By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Tied for first place with the UAB Blazers, the UTSA Roadrunners will open a three-game series in New Orleans on Friday against the Tulane Green Wave. The series in the American Conference continues Saturday and Sunday.
Drew Detlefsen, UTSA’s batting average, home run and RBI leader, is in the starting lineup for the Roadrunners. According to lineups just posted, the senior from Trophy Club is playing left field and batting second.
Detlefsen suffered an injury that had him limping at the end of UTSA’s home game on Sunday against the Charlotte 49ers. On Monday, his status for a scheduled Tuesday night road game against Texas A&M was in question.
Officials elected to cancel the A&M game because of weather-related concerns.
Against the Green Wave, the Roadrunners will go with a lineup that’s carried the team to the top of the standings in the American, with Caden Miller leading off, Detlefsen batting second and Lane Haworth in the No. 3 hole.
Andrew Stucky is batting fourth, followed by Christian Hallmark and Jacob Silva. Batting seventh through ninth are Diego Diaz, Jordan Ballin and Aidan Eshelman.
Gunnar Brown (2-0, 5.40 ERA) will start on the mound for the Roadrunners against Tulane’s Trey Cehajic (2-4, 7.68).
Detlefsen ranks second in the conference in batting average (.394) and home runs (13) and leads in RBIs (51).
He is on a .396 pace during a 10-game hitting streak, with 19 hits in 48 at bats. He has three home runs and 18 RBIs during the streak.
Lately, UTSA’s Friday night pitching rotation has featured Brown as the starter with hard-throwing Connor Kelley in long relief.
Brown was hit hard early in a start last Friday against Charlotte, but he pitched four and two thirds innings, giving up only a pair of earned runs.
Kelley was the story in an eventual 11-5 victory over the 49ers, pitching scoreless baseball for the remaining four and a third innings.
Kelley is on a streak of eight appearances and 20 and 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run.
Tye Wood and Jason Wachs are set to bat 1-2 tonight in the Green Wave’s lineup. Wood is a .283 hitter, while Wachs leads the Wave at .340.
Wachs has hit safely in six of his last seven games, including a pair of home runs last week against the FAU Owls.
Records
UTSA 27-13, 10-5
Tulane 21-21, 7-8
Coming up
UTSA at Tulane, Friday, 7 p.m.
UTSA at Tulane, Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at Tulane, Sunday, noon
UIW at UTSA, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Notable
Friday’s game will be carried on ESPNU. The Saturday and Sunday games will be on ESPN+.
Tied with the Roadrunners for first place in the American, the UAB Blazers (26-15, 10-5) are hosting the Memphis Tigers this weekend in Birmingham, with games set today through Sunday.
The East Carolina Pirates, one game back in second place, are at home for three this weekend against the South Florida Bulls.
Both UTSA and East Carolina (25-16-1, 9-6) reached the NCAA tournament out of the American last season.