| June 1, 2005
Contact: Matt Schabert (210) 458-4930 Roadrunners ready to battle Baylor at NCAA Waco Regional Complete Regional Notes
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Waco Regional web site | NCAA Baseball | Complete Bracket SAN ANTONIO - The University of Texas at San Antonio baseball team travels to Waco this weekend to participate in the NCAA Championship and the Waco Regional. The Roadrunners, the number four seed at the Regional, take on top seed Baylor on Friday, June 3 at 7 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark. Also in the Regional is second-seed TCU and third seed Stanford. The Roadrunners are making their second ever appearance in a Regional after going 4-0 to win the Southland Conference Tournament last weekend. #4 UTSA Roadrunners
at NCAA Waco Regional
Baylor Ballpark
Waco, Texas
June 3-6
Friday, June 3 - 7:00 p.m. • vs. #1 Baylor
All other games TBA Tournament Seeding
#1 Baylor Bears (39-21)
#2 TCU Horned Frogs (40-18)
#3 Stanford Cardinal (32-23)
#4 UTSA Roadrunners (27-32)
Ticket Information
All-session tournament tickets will be on sale at the Baylor Athletic Ticket Office at Floyd Casey Stadium through the close of business Wednesday, June 1. All-session tickets are priced at $63 for box seats and $56 for reserved seats.
Beginning at 8 a.m. on Thursday, June 2, both single session and all-session tickets will be available for purchase. Single session tickets are priced at $12 for box seats, $10 for reserved seats and $6 for general admission.
For more information on UTSA tickets, please call the UTSA ticket office at (210) 458-8872.
First Pitch
• The Roadrunners open regional play on Friday, June 3 against top seed Baylor at 7.
• The Roadrunners are making just their second-ever appearance in an NCAA Regional, with the first coming 11 years ago in 1994.
• After beginning the year 1-13, UTSA has gone 26-19.
• The Roadrunners have faced Baylor twice this year, losing 4-2 and 6-5, and UTSA is 3-6 all-time against second seed TCU. UTSA has never faced third seed Stanford.
• The Roadrunners have won four of their last five games, including going 4-0 in the Southland Conference Tournament.
Roadrunner Tidbits
UTSA enters the Regional winners of four of its last five games...The Roadrunners are 15-16 away from San Antonio in 2005, including 6-3 at neutral sites...The Roadrunners won their first Southland Conference Tournament title since 1994...UTSA hit .311 in the conference tournament with 11 doubles, two triples and four home runs...The Roadrunners rank in the top 15 nationally in triples per game with a school record 29...UTSA has five players this year in the top 15 in hits in a season at UTSA, with all five having 60 or more hits...Junior SS Ryan Crew was named SLC Tournament MVP after hitting .500 (9-for-18) in the four games...LHP Aaron Rodriguez, 1B Lee Todesco, DH Stephen Holdren, 2B J.R. Voyles, and CF Sean Danielson also earned all-tournament honors...Crew carries a nine-game hitting streak into the regional and is hitting .472 (17-for-36) during that span...Danielson is riding a six-game hitting streak into the Waco Regional and is hitting .310 (9-for-29) in that span...Holdren hit .500 (7-for-14) as well in the conference tournament...In just two seasons, senior C Chris Lewis is already fifth on the UTSA career home run chart with 25 and 10th on the career RBI chart with 103...Rodriguez is tied for fourth on the UTSA single season win chart with eight and is ranked fourth on the UTSA career strikeout chart with 189...The Roadrunners are 11-3 in Friday games this year...UTSA Assistant Jim Blair was a standout player at Baylor from 1997-1999 and still holds the Big 12 record with a 31-game hitting streak.
A Glance At The Regional Teams
• #1 Baylor - The Bears are 39-21 entering the NCAA Championship and are ranked as high as sixth by Collegiate Baseball. The Bears lost the Big 12 championship game to Nebraska. Josh Ford paces the Bears at the plate with a .324 average and six long balls. Zach Dillon hits .319, while Kyle Reynolds leads the Bears with eight home runs. Abe Woody leads the pitching staff with an 8-3 record and a 2.85 ERA. As a team the Bears have posted a 3.33 ERA.
• #2 TCU - The Horned Frogs are 40-18 and went 20-10 in Conference USA this year. TCU is one of the top hitting teams in the nation at .311. Shelby Ford leads the way with a .377 average, while Chad Huffman has smashed 12 homers to lead TCU. All-American Lance Broadway is 14-1 for the pitching staff.
• #3 Stanford - The Cardinal went 32-23 this year, including going 12-12 in the Pac-10. Stanford is led by Jed Lowrie with a .324 average and 12 homers. Jeff Gilmore is 10-2 with a 3.56 ERA to pace the pitching staff.
