By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
The UTSA Roadrunners have won the American Athletic Conference baseball title outright after holding off the East Carolina Pirates 8-5 Friday night in a chaotic, weather-delayed game in Greenville, N.C.
In winning its ninth straight game to secure its first regular-season conference title in 17 years, UTSA improved to 38-10 overall and to 19-3 in the AAC going into a doubleheader that has been scheduled for the Pirates’ home field on Saturday.
UTSA can tie the program’s single-season record for victories if it can win the first game of the doubleheader. With a sweep, UTSA can break it with what would be the team’s first 40-win season.
The doubleheader was deemed necessary to complete the three-game series after officials elected not to play on Sunday to avoid more issues with the weather. The Pirates, who had won the last five regular-season titles in the American, fell to 27-22 overall and 11-11 in conference.
Coming out of a 35-minute rain delay in the sixth inning with a four-run lead, the Roadrunners broke the game open with three runs in the top of the eighth as Andrew Stucky delivered a three-run double. His shot down the third-base line cleared the bases and gave the Roadrunners what appeared to be a commanding lead.
Going into the bottom half of the eighth, the game took a bizarre turn.
Righthander Rob Orloski, who threw five pitches to get the last out in the seventh, was sent to play left field to start the inning while lefthander Jake Cothran came in to pitch. After the Pirates put two runners on via a hit by pitch and a single, the Roadrunners made another pitching change, with Sam Simmons entering to replace Cothran.
Simmons immediately found trouble, giving up a single to Colby Wallace to load the bases, followed by James Herring’s two-run double to left. When Herring’s ball fell and the two runners crossed, the Pirates had cut the lead to 8-3. All of which prompted UTSA to make a few more changes. Lorenzo Morresi came in to play left and Orloski returned to the mound to try to put out the fire.
The Pirates, however, had other ideas. Pinch hitter John Collins roped a double down the left field line to score two more runs and trim the UTSA lead to 8-5. After Walker Barron singled to put runners at the corners again, Orloski settled down, retiring three straight batters to get out of it. In the bottom of the ninth, Orloski set down three in a row to end the game.
In the end, Zach Royse (8-4) earned the win and Orloski notched his sixth save.
With the victory, the Roadrunners move into their last five games in the regular season just needing to maintain momentum. After playing two at East Carolina on Saturday, they return home to host the Rice Owls for three more, from May 15-17, to close the regular season. UTSA is now the No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament, set for May 20-25 in Clearwater, Fla.
UTSA is hoping, after the dust settles in Clearwater, to have done enough to warrant a bid to the 64-team NCAA tournament. The Roadrunners are on the right track, entering the East Carolina series at No. 20 in the NCAA’s ratings percentage index. UTSA hasn’t played in the NCAA tournament since 2013 when it won the postseason crown in the Western Athletic Conference.
Records
UTSA 38-10, 19-3
East Carolina 27-22, 11-11
Coming up
UTSA at East Carolina, Saturday, doubleheader, first game at 1 p.m.
Second game to follow, 45 minutes after the conclusion of the the first game
Before the weather delay
Needing only one win to clinch the title outright, the Roadrunners took a 5-1 lead on the Pirates only to have the game postponed in the sixth inning on a weather delay.
Trailing 1-0, the Roadrunners started to roll with their explosive offense. In the top of the fifth, with East Carolina starter Ethan Norby cruising, Garrett Gruell led off by slicing a single into right field. James Taussig followed by getting on top of a high fastball and pulling it to right for a two-run homer.
Television announcers called the line drive at 108-mph off the bat.
After that, Norby started to falter. On a 3-2 pitch, he walked Cade Sadler. Then, a pitch got away from him and he hit Nathan Hodge to put runners at first and second. With Mason Lytle stepping up to hit, Sadler strayed off second base, enough to draw a throw to second from catcher Walker Barron. Sadler, on a heads up play, promptly took third base for a steal.
Lytle responded with a line drive that ticked off the glove of third baseman Colby Wallace. It went for an RBI single as Sadler came in to score easily and Hodge advanced to second. After Ty Hodge was retired on a foul ball off to the right side, Andrew Stucky came to bat to set the stage for another key play.
Stucky grounded to the left side, and the Pirates infield turned what was initially called as an inning-ending double play. Upon further review, umpires ruled that Stucky beat the relay throw to first base, which allowed Nathan Hodge to score and make it 4-1.
The Roadrunners scratched another run across in the sixth to make it 5-1. With East Carolina coming to bat in the bottom of the sixth, umpires stopped the game and waved players off the field for a weather delay.
To this point, UTSA starter Zach Royse had held the Pirates to one run on four hits and one walk. Royse had struck out four and had thrown 77 pitches.