By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Righthander Caylon Dygert pitched into the eighth inning and led the UT Arlington Mavericks to a 5-0 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners Friday afternoon in the season opener for both teams.
In the game played on a cold and rainy day at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington, Dygert worked 7 and 1/3 innings and yielded only three hits.
He struck out three and walked none in outdueling UTSA starter Zach Royse.
The Roadrunners, trailing by the eventual final score, had Diego Diaz at second base in the top of the eighth when lefty Caden Noah replaced Dygert.
After a ball in the dirt allowed Diaz to take third, Noah struck out Andrew Stucky and Caden Miller to get out of the jam.
In UTSA’s last at bat, Mason Lytle led off with an infield single, speeding down the line to beat a toss from first baseman Tate Bethel to Noah covering the bag.
Noah responded by retiring three straight, as the Mavericks handed the Roadrunners an opening-day loss for the second straight season.
UT Arlington beat UTSA 10-9 on opening day last year in San Antonio at Roadrunner Field.
Cade Dodson, Maxwell Mims and Tyce Armstrong, the Nos. 1-3 hitters in the Mavericks’ lineup, each had multiple-hit performances.
Royse pitched well in the early going, cruising through five scoreless innings on a one-hitter. But with two out in the sixth, the Mavericks strung together five straight singles and scored three runs.
Martinez, Armstrong and Xavier Martinez each had RBI singles in the outburst. In the seventh inning, Mims produced a run-scoring double and Martinez an RBI single off UTSA reliever Sam Simmons.
Royse, a 6-foot-3 junior from Katy Cinco Ranch, finished the day charged with three runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked none in 5 and 2/3 innings.
Despite pitching well enough to win, he took the loss and dropped to 0-5 in his career.
The Roadrunners were limited to four hits on the day, two by newcomer Norris McClure. Lytle, the preseason Player of the Year in the American Athletic Conference, finished one for four. Lorenzo Morresi had a double in three at bats for UTSA’s only extra base hit.
Records
UTSA 0-1
UT Arlington 1-0
Coming up
UTSA at UT Arlington, Saturday, 1 p.m.
UTSA at UT Arlington, Sunday, 1 p.m.
UTSA at Baylor, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
Notable
UTSA’s starting lineup in the opener had Caden Miller leading off and playing first base, followed by Lytle in center field, James Taussig in right field, Drew Detlefsen in left field, McClure at designated hitter, Morresi at catcher, Diaz at second base, Ty Hodge at shortstop and Jordan Ballin at third.
Miller, Detlefsen, McClure, Hodge, Ballin and relief pitcher Sam Simmons each made their UTSA debuts. Ballin is a freshman from Boerne Champion High School who entered college regarded as one of the top players out of the San Antonio area.
After playing two more games in Arlington this weekend and then traveling to Waco to meet the Baylor Bears on Tuesday, UTSA returns home for a series against the Long Island University starting next Friday, Feb. 21, at Roadrunner Field.