· Diamond notes (.pdf)
Games 6-8 • Feb. 22-24 • Southwest Diamond Classic
Houston (4-5) • Gonzaga (2-7) • Missouri State (0-0)
11 a.m./11 a.m./3 p.m. • Dr Pepper Ballpark • Frisco, Texas
UTSA Wraps Up Road Trip In Metroplex: UTSA (0-5) heads to Frisco in search of its first victory of the 2007 campaign when it plays three games at the Southwest Diamond Classic, hosted by Dallas Baptist University. The Roadrunners will play Houston (4-5) at 11 a.m. on Thursday, followed by Gonzaga (2-7) at 11 a.m. on Friday and Missouri State (0-0) at 3 p.m. on Saturday. UTSA is coming off a 9-1 loss at Baylor on Tuesday night.
Scouting The Cougars: Houston defeated McNeese State, 12-4, on Tuesday and enters Thursday’s contest with a 4-5 record. The Cougars are coming off a 2006 season that saw them finish 39-22 overall and 18-6 in Conference USA. UH leads the all-time series that dates back to 1992, 11-4, and has won the last seven meetings. UTSA’s last victory against the Cougars was a 10-2 home triumph on March 2, 1994 (second game of doubleheader).
Scouting The Zags: Gonzaga comes into the tournament with a 2-7 mark this year. The Zags, in the midst of a season-opening 22-game road trip, were 29-24 overall and 9-12 in the West Coast Conference in 2006. Friday marks the first all-time meeting between the two schools.
Scouting The Bears: Missouri State, 33-22 overall and 15-8 in Missouri Valley Conference play a year ago, kicks off its 2007 season at this weekend’s tournament. UTSA won the only previous meeting between the two programs, a 7-2 decision on March 11, 2005.
Preseason Polls: UTSA was picked to finish second in the West Division by the sports information directors and third by the league’s coaches in the Preseason SLC Polls. The Roadrunners received five first-place votes in the SID rankings and three in the coaches poll. They were six points (51) behind co-favorites Texas-Arlington and Texas State in the coaches poll and only three (58) behind UTA in the SID poll. Defending regular season champion McNeese State was the consensus choice to defend its regular season title in the East.
Trio Named To Preseason All-SLC Teams: Three Roadrunners were named to the preseason All-SLC teams, as senior pitcher Josh Ruffin and sophomore outfielder Michael Rockett were first-team selections and senior third baseman Ryan Saltzgaber was named to the second team. Ruffin earned first-team accolades a year ago, while Rockett was a second-team honoree and Saltzgaber was an honorable mention selection.
2007 Captains: Senior starting pitcher Josh Ruffin, junior catcher Zach Etheredge and junior shortstop Marshal Davis will serve as the Roadrunners’ team captains this season.
Ruffin On The Career Charts: Senior Josh Ruffin’s name can be found all over the Roadrunners’ career record book. Friday’s starter is UTSA’s all-time record holder with four career shutouts and he also ranks sixth in innings pitched (245.0), seventh in appearances (67), victories (14) and complete games (six) and ninth in ERA (4.76) and strikeouts (145).
What’s Back In 2007: UTSA is coming off a season that saw it finish with a 37-22 record (20-10 SLC). The team welcomes back 17 letterwinners — including five position starters and six pitchers — in addition to 19 newcomers this season. Topping the list of returnees are 2006 first-team All-SLC starting pitcher Josh Ruffin, a senior, and Freshman All-America center fielder Michael Rockett. Also back are sophomore second baseman James Keithley and senior third baseman Ryan Saltzgaber, both of whom earned honorable mention accolades a year ago.
Tough Schedule: The Roadrunners’ 55-game schedule is highlighted by six opponents that qualified for the 2006 NCAA Tournament — Baylor, The College of Charleston, Houston, Rice, Texas and Texas-Arlington.
Hit The Lights: For the first time in school history, UTSA will play night games at Roadrunner Field this season. Nine of the team’s 22 contests at the facility will be played under the lights. Last Friday’s home opener against Louisiana-Lafayette kicked off the night-time action at the “Bird Bath.”
Home Cooking: Roadrunner Field and Wolff Stadium were tough places for the opposition to play in 2006, as UTSA registered a school-record 24 home victories. That broke the previous UTSA record of 23 home wins set in 1994. The Roadrunners have posted a 243-170 (.589) all-time home record.
