COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The UTSA baseball team will travel to Blue Bell Park in College Station, Texas, for a midweek battle against No. 3 Texas A&M on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
QUICK HITS
UTSA has a 4-3 record in midweek games so far this season, picking up wins against Tarleton and UIW, as well as two Big 12 opponents in Houston and Baylor. The Roadrunners have also won four consecutive weekend series against Northwestern, then-No. 10 East Carolina, Tulane and Charlotte.
The Roadrunners lead the American Athletic Conference in four different categories, including batting average (.320), hits (363) – fourth in the nation in this category, runs (243), and scoring (7.6). UTSA averages 3.48 walks allowed per nine innings, good for second in the AAC and 19th in the nation.
Ruger Riojas has a 1.76 ERA, which is second in the conference and 11th in the nation and six victories, which leads the conference and is seventh-most in the nation. Matt King leads the nation with nine sacrifice flies, while Hector Rodriguez is the toughest batter to strike out in the AAC (12.8).
Lytle takes the top league spot in three categories, including hits (58) and hits per game (1.87) – which he ranks second in the nation in both – as well as batting average (.406) and total bases (89). Caleb Hill leads the AAC with 39 runs and 1.26 runs per game.
AAC HONORS FOR THE ‘RUNNERS
Senior right-handed pitcher Uli Quiroga and junior infielder Hector Rodriguez were both named to the conference weekly honor roll on Monday to make it four total times a UTSA player has been honored. This marks Quiroga’s second time on the honor roll as he turned in a series-clinching quality start against Charlotte on Sunday, only allowing one run and striking out seven in a six-inning start. Rodriguez had a breakout week in which he picked up eight hits, five runs, and five RBI for a .615 batting average. He also had a career-best 4-for-4 day in Saturday’s matchup against Charlotte.
Junior outfielder Mason Lytle was named to the weekly honor roll on March 25, after he picked up nine hits, eight runs and a .450 batting average across four starts at center field during the previous week against Texas State and No. 10 East Carolina.
Quiroga’s first time on the weekly honor roll was March 18. He made his second start of the season in a 2-0 shutout over Northwestern on March 17 that secured UTSA’s second series win of the season. He recorded a quality start in which he pitched the first six innings and earned his first win (1-0), while keeping the Wildcats scoreless on just two hits.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Texas A&M holds a 28-4 overall record, following a series victory over No. 22 South Carolina in which the Aggies took two of three games over the Gamecocks. The Aggies are ranked No. 3 in the nation this week by D1Baseball. In midweek games, Texas A&M holds an 8-0 record this season.
The Aggies are led by Braden Montgomery, who is hitting .388 with 47 hits, 40 runs, 51 RBI and 17 home runs. Montgomery is third in the country with 109 total bases and fourth with a .901 slugging percentage. Texas A&M is starting Isaac Morton, who holds a 1-0 record and a 2.13 ERA, in Tuesday’s midweek matchup.
SERIES HISTORY VS TEXAS A&M
The Aggies hold a 23-10 advantage in the all-time series record against the Roadrunners, dating back to the 1993 season. Out of UTSA’s 10 wins over Texas A&M, four of them have been when the Aggies were ranked, including No. 19 on Feb. 8, 2000, No. 13 on March 13, 2002, No. 21 on March 18, 2003, and No. 9 on May 3, 2011.
UTSA won last season’s meeting in College Station on April 11, 2023, by 5-1. Caleb Hill (0-for-3), Matt King (2-for-3), Isaiah Walker (2-for-4) and Tye Odom (2-for-3) all started that meeting. Uli Quiroga started on the mound and earned the win, while Ruger Riojas made a relief appearance.
AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
The Roadrunners have a 46-124 record against ranked opponents in the all-time history dating back to the first season of UTSA baseball in 1993. The last time the Roadrunners faced a ranked team was earlier this season as UTSA hosted then-No.10 East Carolina on March 22-24, taking two of three games from the Pirates. The highest-ranked win the Roadrunners have earned in program history was against No. 1 Baylor on April 24, 2012.
LAST WEEK FOR THE ROADRUNNERS
UTSA earned a series win against Charlotte at home last weekend. Despite dropping the opener by 10-5 on Friday, the Roadrunners bounced back to take the second two games in run-rule fashion. On Saturday, perfect days at the plate by Mason Lytle (3-for-3) and Hector Rodriguez (4-for-4) as well as dominant pitching by Ruger Riojas led UTSA to a 14-4 victory in seven innings.
In Sunday’s rubber match, Uli Quiroga’s quality start of one run allowed and seven batters struck out in six innings pitched highlighted the finale. A couple of Roadrunners picked up a team-high two hits, including Matt King (three runs) and Lorenzo Morresi (three runs and five RBI). Morresi and Ty Tilson also hit their first home run as a Roadrunner.
UTSA started last week with a 7-4 win over crosstown rival UIW across town at Sullivan Field. Despite a slow start in which the Roadrunners didn’t record a hit through the first three innings, the team battled back. Four Roadrunners had two-hit games, including Lytle, Caleb Hill, Tye Odom and Broc Parmer. Braylon Owens (3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 K) picked up his third win of the season, while Riojas (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 K) recorded his fifth save.
THREE’S A LUCKY NUMBER
The Roadrunners were picked to finish third in their first season in the American Athletic Conference.
Ahead of UTSA in this year’s AAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, powerhouse East Carolina took the top spot. Charlotte, who made the move to the AAC with UTSA this year and won last year’s C-USA Tournament, earned second place.
Following UTSA is Florida Atlantic, South Florida, Memphis, Wichita State, Rice, Tulane and UAB took the fourth-10th spots, respectively.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners travel to Memphis, Tennessee, for a three-game conference series against the Tigers this Friday through Sunday.
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