| May 23, 2006 UTSA opens SLC Tournament against Lamar Tournament Notes | Live Audio | GameTracker & Video
SLC Baseball Tournament home
SAN ANTONIO - UTSA heads into the 2006 SLC Baseball Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will face host Lamar - the No. 4 seed - at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, at Vincent-Beck Stadium. Last season, the No. 4 seed Roadrunners won the SLC Tournament to clinch their second NCAA Tournament berth.
All-Time Tournament Record
Since joining the SLC in 1992, UTSA is making its eighth tournament appearance, including its third straight trip. The Roadrunners are 13-10 overall in postseason action with two league titles in 1994 and 2005. UTSA has a four-game winning streak in the tournament.
Last Outing
UTSA dropped a 12-3 decision in its regular season finale to Dallas Baptist Monday afternoon at Roadrunner Field. The Patriots scored six runs in the ninth off seven walk and a UTSA error to put the game out of reach for the Roadrunners. Senior Lee Todesco and junior Michael McKennon each collected their 50th run batted in of the season. Senior J.R. Voyles snapped a 0-for-16 slump going 2-for-5 on the day with one run scored. UTSA has dropped its last four of five games to end the season.
Scouting Lamar
Lamar enters the SLC baseball tournament as the No. 4 seed. They have lost eight of their last 10 conference games. Over the weekend the Cardinals dropped the series to McNeese State Cowboys in Beaumont and managed to avoid being swept with a 16-3 win in Saturday’s game. Lamar is top hitting team in the conference with a .314 batting average. Collin Delome ranks first with 83 hits and a .379 batting average. Will Henderson tops the team with a team-best 13 home runs and 59 runs batted in. William Delage leads the Cardinals pitching staff with nine wins, 102 strike outs and 2.77 earned run average. His has three complete games pitched and tossed 107.1 innings.
Last Meeting
UTSA and Lamar met March 17-19 in Beaumont. The Cardinals took the season series two game to one over the Roadrunners, including a 6-4 win the series finale in extra innings. LU leads the all-time series 16-17 against UTSA and have won four of the last six meetings.
Scouting The Field
Joining UTSA and Lamar in this year’s tourney is No. 1 seed McNeese State, No. 2 seed Texas State, No. 5 seed Texas-Arlington and No. 6 seed Northwestern State. The Roadrunners took the season series from three teams that are in the this year’s post season. UTSA took the series over the Cowboys, the Mavericks and Demons. The Runners recorded a 8-7 mark against these five teams.
Runners Land Six On The All-SLC Teams
UTSA places six on the 2006 Southland Conference teams. They were led by senior Lee Todesco who was named first team at first base and junior Josh Ruffin who earned first team honors at pitcher. Meanwhile, four Runners were selected to the second team all-SLC. Seniors J.R. Voyles and Noah Tritz received second team honors at second base and pitcher, respectively, while junior Michael McKennon and freshman Michael Rockett earned second team accolades at outfield.
McKennon’s Week
Michael McKennon put some impressive numbers in four games played last week. The Pearland, Texas native, went 10-for-19 with a .526 batting average, eight runs scored, four RBI, two double, one triple and one home run. In the Texas State series, McKennon punished Bobcat pitching. He went 8-for-14 with scored runs, three RBI and a home. He also batted .571 against the Bobcats.
Getting It Done In The Classroom
Michael McKennon recently garnered ESPN The Magazine Second-Team All-Academic District VI honors. The Pearland, Texas native, is majoring in marketing with a 3.5 GPA.
Best SLC Finish Ever
UTSA finished in a tie for second place in the SLC standings with rival Texas State, with both teams finishing with identical records of 20-10. This marks the first in baseball history that UTSA finished among the top two teams in the conference standings.
Return Of The Mac
After a sub-par 2005 season, Todesco returned to his old form this season. The Buda, Texas native, posted career best in batting average (.376), hits (74), home runs (6) and runs batted in (50). He finished off the regular season with a .538 slugging percentage and scored a career-high 32 times.
Another Stellar Performance
Blake Brannon has pitched his way back into the rotation Since returning to the rotation, he is 4-0 with a 1.34 ERA and an .176 opponent batting average. He has allowed five runs in 33-plus innings and has collected back-to-back complete-game shutouts. Brannon has tossed in 17 consecutive scoreless innings.
Going, Going, Gone
Michael McKennon and Michael Rockett have combined for 16 of the 35 home runs hits this season. McKennon leads the team with 11, while Rockett has belted six home runs. McKennon has ended two games this season with walk-off homers. The first one came against Northwestern State (3/24), repeated once more against McNeese State (4/1). Rockett’s smacked two home runs against the Cowboys on April 1.
Mini-Slump
The Roadrunners head into the post season in a mini slump. In their last five games, they have dropped four of them, including the last two games.
New Mark Set For UTSA
The Roadrunners set a new school record with most wins in conference play. Saturday’s win over the Bearkats gave the Runners their 20th SLC victory, which surpassed the previous mark of 17 wins set twice in 1996 and 1999 season.
Shutdown Mode
Josh Ruffin and Blake Brannon threw complete games shutouts back-to-back against SHSU on Friday and Saturday. It was the third time the Roadrunners had two consecutive shutouts in a season. The last time this was accomplish was during the 1994 season when UTSA blanked Prairie View A&M on Feb. 26 and Texas Southern on Feb. 27, 1994.
Power Dominance
The Runners offense pounded SHSU pitching staff over the weekend. The Roadrunners scored 28 runs on 36 hits, batted .375 and slugged .500. Meanwhile, UTSA’s pitching staff clamped down on the Bearkats allowing one run in 23 innings, including 16 scoreless frames and combining for a 0.36 ERA. Ruffin, Brannon and Barton held Sam Houston to a .156 batting average.
No Place Like Home
UTSA is an impressive 23-6 at home, including an 8-2 mark at Wolff Stadium this season. The 23 wins at home is the most ever victories.
How They Rank In The SLC
Lee Todesco stands third in the league with a .376 batting average, while Michael Rockett is fifth with a .368 average. Michael McKennon’s .373 average is fourth, but is first with 85 hits. Todesco is tied for sixth with 50 runs batted in. Josh Ruffin leads the SLC with 109.2 innings pitched, five complete games and four shutouts. His eight wins rank third in the league. Noah Tritz tops the conference with eight saves and is tied for third with eight wins.
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