Series Records Against The Regional Field
The Roadrunners are 2-22 all-time against in-state rival Baylor, including 4-2 and 6-5 losses this year. The Roadrunners had the Bears on the ropes on May 3, but lost 6-5 in the ninth inning on a fielding error. UTSA is 3-6 all-time against TCU with UTSA dropping three straight to begin the 2003 season at TCU. UTSA has never faced Stanford.
• Team Notes •
A Pair of Broken Records
The 2005 Roadrunners have already set two school hitting records, including triples in a season and most hits in a game. UTSA has legged out 29 triples this year and ranks in the top 15 nationally in that category. The Roadrunners also smashed 26 hits in a 23-7 pounding at Texas-Pan American on April 20, breaking the previous record of 25 set against McNeese State in 2002.
Tough Slate
UTSA faced five nationally ranked teams this year and went 1-7 in those games. The Roadrunners fell 10-0 to Texas on Feb. 15 when the Longhorns were ranked no. 1. UTSA also dropped a 22-7 decision to no. 28 Texas Tech on Feb. 27. The Roadrunners fell 4-1 to then-no. 12 Texas A&M on Feb. 22 and dropped a 4-2 decision to no. 14 Baylor on March 1. UTSA also fell 6-5 to no. 10 Baylor on March 3. The Roadrunners went 1-2 against NCBWA no. 35 Northwestern State on April 29-May 1. UTSA also faced Notre Dame and Oral Robert earlier this year, both of whom were nationally ranked before UTSA faced them.
Deja Vu
The Roadrunners won the conference tournament title for the first time since 1994 last week at Northwestern State’s Brown-Stroud Field. Ironically, UTSA won its only other tournament tile in 1994 at Northwestern State’s Brown-Stroud Field.
Homegrown Talent
Of the active 25 players on the roster for the regional, 24 hail from right here in Texas. Only senior DH Stephen Holdren (Overland Park, Kan.) is not from Texas.
Bird Bath Success
UTSA has enjoyed success at its home field, Roadrunner Field (dubbed the “Bird Bath” by the players), since 2001. The Roadrunners are 40-21 (.655) at home since 2001 and put together a 14-game winning streak during the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
Conference Honors
Three Roadrunners garnered weekly awards from the Southland Conference office this year - senior DH Stephen Holdren, sophomore RHP Josh Ruffin and sophomore RHP Steven Vasquez. Holdren hit .625 in the series with Texas State and was named Hitter of the Week on Mar. 29. Ruffin got the win over Southeastern Louisiana on April 23 and was named the league’s co-Pitcher of the Week on April 26, while Vasquez earned the league’s final Pitcher of the Wee Award on May 23.
All-Conference Honors
UTSA had eight players named to the all-Southland Conference teams this year. Senior Aaron Rodriguez topped the list by being named second-team. Ryan Crew, Stephen Holdren, Ryan Saltzgaber, and Sean Danielson earned third-team accolades. Michael McKennon, Chris Lewis and J.R. Voyles were named honorable mention.
Thank Goodness Its Friday
UTSA definitely had its most success on Fridays this year, winning seven out of nine series openers in the Southland Conference. UTSA compiled an 11-3 record on Friday during the season. In contrast, the Roadrunners went just 7-19 on Saturdays and Sundays combined.
Corbett Becomes All-Time Winningest Coach
With a 6-4 win over Oral Roberts on March 10, UTSA head coach Sherman Corbett became the all-time winningest baseball coach in UTSA history with 114 victories. Corbett passed up his predecessor, Mickey Lashley. His career win total now stands at 138.
• Player Notes •
Our Version of A-Rod
Senior Aaron Rodriguez made his final season as a UTSA Roadrunner his best. The senior southpaw from Rosenburg, Texas, led UTSA with an 8-5 record and won his first five conference starts. Rodriguez, who was named second-team all-conference, led the team in starts with 16 and strikeouts with 67. He pitched four complete games, including a complete-game, four-hitter to beat Lamar in the tournament title game last Saturday. He also recorded a complete-game one-run decision at regular season champ Northwestern State on April 29 in which he returned after an 1:30 rain delay to hold the Demons hitless for the final four innings. It was one of only four losses NSU suffered on its home field in 2005. Rodriguez will leave UTSA as one of the most decorated pitchers in school history, currently ranking fourth on the UTSA career strikeout chart with 189. He is also ranked fifth in career pitching wins (15) and fourth in season wins (8).
