| May 10, 2005
Contact: Matt Schabert (210) 458-4930 Five seniors ready for final home games as UTSA battles Lamar this weekend Complete Release | Live Stats | Listen Live SAN ANTONIO -After taking the last 10 days off for final exams, the University of Texas at San Antonio baseball team gets set to play its final three regular season home games this weekend against the visiting Lamar Cardinals. Game one is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday, May 13 at Roadrunner Field, while Sunday's 1 p.m. start will be designated as Senior Day as five UTSA seniors play their final home game. UTSA Roadrunners (21-28, 12-9 SLC)
vs.
Lamar Cardinals (31-19, 12-9 SLC)
May 13-15
Friday, May 13 - 3:00 p.m. • Roadrunner Field
Saturday, May 14 - 2:00 p.m. • Roadrunner Field
Sunday, May 15 - 1:00 p.m. • Roadrunner Field
First Pitch
• The Roadrunners return home for a crucial three-game series with defending champion Lamar this weekend. It’s the final home games for UTSA in 2005.
• Lamar and UTSA are tied for fourth place right now in the conference standings, with Southeastern Louisiana three games behind.
• With three wins this weekend, UTSA can even its home record at 13-13.
• The Roadrunners have never been swept by Lamar at home.
• LHP Aaron Rodriguez has won four of his last five conference starts.
• It's the final home games for five UTSA seniors
Roadrunner Tidbits
UTSA will look to put the skids on a three-game losing slide this weekend...UTSA is 8-4 at home against the Cardinals since 1996...The Roadrunners are 39-19 (.672 winning pct.) at Roadrunner Field since 2001 and have posted a winning record at the “Bird Bath” every year since 2001...In less than two full seasons, senior catcher Chris Lewis ranks fifth all-time at UTSA for career home runs with 24...Lewis has two grand slams as well this season and 26 extra-base knocks...Juniors Ryan Crew and J.R. Voyles have combined to go 16-for-16 in stolen bases this year...Crew has only struck out 11 times in 182 at-bats (once every 16.5 AB), while senior Stephen Holdren has only whiffed 12 times in 123 at-bats (once every 10.2 AB)...Sophomore Michael McKennon has only made one error in 105 chances in left field this season, and made just two errors in 55 games last season...Sophomore Ryan Saltzgaber and junior Lee Todesco enter the weekend sporting five-game hitting streaks...As a team, UTSA has 127 multi-hit games and has eight games with every starter getting at least one hit.
Senior Day Salute
Sunday will mark the final regular season home game for five Roadrunner seniors - pitcher Aaron Rodriguez, catcher Chris Lewis, designated hitter Stephen Holdren, outfielder Sean Danielson and infielder Eric Moreno. This fivesome has combined to play in 372 career games at UTSA, while Rodruguez and Moreno have played all four of their collegiate seasons at UTSA.
Scouting the Cardinals
Lamar is 31-19 overall and 12-9 in the Southland Conference. The Cardinals and Roadrunners are currently tied in fourth place right now. Catcher Michael Ambort is the most lethal player on the roster, hitting .341 with a league-best 15 home runs. Adrian Cantu hits at a .326 clip. The Cardinal pitching staff has a 4.32 team ERA with Scott Vander Weg leading the way with a 3-3 record and a 3.70 ERA. Derrick Gordon ranks second in the conference with 10 strikeouts per nine innings.
Up Next
The Roadrunners finish the 2005 regular season next week at McNeese State. Games are scheduled for May 19-21.
A Look at the Series
Lamar holds a 14-12 lead in the all-time series with UTSA, which began in the 1996 season. The Cardinals have won six of the last eight meetings. Last season, the Roadrunners dropped a 9-2 decision to open a three-game set at Beaumont before taking game two 8-6. The Cardinals responded with a 16-0 win on Sunday. Lamar then defeated the Roadrunners 11-2 at the SLC Tournament in May.
Baylor Rewind
The Roadrunners had 10th-ranked Baylor on the ropes until an error in the ninth inning allowed the winning run to score from second base in a 6-5 Baylor win last Tuesday. The Roadrunners surged ahead 4-2 in the third on a Chris Lewis grand slam and led 5-2 heading into the fifth behind starter Steven Vasquez. The Bears chipped away at the lead, however, scoring single runs in the fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth innings for the one-run victory.
A Stands For All-Conference
Senior Aaron Rodriguez is making a strong case for all-conference honors this year. After beginning the year 0-3, the senior southpaw has won four of his last five conference starts and leads the team with a 3.68 ERA. In SLC games, Rodriguez is 4-0 with a team-best 3.42 ERA. He also has two complete games, including a 2-1 win at league-leading Northwestern State last Friday when he returned after a 1:30 rain delay to hold the Demons hitless for the final four innings. Rodriguez will also conclude his career ranked highly on the career strikeout chart at UTSA, ranking fifth right now with 177 career Ks. In his last four appearances (20 innings), he has surrendered just two earned runs and struck out 20.
Motley Crew
Junior Ryan Crew is again putting together a solid resume for all-conference accolades. Crew leads UTSA and ranks eighth in the conference in hitting at .352 and also leads the team in hits, runs, slugging percentage and toughest to strikeout. In addition, he also continues to make an assault on the UTSA record books in just his third season. He now ranks fourth all-time with 205 career hits. He also has moved into a tie on the career doubles list with 40 and needs only two more to take sole possession of fourth. In RBIs, Crew now ranks 10th with 97 and needs just six to move to ninth. In home runs, his total of 17 ranks him tied for eighth all-time, while his total of seven triples puts him fourth on that stat chart.
Double The Pleasure
Sophomore Michael McKennon is already making a push for the UTSA career doubles record in just his second season. McKennon has 30 career two-baggers, including a team-best 18 last year. The career record is 54 held by Jeff Juarez (1996-99), but McKennon would only need seven more to move as high as fifth. The Roadrunners’ leftfielder has also been nifty with the leather, making just three errors in two seasons. This year, McKennon has made just one miscue in 105 chances.
Thank Goodness It’s Friday
Friday’s have been the most successful day of the week for the Roadrunners in 2005. UTSA is 8-3 on Friday’s and has won six consecutive conference series openers on Fridays. Also, in the last five Friday games, the Roadrunners have surrendered just eight runs.
Good Thieves
UTSA has been successful on the base paths this season with 47 stolen bases in 49 games. The Roadrunners are 46-of-60 (.431 pct.) overall. Senior Sean Danielson leads the way with 13, while junior J.R. Voyles has eight and Ryan Crew has eight as well. Ryan Saltzgaber has five. In fact, Voyles has been thrown out only once in his career during his freshman year. In 2002, he was 3-for-4. In 2004, he went 8-for-8, and he is 8-for-8 this season, making him 19-for-20 in his three-year Roadrunner career.
Crushing Chris
Senior Chris Lewis is again leading the team in home runs this year after smashing a league-high 16 in 2005. A former walk-on from Temple Junior College, Lewis has 24 round-trippers in his two years to rank fifth all-time at UTSA. He also has two grand slams in 2005, and 26 extra-base hits.
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