| March 16, 2006
Contact: Carlos Valdez III. (210) 458-4930 UTSA opens Southland Conference play at Lamar Series Notes | Live Audio (Friday only) | GameTracker
SAN ANTONIO - UTSA opens Southland Conference play this weekend March 17-19 with a three-game series against Lamar at Vincent-Beck Stadium in Beaumont, Texas.
All-Time Series
The Roadrunners and Cardinals are tied 15-15 in the all-time series. Last season, UTSA and LU met five times with the Runners posting a 3-2 mark, including two victories in the 2005 SLC tournament.
Last Outing
Senior J.R. Voyles’, who was named to the Baseball Express Collegiate Classic all-tournament team, three-run bomb over the left field fence propelled UTSA to a 5-2 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on March 13 at Wolff Stadium. The win over ULL extended UTSA’s winning streak to a season long eight games. Senior pitcher Caleb Barton pitched seven strong innings and recorded a season-high seven strike outs. Junior Josh Blakley came in the relief and tossed four plus innings en route for his second win of the season. Senior Lee Todesco blasted a solo home run against ULL. Freshman Michael Rockett and junior pitcher Blake Brannon also earned all-tournament honors.
Scouting Lamar
Lamar was picked to finish behind SLC preseason favorite Northwestern State in the coaches and SID’s polls. This season, LU is 13-9 overall and are 9-1 at home. The Cardinals are coming off a split against Louisiana Tech on March 14 at Vincent-Beck Stadium. LU dropped the first game 14-5, but regrouped with a 9-4 win in the second game.
On A Roll
The Roadrunners started the season slow with a 4-7 mark, but since then they have picked up the intensity with a season long eight game winning streak.
So Far A Perfect Month
The Runners ended the month of February with a two-game losing streak, but this month they have reeled off eight consecutive wins and are 8-0.
UTSA Brings Down Elite Programs
UTSA hosted the Baseball Express Collegiate Classic this past weekend and went 4-0. The Roadrunners collected wins over two Big Ten schools, Iowa and Illinois, took down a Big 12 program in No. 15 Texas A&M and handled Louisiana-Lafayette to complete the weekend with an unblemished record.
Taking Care of Business
UTSA’s pitching staff has dropped its earned run average from 5.26 to 2.01 ERA in the last eight games and has held opposing offenses to a .233 batting average. Also, the pitching staff has put together a 3:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Vasquez, Ruffin and Brannon have collected five out of the eight wins.
Offensive Production
As a team, UTSA was batting .246 and recorded four home runs for the month of February. In March, the Roadrunners have been pounding opposing pitching with a .270 batting average and have gone deep eight times.
Voyles’ Streaking
Voyles currently has a season best six game hitting which started against Dallas Baptist on March 4.
Runners Picked Fifth
Although they won the 2005 SLC Tournament, the Roadrunners were showed little love from the conference in the preseason polls. UTSA was picked to finish fifth in both the head coaches and sports information directors polls.
Saltzgaber Earns First-Team
Third baseman Ryan Saltzgaber was the lone Runner selected to the 2006 SLC Preseason First Team.
Voyles And Vasquez Garner Second-Team All SLC
Second baseman Voyles and right-handed pitcher Vasquez earned preseason second-team all-conference mention this season.
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