Motley Crew
Junior Ryan Crew is again putting together a solid resume for All-America accolades. The Southland Conference Tournament MVP, Crew leads UTSA and ranks second in the conference in hitting at .368 and also leads the team in hits, runs, 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 225 career hits. He also has moved into fourth place on the career doubles chart with 43. In RBIs, Crew now ranks ninth with 105. In home runs, his total of 19 ranks him tied for seventh all-time, while his total of eight triples puts him fourth on that stat chart. Crew has put together three of the top 10 hitting season in school history with 68 hits as a freshman in 2003, 76 as a sophomore in 2004 and 81 this season and is only 25 hits short of the UTSA career record of 249.
Green Light
Senior Sean Danielson has utilized his speed well in 2005. The transfer from Kansas State leads the team and ranks second in the conference in stolen bases with 20. In the series with Lamar May 13-15, Danielson stole six bases, including four on May 15. On the year, he is 20-for-30 and is ranked sixth on the single season chart at UTSA. The season record is 28 by Brette Parrish in 2000, but Danielson needs just four more to move onto the list at number five, passing Mickey Perez’s 23 in 1994. At the plate, the third-team all-conference centerfielder also has been a great addition, ranking third on the team with a .309 average. Danielson is also one of two players to have a team-high 12 game hitting streak in 2005. His 72 safeties this year ranks seventh on the UTSA single season chart.
Speaking of Stealing
It hasn’t been just the Sean Danielson show on the base paths this year. Several other Roadrunners have been successful stealing bases, including J.R. Voyles (9-for-9) and Ryan Crew (10-for-10). As a team, UTSA is 64-for-80, and with the exception Danielson’s 20-for-30, the rest of the team is 44-for-50.
A Breakout Year
Junior J.R. Voyles has enjoyed his most productive season yet in 2005, ranking second on the team with a .316 average. Voyles came up huge at the conference tournament, hitting .353 with a pair of two-run homers. Voyles is also 9-for-9 in stolen bases this year and is 20-for-21 in stolen bases in his three-year career. A honorable mention all-conference pick, he ranks second on the team with six home runs in 2005.
The Buzz About Vasquez
Sophomore Steven Vasquez, a right-handed pitcher from Beeville, Texas, who was critically injured in an auto accident in the Fall, has made an incredible return and now appears to be in the same form he had in 2004 when he went 5-5 and struck out 68 batters. Vasquez had perhaps the best outing of his career on May 20 in a 4-0 win at McNeese. He struck out nine and picked up his first career complete game and was named SLC Pitcher of the Week. Vasquez made his return to the mound on April 5th against Angelo State and has since gone 4-1 with a 4.12 ERA to rank second on the team. In the first game against Lamar in the SLC Tournament, Vasquez tossed eight innings and struck out four to pick up the win. Since his return, he leads the squad in ERA at 3.80.
He’s Got The Power
Senior catcher/outfielder Chris Lewis has proven to be one of the top power hitters in school history after walking on the team last year. After a two-year career at Temple Junior College, the product of baseball-rich Round Rock, Texas, just needed a place to keep his career going. He joined the Roadrunners and proceeded to lead the Southland Conference with 16 home runs. In less than two full years, Lewis has drilled 25 career homers at UTSA, which is the highest ever for a two-year player. He ranks fifth in career dingers at UTSA and needs just three more to move as high as third. Lewis also leads the team with 17 doubles in 2005 and has 27 two-baggers in his career. Out of 106 career hits, more than half (54) have been for extra bases. Lewis’ two-year RBI total of 93 also is the new standard for a two-year player.
Double Trouble
Sophomore Michael McKennon appears to be well on his way to making a run at the UTSA career record for doubles. With 13 this year and a team-high 18 as a true freshman in 2004, McKennon’s total of 31 already ranks 11th on the career doubles chart at UTSA. The record is 54 by Jeff Juarez. After batting just .231 last year, McKennon has raised that to .275 in 2005. He ranks second on the team with 10 multi-RBI games and posted a five-RBI day against Texas-Pan American on April 20.
Streaks and Peaks
Several players have put together impressive hitting streaks in 2005. Junior Ryan Crew and senior Sean Danielson lead the team with 12-gamers, while Ryan Saltzgaber had an 11-game streak earlier this year. Currently, junior Ryan Crew has a nine-game streak to lead UTSA.
A Nice Addition
Senior Stephen Holdren has done nothing but impress in his first and only year at UTSA after transferring from Texas A&M. Drafted by the San Francisco Giants out of junior college in 2002, Holdren did not see any action at Texas A&M last year after dealing with season-long injuries. This season, he ranks fourth on the team with a .289 average and hit .500 in the SLC tournament to earn all-tournament honors. Holdren has smacked 12 doubles, four triples and two homers in 2005 and also has five stolen bases. He was named third-team all-conference.
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