn the victory. Though he yielded four hits, he steadied his team by throwing strikes and blanking the Bobcats in the third and fourth innings.

By then, the bats had come alive. King highlighted a three-run second inning with a leadoff homer. In the third, he drove in another run with a double into the gap in left field. By the fourth, the Bobcats were reeling. A couple of batters hit by pitch loaded the bases for Lytle, who hit a ball over the left field wall for a grand slam and an 8-5 lead.

A few innings later, Isaiah Walker stoked the excitement in the home crowd when he laced a drive down the right field line that went for a three-run double. UTSA, at that point, was rolling. The Roadrunners were up 11-6.

Isaiah Walker hit a three-run double in the sixth inning. UTSA beat Texas State 11-9 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Isaiah Walker connects on a three-run double in the sixth inning. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Bobcats made it interesting late when Chase Mora drove in a run in the seventh, and then August Ramirez sparkled in the eighth with a a 2-run homer to center field. Ramirez, a fifth-year senior from nearby O’Connor High School, made it 11-9 with his eye-opening, line-drive over the batters’ eye.

But just as things started to get a little hairy for the Roadrunners, Kingsbery entered the game and retired the one batter he faced in the eighth and all three in the ninth for the save. Kingsbery showed raw emotion after getting Ramirez on a swinging third strike, tossing his glove to the ground and screaming with delight.

“Battle of I-35,” Owens said, when asked about the fire among UTSA players immediately after the game. “I mean, they were chirping us. Like, their fans, they chirped us pretty good when we played at their place. We were just excited to beat ’em here.”

For UTSA, the victory was cleansing, in a way. It rinsed off some of the disappointment from losing two of three last weekend in an AAC road series at Rice. Entering the series, UTSA was tied for the lead in the conference and Rice was tied for eighth place. Owens suggested that maybe the Roadrunners took them too lightly.

Pat Hallmark. UTSA beat Texas State 11-9 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark reached a career milestone with his 200th victory. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“We just came out dead,” Owens said. “I think we thought we already had it in the bag before we even started playing. Didn’t keep the chip on our shoulder.”

If anything positive came from the trip to Houston, Owens said it may have been a learning experience, in that it just goes to show that “no team is an easy win.” Trailing East Carolina by two games in the AAC race with three weekends remaining, UTSA will play conference series against Wichita State and South Florida at home and then against Florida Atlantic on the road. The AAC tournament is scheduled for May 21-26 at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla.

“We know we we’ve got to fight against every team,” Owens said.

JB’s Video Replay

Matt King, a UTSA junior from Kingwood Park High School, barrels a ball over the wall in left field to ignite a three-run second inning for the Roadrunners.

UTSA freshman Whitt Joyce, who played at Medina Valley High School, rips a double to left in the second inning.

UTSA’s Mason Lytle, an Oregon transfer from Pearland High, belts a grand slam in the fourth inning for the Roadrunners. He has hit 10 homers this season.

Isaiah Walker, a junior from Manvel High School, laces a double down the right field line to score three runs for UTSA in the sixth.

Texas State graduate senior August Ramirez from O’Connor High School slammed a two-run blast over the center field wall in the seventh. – Video courtesy of Texas State athletics

UTSA righthander Fischer Kingsbery strikes out August Ramirez to end the game and then flings his glove to the ground as an exclamation mark an 11-9 victory over Texas State.

Baseball: Roadrunners to host the Bobcats tonight in I-35 rivalry

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The drama of the Interstate 35 baseball rivalry between the UTSA Roadrunners and the Texas State Bobcats will unfold once again tonight in San Antonio. First pitch in the 103rd meeting between the teams is at 6 p.m. at Roadrunner Field.

Texas State leads 63-39 in the series, which started in 1992. Each year it showcases athletes who grew up in the area, who are now representing universities separated by about 50 miles of freeway through South Texas.

For years, the teams played against one another in the Southland Conference, and then they shared membership for one season in the Western Athletic Conference.

Since 2014, they’ve played in separate leagues, with Texas State operating in the Sun Belt and UTSA in Conference USA and now, starting with this season, in the American Athletic Conference.

UTSA and Texas State have battled the past five years under successful coaches, with Pat Hallmark leading the Roadrunners and Steven Trout guiding the Bobcats. Trout’s Texas State teams own a 4-2 edge against UTSA in that time.

Earlier this season, on March 19, pitching changes were plentiful and home-run balls were flying all over the place as the Bobcats claimed a 14-13 victory over the Roadrunners in San Marcos.

Seven homers were launched, including four by UTSA, on a night when Texas State used eight pitchers and UTSA seven.

The two teams opened the game by going back and forth on each other with scoring binges. UTSA plated four runs in the top of the first inning. Texas State retaliated with nine in the bottom half. By the end of the third inning, the Bobcats led, 14-8.

