SAN ANTONIO – UTSA is set to hit the road for a midweek game against Baylor that will be the first part of a six-game road trip.
UTSA (12-7, 1-2 C-USA) will play its fourth midweek game of the season this week as the Roadrunners travel to Waco, Texas to face the Baylor Bears (10-9, 1-2 Big 12).
The Roadrunners and Bears have one common opponent on the season in Houston Baptist. UTSA defeated HBU on 3/15, 10-5 while Baylor beat HBU on 2/22, 6-2. The Bears have played nine games against ranked teams this season and hold a 5-4 record over those squads. The Bears boast quality wins against Duke (2x), UCLA, LSU and TCU.
This will be the 19th meeting between the two schools all-time, as the Bears hold a 12-6 advantage over UTSA. The Roadrunners are 3-9 against Baylor in games played in Waco.
UTSA enters the weekday showdown coming off of a 1-2 weekend series against the preseason number two team in Conference USA, Louisiana Tech.
The first game of the weekend series was started by Luke Malone who made his second consecutive start on the week after previously starting at HBU. UTSA roughed up Louisiana Tech starter Jonathan Fincher – the preseason C-USA Pitcher of the Year who had won his first four starts of the year and sported a 1.96 ERA entering the game – by putting five runs on the board in two innings. Louisiana Tech slowly chipped away at those five runs though and would go on to win the game 6-5.
The Roadrunners had Ulises Quiroga start game two, as UTSA attempted to even the series on Saturday. The Roadrunners received multi-hit games from both Sammy Diaz and Ian Bailey as the team carried a one-run lead heading into the top of the ninth and only needed three more outs. The Bulldogs got a runner on via a walk and then blasted what would prove to be a game-winning two-run homerun to take the lead and win 5-4.
UTSA got back on track though in Sunday's game though as the Roadrunners ended up run-ruling the Bulldogs in eight innings to salvage the weekend series. In the game, Ian Bailey cranked his eighth homer of the year (his sixth solo shot) and freshman Matt King had a huge game as he went for a triple and two doubles, driving in four runs. Freshman righty Braylon Owens picked up the win for UTSA, as he delivered good production in relief of starter Braden Davis.
Miscellaneous Notes
- UTSA enters the weekend series having the fourth-highest batting average (.304) in all of Conference USA and ranks 38th nationally.
- UTSA has scored 10 or more runs in eight of their 18 games so far on the season and has outscored their opponents 153-103.
- Catcher Sammy Diaz currently owns the third-best batting average in Conference USA as he's hitting .425. That batting average ranks 44th nationally.
- Pitcher Luke Malone owns the lowest ERA in all of Conference USA with a 0.78. That ERA ranks 11th nationally.
- Senior outfielder Ian Bailey is second among CUSA players with eight homeruns on the year. Bailey is also fifth in the conference in slugging percentage,
Weekday Information
Tuesday, March 22 at 6:30 p.m.
RHP, Fr. Ryan Beaird (6.94 ERA) vs. RHP, Fr. Mason Marriott (3.48 ERA)
The game will be played at Baylor Ballpark and will be broadcast thru Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
UP NEXT: Following the midweek Baylor game, UTSA will be on the road again as they head to Boca Raton, Florida to face Conference USA opponent Florida Atlantic. The games will take place over the March 25-27 weekend at the FAU baseball stadium and will be broadcast on CUSA.tv.
- UTSA -