Senior Braylon Owens closed the game by pitching four innings, allowing only one run on one hit, to help the UTSA Roadrunners beat Texas and advance to the regional finals. UTSA is now just one win away from a berth in the NCAA Super Regional round. – Photo by Joe Alexander
AUSTIN — For at least the past four years, UTSA has had a piece of tape in its locker room in San Antonio imprinted with three letters, ‘JYD.’ The three letters stand for ‘Junk Yard Dogs.’
It’s a message to the players that they can achieve success even under the most extreme, adverse conditions.
The Roadrunners lived up to their burgeoning legend Saturday night, rallying from a five-run deficit to score arguably the biggest victory in program history, a 9-7 shocker over the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Austin Regional.
Texas entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 national seed, behind only the Vanderbilt Commodores, in the 64-team field. Seeded No. 1 in the regional, the Longhorns rolled in their first game to a 7-1 victory over the No. 4 HCU Huskies.
Outfielder James Taussig celebrates with the fans after second-seeded UTSA beat No. 1 Texas 9-7 on at the Austin Regional. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Most expected them to face a stiffer test in the winners’ bracket against the second-seeded Roadrunners. After all, UTSA won a mid-week game in March at Disch-Falk Field, claiming an 8-7 victory in 12 innings.
But after UTSA knocked off Kansas State 10-2 in its tournament opener, a question loomed about the rematch against Texas. It centered on whether the Roadrunners could win again, in Austin, in a playoff setting, against top-of-the-line pitching.
The answer, in the end, was yes.
A few of the lead dogs in the “JYD” pack, and also one pup, led the way.
Senior slugger James Taussig produced a four-for-four performance and had a couple of RBI, including one on drag bunt single in the ninth inning. Senior Mason Lytle tormented the Longhorns with three hits and some daring base running.
Freshman Nathan Hodge, despite his lack of collegiate experience, had two hits and three RBI.
At the end, senior pitcher Braylon Owens closed the game with four innings of relief. During that stretch, he held the Longhorns to one run on one hit, a long homer by Ryan Galvan in the seventh inning.
Nevertheless, Owens finished in style, shutting down a two-on-base scoring threat in the eighth inning and then working around a walk in the ninth with two strikeouts to end the game.
Owens, from Elgin, about 30 miles east of Austin, said he loves the atmosphere when he plays on the Texas campus. He said he draws energy from the Longhorns’ fans.
“When you have all these Texas fans, like, yelling at you, talking mess to you, I don’t know,” he said. “A lot of people get nervous about that. Me, it makes me excited. Like, I want to make ’em be quiet, prove ’em wrong. So, I’d say that helps a lot, the crowd.”
Taussig, Owens’ good friend and fishing buddy, aided the cause immensely in the ninth inning by his deft handling of the bat. With Lytle at third base, he bunted the ball through the air, just past relief pitcher Dylan Volantis.
Reliever Kendall Dove (3-0) pitched an inning of scoreless relief in the fifth earned the victory. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Playing back, the second baseman had no chance on the ball, either, as it bounced on the infield grass. Consequently, Lytle scored easily from third base to widen UTSA’s lead to the eventual final score. Taussig beat it out for his fourth hit of the day.
The two-run cushion was important entering the Longhorns’ last at bat.
“I wouldn’t say it was easy,” Owens said, “but it definitely, like, made me feel more comfortable and not as anxious, that I have to do this, or I have to do that. It took a little bit of weight off my shoulders.”
When the game ended with Owens striking out Texas slugger Max Belyeu, his teammates rushed out of the dugout and swarmed around him, shouting and celebrating. Owens was stunned. He said he blanked out.
“I didn’t know what to do,” he said.
Immediately, the Roadrunners will need to prepare for Sunday’s championship round, which should be very interesting.
Texas (43-13) and Kansas State (32-25) will play in a losers’ bracket game at 2 p.m. The winner will meet UTSA (46-13) later Sunday. Texas or Kansas State will need to beat UTSA Sunday night and again on Monday to win the regional.
The Roadrunners only need to win once to advance to the NCAA Super Regional round for the first time in program history. The winner of the two-team super regionals, scheduled for next weekend, will earn trips to the Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
After Saturday night, little doubt exists now that the Roadrunners could make a run to Omaha. Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle tipped his cap to UTSA and even mentioned that he had heard about the team’s ‘Junk Yard Dog’ credo.