UTSA stayed in it, with a shot to win, until the very end. Trailing by three runs going into their last at bat, the Roadrunners received a lift when freshman Diego Diaz hit a two-run homer.

Still trailing by one, the Roadrunners had base runners at first and second when Texas State’s Aaron Lugo fielded a ground ball in the infield and stepped on third for a force play to end it.

Records

Texas State 22-23
UTSA 25-18

Coming up

Non-conference
Tonight: Texas State at UTSA, 6 p.m.

AAC series: Wichita State at UTSA
Friday – 6 p.m.
Saturday — 2 p.m.
Sunday — 1 p.m.

Notable

Roadrunners coach Pat Hallmark has a chance to reach a career milestone tonight. A victory would give him 200 in his career. Hallmark is 199-138 in seven seasons, which includes two at the University of the Incarnate Word and five at UTSA.

UTSA has played well overall since the March 19 loss to Texas State, posting a 15-7 record since then. The Roadrunners faltered a bit last weekend, losing two at Rice before claiming a 4-2 victory on Sunday behind the pitching of starter Ulises Quiroga. It was the first series loss for the Roadrunners in conference this season. UTSA is 12-6 in the AAC and sits in second place.

After beating UTSA, Texas State has struggled, going 10-14 in a 24-game stretch. Last weekend in Jonesboro, Ark., the Bobcats dropped back-to-back, one-run decisions to Arkansas State before rebounding to claim a 10-0, run-rule victory on Sunday. Drayton Brown pitched a complete game for the win, which could help tonight if the Bobcats need to go deep into their bullpen. Texas State is 8-13 in conference, 11th out of 14 teams.

Ryne Farber, a Texas State freshman from San Antonio’s Johnson High School, has hit safely in all seven games since returning from injury back on April 19. The San Antonio native is 13 for 25 at the plate for a .520 average during that stretch. Farber didn’t play in the first UTSA-Texas State game.

Offensive leaders

Texas State
Batting average: Farber .398, Kameron Weil .327, Aaron Lugo .298.
Home runs: Lugo 9, Daylan Pena 7, August Ramirez 7.
RBI: Pena 39, Chase Mora 38, Lugo 33.

UTSA
Batting average: Mason Lytle .385, Isaiah Walker .357, Caleb Hill .351.
Home runs: Lytle 9, Hill 9, James Taussig 6.
RBI: Lytle 37, Hill 35, Matt King 34.

Roadrunners bounce back, beat the Rice Owls 4-2 in series finale

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Repay

James Taussig’s two-run homer in the eighth inning Sunday capped a four-run rally and boosted the UTSA Roadrunners to a 4-2 victory over the Rice Owls in the American Athletic Conference.

Roadrunners starting pitcher Ulises Quiroga (6-0) stayed undefeated for the season, throwing 97 pitches in seven innings and allowing only two runs on four hits. He struck out eight. Fischer Kingsbery sealed the victory and earned the save, his first, by striking out three over the last two innings.

The win allowed the Roadrunners to avoid losing three straight to the Owls in Houston leading into Tuesday night’s non-conference home game against the Texas State Bobcats.

Rice beat UTSA 9-8 in 10 innings on Friday night and 9-3 on Saturday. In addition, the Owls had the Roadrunners down 2-0 going into the eighth inning in the AAC series finale.

Facing Rice reliever Tom Vincent in the eighth, UTSA’s Andrew Stuckey led off with a single to left field. Mason Lytle followed with a double to left. On the play, Stuckey tried to come all the way around to score but was out at the plate on a relay throw from the second baseman.

Not to be denied, UTSA kept on swinging with Caleb Hill lining an RBI single to center that plated Lytle. From there, Alex Olivo grounded out to the right side, advancing Hill to second base and prompting the Owls to replace Vincent with Garrett Stratton.

Matt King worked the count to 3-1 and then bashed a double into the gap in left center, scoring Hill from second base and tying the game. Taussig then followed with a two-run home run to right field to make it 4-2.

Tucker Alch pitched well as the starter for the Owls, working his way through 6 and 1/3 innings scoreless. He struck out five. Stratton (1-3) was tagged with the loss.

Records

UTSA 25-18, 12-6
Rice 17-26, 8-10

Coming up

Non-conference: Texas State at UTSA, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
AAC: Wichita State at UTSA, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Notable

The East Carolina Pirates lead the AAC regular-season title race by two games over the second-place Roadrunners. The Pirates (35-8, 14-4) beat the Memphis Tigers 8-3 on Sunday to complete a three-game road sweep. East Carolina has won eight in a row and 13 out of 14 overall.

