| May 2, 2006
Contact: Carlos Valdez III. UTSA baseball set to host future SLC member Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Tuesday Game Notes | Live Stats
SAN ANTONIO - The Roadrunners jump out of conference play to host future Southland Conference member Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a doubleheader this Tuesday, May 2 ,at Roadrunner Field, first pitch slated for 12 p.m.
UTSA Roadrunners (29-14)
vs.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (20-27) Tuesday, May 2 - 12 p.m.
Roadrunner Field - San Antonio, Texas All-Time Series
The Islanders lead the all-time series 11-10 against the Roadrunners. UTSA and TAMU-CC met earlier in the season in Corpus Christi, Texas, with the Islanders winning two of three.
Last Outing
Junior Blake Brannon tossed a gem to complete the sweep over Stephen F. Austin with a 4-3 win in Southland Conference action Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Field. Sophomore Marshal Davis led UTSA’s offense with two hits on the day, while junior Ryan Saltzgaber drove in two of UTSA’s four runs. Seven different Roadrunners collected one hit apiece. Brannon picked up his fourth win of the season and improved to 4-6 on the year. He tossed eight-plus innings, allowed three runs off six hits, struck out six Lumberjacks and walked five. Senior Noah Tritz collected his eighth save of the season. He struck out the one batter he faced in the ninth.
Scouting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi enters tomorrow’s twinbill with a 20-27 overall record. The Islanders have won six of their last nine games, but dropped three contests in a row to New York Tech over the weekend. Senior Ruben Munoz leads the team with a .325 batting average. Senior top slugger Miguel Mercado ranks first with nine home runs and 44 RBI.
Offensive Explosion
In Friday’s game against Stephen F. Austin, the Roadrunners punished SFA’s pitching staff with 14 runs off a season-high 18 hits. Junior Ryan Saltzgaber paced the Runners offense with four hits, including a solo blast and drove in three Runners. Also going yard was freshman Michael Rockett.
Nothing New For The Birds
The Roadrunners played in their seventh extra inning ball game this season. Three of the seven games have gone into the 12th inning, with UTSA winning them all.
Finally A Win On Sunday
The 4-3 win over the Lumberjacks on April 30th, gave the Runners their first Sunday win this season. Before Sunday’s win, UTSA was 0-5.
RPI Ranking
At one point in time, the UTSA baseball team was ranked 43 in the RPI’s polls, according to Boydsworld.com web site. Heading into this weekend series against SFA, the Runners currently stand 56, but after sweeping the Lumberjacks, UTSA dropped to 63 in the RPI polls.
Runners Among Nation’s Best
UTSA has three players nationally ranked this season. Senior Noah Tritz is 13th in the nation with eight wins and is 42nd with eight saves. Sophomore Marshal Davis is 40th in the country in walks per game with a 0.77 average. Junior Michael McKennon ranks 14th in hit-by-pitch category at 0.41. UTSA’s .667 winning percentage is 36th best in the nation.
Reaching 30 Something
In the 14-year history, the UTSA baseball program has only had three 30-win seasons. This year’s ball club is on pace of becoming the fourth team to reach 30. The last time the Roadrunners reached 30 wins was during coach Corbett’s first year at UTSA (2001).
Aggie Pitching Stops UTSA’s Offense
In Tuesday’s game against the Aggies, the Roadrunners were outscored 9-3 and out hit 15-9. UTSA left 13 runners on base, including six in scoring position. Texas A&M’s pitching staff collected 10 strike outs on the night.
Ruffin’s Haltered Mavs Offense
Josh Ruffin tossed his SLC leading third shutout on April 22 against UTA. Ruffin scattered six hits in nine innings, struck out five Mavericks and allowed two walks. He also went the distance for the fourth time this season, which also leads the conference. Ruffin is 6-1 on the year and 4-0 in SLC play. All of his shutouts have come on the road.
Josh Collects Pitcher of the Week Honors
In a week’s span, the Humble, Texas native, got the start against then No. 5 Texas Longhorns, were he went three innings, fanned three batters and allowed one run off two hits. He helped UTSA win the series versus UTA with a stellar outing on April 22. His performance gave Ruffin his second Aeropostale/SLC Pitcher of the Week honor.
Take That Texas!!!
UTSA ended a 13-game losing streak against the Texas Longhorns with a 14-10 win on April 18 at Wolff Stadium. The Roadrunners manage to overcome three deficits, none bigger then the four-run lead (10-6) UT had after six innings. The Runners scored eight runs in the last two innings to complete the rally and score the biggest win in UTSA baseball history.
Streak Come To An End
Voyles 23-game hitting streak came to an end on April 22. The Tomball, Texas native had an 0-for-4 night. His streak spanned over two a and half months. During his hitting streak, he upped his batting average from .216 to .303.
Slugfest II
UTSA couldn’t get enough of its recent slugfest against Nicholls State, that they decided to add a sequel. UTSA and UT combined for 24 runs and 26 hits. The Roadrunners have scored over 10 runs and collected doubles digits in hits, in the last three games. The Runners are batting .409 with 47 hits and scored 40 runs during those three contests.
Slugfest I
UTSA and Nicholls State slugged it out this weekend. Both team combined for 76 hits and 57 runs, including a wild one on Friday, April 14, were both squads compelled 30 runs off 31 hits and 20 walks. For the weekend, UTSA batted .394 as a team.
Walk The Line
Second baseman J.R. Voyles set a single-game school record with five walks in his first five plate appearances. He was one walk shy of tying a NCAA and SLC record for most free passes in a game (6).
Rockett Power
Freshman Michael Rockett is having a terrific rookie season for UTSA. In 36 games played, Rockett is batting .341, which is sixth best in the league and leads the team. He also has 45 hits in 132 at-bats, 21 RBI and is slugging .477.
Extra Extra
The Roadrunners have played in six extra-inning games this season. They have posted a 4-2 mark in those contests. Three of the six games have gone into the 12th inning, UTSA going 3-0, including two of them being won via walk-off homers. The last time, UTSA played in at least five or more extra inning games was during the 2002 season.
UTSA Brings Down Elite Programs
UTSA hosted the Baseball Express Collegiate Classic on March 10-13 and went 4-0. The Roadrunners collected wins over two Big Ten schools, Iowa and Illinois, took down a Big 12 program in then-No. 15 Texas A&M and also handled Louisiana-Lafayette to complete the sweep.
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