“It feels good,” Owens said. “I mean, all four years, we have a piece of tape in our locker room that says, ‘JYD.’ Now that everybody is starting to know that’s how we see ourselves, it feels good.”
Austin Regional
Sunday’s games
Losers’ bracket – Texas vs. Kansas State, 2 p.m.
Championship round – UTSA vs. Texas or Kansas State, 6 p.m. (or, an hour after the first game)
UTSA’s Nathan Hodge (11) scores in the top of the fifth to cut the Texas lead to 6-4. Hodge, a freshmen, had two hits and three RBI. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Monday’s game
Championship round, if necessary – UTSA vs. Texas or Kansas State, time TBD
Seeds, records
1 – Texas (43-13)
2 – UTSA (46-13)
3 – Kansas State (32-25)
4 – HCU (32-25)
A Longhorns’ surge
Locked in a tie game with UTSA, Texas sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs on four hits in the bottom of the third.
The Longhorns did the damage off both Conor Myles, the Roadrunners’ starting pitcher, and against Connor Kelley, one of their best bullpen arms. Jonah Williams’ two-out, two-run single off Kelley was the big blow for the Longhorns in the inning.
When the dust settled, the Longhorns had a 6-1 lead on the Roadrunners and significant momentum.
The inning started with Myles walking Rylan Galvan. Max Belyeu followed with a single to center. A key play unfolded when Kimble Schuessler ripped a ground ball up the middle that Hodge, playing second base, dove for and gloved. Laid out on the ground, however, he was unable to make a toss to second base for the force, so everyone was safe.
The bases were loaded.
With bullpen arms warming, Myles faced UT’s Adrian Rodriguez, who grounded a ball down the first base line for an out and an RBI. At that point, the Roadrunners made a change. Kelley entered the game and started off well, striking out Jalin Flores on an awkward swing. But after that, Texas got hot and started pounding the ball.
First, Williams, a five-star recruit as a football safety out of Galveston, drilled a hit with pace into right field to bring in two runs. Casey Borba followed by hammering a ball off the base of the left field wall for an RBI double. Adding to UTSA’s woes, Kelley fired a wild pitch, allowing the fifth run to score for a five-run Texas lead.
How the Roadrunners countered
Undeterred, UTSA rallied in the top of the fifth with four runs on three hits and an error. The uprising came against tiring Texas starter Luke Harrison. Hodge delivered a key hit for the Roadrunners in the inning with a two-run single. Taussig added a run-scoring double. After it was over, the Roadrunners had pulled to within 6-5, and fans were on their feet.
Garrett Gruell talks strategy with Coach Pat Hallmark. Gruell belted a run-scoring double in the sixth inning. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Norris McClure led off the inning with a ground ball that was mishandled at second base. He narrowly beat out the throw to first on a play ruled as an error. From there, Harrison started to falter with his command. He walked Andrew Stucky and hit Caden Miller with a pitch to load the bases. Hodge, a freshman from College Station, rose to the challenge by stroking a ground ball up the middle.
It caromed off lunging shortstop Jalin Flores’ glove and two runs scored. Next, Lytle singled up the middle and one out later, Taussig blasted a double to center that scored one. UTSA had new life, trailing by one run.
Taking the lead
In the top of the sixth, the noise level among UTSA fans increased significantly as the Roadrunners constructed a three-run rally to take their first lead of the game, 8-6. It all started with two out when Harrison gave up a single to Andrew Stucky and Caden Miller walked. Texas changed pitchers in hopes of cutting off the threat, bringing in Thomas Burns.
UTSA immediately lit up the hard-throwing righty for three hits. Hodge whacked a fastball into center field for an RBI single, tying the game. Lytle followed with another run-scoring single, putting UTSA ahead by one run.
On a play that underscored the intensity of the game, Garrett Gruell doubled into the corner to score one run easily, making it 8-6. Just as the relay throw came in to the shortstop, Lytle kept running as he rounded third and sped for home. The throw was on target, and Lytle collided with Galvan, the catcher.
Lytle was called out on a play that went to review and was upheld. At the same time, UTSA had seized the momentum from the NCAA tournament’s second-seeded team.
Mason Lytle and his UTSA teammates celebrate on the field after the final out. The Roadrunners trailed 6-1 after four innings, rallied into the lead and then held on at the end to win on the home field of the Longhorns. – Photo by Joe Alexander