Texas State

Rice wins to end UTSA’s string of five straight AAC series victories

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA’s five-for-five streak of weekend series victories in the American Athletic Conference came to an end Saturday afternoon in Houston.

The Rice Owls erupted for five runs in the first inning and three in the second for a commanding eight-run lead en route to a series-clinching 9-3 victory over Roadrunners.

After winning 9-8 in 10 innings on Friday night, the Owls came alive early as Nathan Becker hit a two-run double and Trey Duffield added a three-run homer in the bottom of the first, allowing the Owls to cruise to their second straight win over the Roadrunners and their fifth in a row overall.

The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m.

Rice cranked out 16 hits to back the pitching of lefthander J.D. McCracken, who pitched 8 and 1/3 innings for the victory. McCracken was a steady performer, yielding only six hits and three walks while striking out three. The Rice infield defense turned three double plays behind him.

One of those double plays served to kill what potentially could have been a big inning for the Roadrunners in the top of the fourth.

With one out and a runner on base, Ty Tilson hit a ball down the right field line. The first base umpire turned around and watched it hit the ground near the line. He called it fair, which would have resulted in one run on the board for the Roadrunners.

But after a review, the umpires reversed themselves and called it foul. Tilson eventually bounced into an inning-ending double play.

Mason Lytle hit a two-run homer for the Roadrunners in the top of the sixth. Alex Olivo set it up with a leadoff double, and Lytle followed with his ninth homer of the year to make it 9-2.

UTSA scored again in the ninth, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep alive what had been a remarkable string of successful weekends in its new conference.

As former rivals in the Conference USA, UTSA and Rice are playing their inaugural season as members of the AAC. UTSA started the conference schedule in style, winning two of three against defending champion East Carolina.

The Roadrunners followed with series victories over Tulane, Charlotte, Memphis and UAB. The weekend triumphs against Tulane and Memphis both came on the road. Against both Charlotte and UAB, UTSA lost the opening game and rebounded to win the next two.

With attention turning to Sunday’s series finale, Rice is the team on a roll. The Owls not only have won five straight, they have also won eight of their last nine. Given that the Owls had lost nine straight and 13 of 14 before the winning started, it’s a notable achievement.

The Owls also feel good about reversing a trend against the Roadrunners in the series between the two in-state rivals. The Roadrunners won five of six against the Owls last season. In three previous seasons, Pat Hallmark-coached UTSA won 12 and lost five against Rice.

Records

UTSA 24-18, 11-6
Rice 17-25, 8-9

Coming up

Game 3 of a three-game series in the AAC. UTSA at Rice, Sunday at 1 p.m. UTSA will play a non-conference, mid-week game at home Tuesday at 6 p.m. against I-35 rival Texas State. The Roadrunners return to AAC play at home next weekend (May 3-5) against the Wichita State Shockers.

Notable

American Conference-leading East Carolina (34-8, 13-4) has won two straight on the road at Memphis this weekend, claiming a 14-3 victory on Saturday afternoon after winning 14-0 in seven innings (on the run rule) on Friday night.

Rice catches a 10th-inning break and beats UTSA, 9-8

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

After letting a three-run lead slip away in the ninth inning Friday night, Rice Owls pushed across the winning run with one out in the bottom of the 10th, beating the UTSA Roadrunners, 9-8, in the American Athletic Conference.

A crazy sequence of two plays gave the victory to the Owls and knocked the Roadrunners out of first place in the AAC.

First, Tobias Motley lofted a pop fly to shallow right field. With the UTSA right fielder charging in, the ball dropped behind him, allowing Motley to motor all the way to third base.

Jacob Devenny followed with a squeeze bunt, ruled as an RBI single, for the winner. UTSA pitcher Ruger Riojas couldn’t catch it cleanly, everyone was safe, and Rice came away with the victory in the first game of a three-game series at Reckling Park.

It was a heartbreaker for the Roadrunners, and it was also costly. Earlier in the evening, the East Carolina Pirates won on the road, beating the Memphis Tigers 14-0 on the run rule in seven innings.

The Pirates now lead the AAC race with a record of 12-4, followed by the Roadrunners, who fell one game back at 11-5.

Motley and Ben Dukes slammed two-out, two-run homers off UTSA freshman Rob Orloski in the second inning, staking the Owls to a 4-1 lead.

The Roadrunners battled back with three runs on only one hit off Parker Smith in the top of the fourth to tie it. Undeterred, the Owls answered with two more scores in the bottom half to make it 6-4.

Manny Garza hiked the Owls’ advantage to 7-4 when he belted a solo home run in the fifth.

In the eighth inning, the Roadrunners started a rally, getting a couple of runners on for Caleb Hill, who rapped an RBI single through the right side.