Home Away From Home: A fixture on the Roadrunners’ home schedule for more than a decade, UTSA will play five games at Nelson W. Wolff Stadium this season. St. Mary’s (Feb. 26) and Houston (Feb. 27) will visit the facility for single mid-week contests, while the Roadrunners will host the College of Charleston for a three-game series from March 9-11. Built in 1994, it also is home to the San Antonio Missions, the Double A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
Slick Fielding: Under the direction of seventh-year associate head coach Jason Marshall, who mentors the team’s infielders, UTSA has become one of the best fielding teams in the Southland Conference. Last season, the Roadrunners led the league with a school-record .969 fielding percentage on the strength of just 70 errors, the second-fewest in school history. UTSA has recorded four of the top five fielding seasons in school annals under Marshall’s guidance.
Chasing 400: UTSA entered 2007 two victories shy of its 400th in school history. In 15-plus years of action, the Roadrunners have compiled 398 all-time wins, an average of nearly 27 per season.
Player Updates
C • Zach Etheredge, Jr. - 2007 tri-captain … starter in all five games this season … hitting .500 (5-10) in last three games … two of last three outings have resulted in multi-hit performances … carries three-game hitting streak into this weekend’s tournament.
2B • James Keithley, So. - 2006 honorable mention All-SLC … started 55 contests at four different positions last season … hit .268 with 34 runs scored, eight doubles, two triples, a home run and 26 RBIs.
3B • Ryan Saltzgaber, Sr. - 2007 preseason second-team All-SLC … starter in all five contests this year … hitting .263 (5-19) with team-best two doubles and an RBI … also has a pair of multi-hit games and a stolen base … ’06 honorable mention All-SLC.
SS • Marshal Davis, Jr. - 2007 tri-captain … leadoff hitter has started all five games and tops the team with a .375 on-base percentage, four walks and two RBIs … hitting .263 (5-19) with a pair of multi-hit games.
CF • Michael Rockett, So. - 2007 preseason first-team All-SLC … leads squad with .333 batting average (7-21), three multi-hit games and two RBIs … also has handled last 110 chances without an error dating back to March 25, 2006 … ’06 Freshman All-American and second-team All-SLC.
1B/DH • Trent Lockwood, Jr. - Has started four contests this year (3 DH/1 1B) and hit safely in all four contests … has the squad’s lone home run and is tied for the team lead with two RBIs and a stolen base … second on the club with .313 (5-16) batting average.
SP • Josh Ruffin, Sr. - 2007 tri-captain … ’07 preseason first-team All-SLC … ’06 first-team All-SLC … tossed a SLC-best five complete games and UTSA-record four shutouts last season … led the team with an 8-3 record and 3.17 ERA in 116.1 innings of work.
SP • Blake Brannon, Sr. - Entered senior season riding UTSA-record 29 scoreless innings streak and extended that stretch to 30 before giving up run against UL-Lafayette last Friday … tossed three shutouts a year ago, the second-most in school annals … went 8-6 with 3.77 ERA in 100.1 innings of work.
SP • Bradley Chovanec, Jr. - Leads the team with 3.00 ERA … has allowed three runs in nine innings of work, while striking out nine and walking just one … tossed three scoreless innings in relief and struck out three in last Tuesday’s season opener at Rice … made his first career UTSA start last Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette (5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 K) … tossed a scoreless inning of relief at Baylor on Tuesday and struck out two.
Head Coach Sherman Corbett: With more than 20 years of playing and coaching experience, Sherman Corbett is in his seventh season at the helm of UTSA’s baseball program. The winningest coach in school history (175 victories), Corbett led the Roadrunners to 37 victories a year ago, the second-most in school history. In his first six seasons, he has coached a pair of 30-win squads and 24 All-SLC players, including seven first-teamers. Corbett also has mentored the 2001 SLC Pitcher of the Year (Jared Howton), 2002 SLC Player and Hitter of the Year (Mark Schramek), 2003 SLC Freshman of the Year (Ryan Crew) and two Freshman All-Americans — Crew (2003) and Michael Rockett (2006). Twelve of his Roadrunners have gone on to professional careers.