At that point, Rice reliever Davion Hixon got tough. With runners at second and third, UTSA needed only a base hit to tie it, but Hixon struck out Alexander Olivo on a high fastball and got Matt King on a fly ball to center to end the threat.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Owls tacked on a run for insurance. Treyton Rank’s RBI single off Ruger Riojas padded the lead to 8-5.

UTSA rallied in the ninth to load the bases against Hixon with a leadoff double by Ty Tilson, a single by Isaiah Walker and then a walk to Diego Diaz. At that point, Mark Henning hit a one-hopper to Hixon, who threw home for the force and the first out.

Subsequently, Broc Parmer came to the plate as a pinch hitter and delivered with a two-run double to right, pulling UTSA to within one. With runners at first and third, Mason Lytle smashed a double off the wall in right, bringing in the tying run to make it 8-8.

Records

UTSA 24-17, 11-5
Rice 16-25, 7-9

Coming up

Game Two of a three-game series in the AAC. UTSA at Rice, Saturday at 2 p.m. Game 3 is Sunday at 1 p.m.

UTSA opens a three-game AAC baseball series at Rice

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Alex Olivo. 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

Infielder/designated hitter Alexander Olivo batted .462 with four RBI in four games for the Roadrunners last week. – File photo by Joe Alexander.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

For the UTSA Roadrunners, winning baseball games against the Rice Owls once seemed like a nearly insurmountable challenge. Winning on the road at Rice? Well, that once seemed to border on the impossible.

Lately, the tables have turned, according to a game-by-game account of the series in the UTSA baseball record book. Rice holds a 28-22 edge, but UTSA has won 15 of the last 21 since 2018, including the last four.

More surprisingly, UTSA is 9-4 against Rice in the last 13 meetings at Houston. Quite a change from the early days of the series when the Owls once went 13-0 at home against the Roadrunners over the first 11 years of the series.

Naturally, except for historical context, none of that matters when the Roadrunners open a three-game road series against the Owls at Reckling starting tonight.

With both competing in their first season among the 10 baseball-playing members of the American Athletic Conference, UTSA comes into the weekend tied for first place with the East Carolina Pirates. Rice enters tied for eighth, though the Owls have started to show more consistency of late.

Coached by Jose Cruz Jr., the namesake son of a 1980s-era Houston Astros standout, the Owls have won six of their last seven overall. They are 5-1 in their last six AAC games after sweeping three at South Florida last weekend.

Led by slugging Treyton Rank, the Owls scored in double figures in each of their three games against the Bulls. Rank, a junior from Monticello, Fla., hit .581 with three doubles, a homer and eight RBI in the series.

Records

UTSA 24-16, 11-4
Rice 15-25, 6-9

Coming up

A three-game American Athletic Conference series. UTSA at Rice, Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m. Freshman Robert Orloski is scheduled to start the opener for the Roadrunners against the Owls’ Parker Smith.

Notable

UTSA head coach Pat Hallmark is 12-5 against Rice, where he once played for a season and later served as a longtime assistant coach under Wayne Graham. Hallmark’s Roadrunners went 5-1 against Rice last season. Hallmark played at Rice in 1995 and worked as an assistant coach there from 2006-16.

After an up-and-down start to this season, Hallmark’s Roadrunners are 14-5 over their last 19 games. Last week, UTSA went 3-1 at home, winning two of three on the weekend against the UAB Blazers.

The Roadrunners have remained in the AAC title race with East Carolina despite the loss of injured Tye Odom. UTSA is 7-3 without Odom, a multi-skilled outfielder, since he went down with a high ankle sprain at home against Charlotte on April 5. His availability for the Rice series is uncertain.

UTSA worked utility man Isaiah Walker back into the lineup last weekend against UAB. Walker, one of the team’s best defensive players at multiple positions, has played in only six games this season.

The Roadrunners have won all five series they have played in the AAC, including road series wins at Tulane (3-0) and Memphis (2-1). UTSA players in the hunt for postseason honors include pitchers Ruger Riojas and Ulises Quiroga, outfielders Mason Lytle and Caleb Hill and infielder Matt King.

Riojas leads the AAC in saves (six), is second in wins (seven) and third in ERA (2.49). In his last outing, the sophomore from Wimberley took the loss, the first of his career. Last Friday night, he yielded four runs in 3 and 2/3 innings as UAB beat UTSA, 7-3.

Quiroga (5-0 3.92) has emerged as the team’s stopper on Sundays. The senior from Baytown is 4-0 in his last four starts. In three of those starts, he has yielded two or fewer earned runs in six or more innings.

Lytle (with a batting average of .388) ranks second in the AAC in hitting. He and Alexander Olivo (.368), Hill (.354) and King (.333) rank among the AAC’s top nine in average. Olivo batted .462 in four games last week.