· Game notes (.pdf)
SAN ANTONIO — UTSA (10-13, 4-2) returns to Southland Conference play with a three-game series against Southeastern Louisiana (14-9, 3-2) this weekend in Hammond, La. Game one of a Saturday doubleheader is set for 3 p.m., followed by a single game at noon Sunday.
UTSA Roadrunners (10-13, 4-2) at Southeastern Louisiana Lions (14-9, 3-2)
Saturday, March 10 • 3/5 p.m.
Sunday, March 11 • Noon
North Oak Park (500) • Hammond, La.
Live Stats: lionsports.net
Series Record: UTSA leads, 20-9
Last Meeting: UTSA 17, Southeastern Louisiana 4 (March 5, 2006)
Series History: UTSA leads the all-time series against Southeastern Louisiana, 20-9, and has won 10 straight games. The last win for the Lions was a 6-5 decision on March 1, 2003, in San Antonio. UTSA has won three straight and five of the last six meetings in Hammond.
Base Hits
• UTSA has won six of its last nine games
• The Roadrunners have led the NCAA in home runs per game in each of the past four seasons, and have 15 in 23 games (0.65 per game) this season
• Senior Jessica Rogers broke the Southland Conference career home runs record with her 56th in the 4-1 loss to No. 8 Texas on Thursday night
• Rogers also eclipsed the former SLC career total bases record of 428 with four on Thursday, giving her 430 … she already set the SLC career RBIs record in February
• Senior Aimee Murray can move into a fourth-place tie with Amanda Horton on UTSA’s career home runs chart with her next long ball as she currently has 39
Scouting The Lions: Southeastern Louisiana is off to a 14-9 start this season under 13th-year head coach Pete Langlois. The Lions are 3-2 in SLC play after taking two-of-three from Texas State last weekend in San Marcos. Sophomore third baseman Heather Sherrill leads a potent offense with a .453 batting average and eight doubles, while junior second baseman Arica Rodriguez is hitting .333 with six home runs and 24 runs batted in. Junior right-hander Rachel Ray is the top pitcher with a 7-2 record, 2.58 earned run average and 52 strikeouts.
Last Outing: Senior Jessica Rogers became the SLC’s all-time home run leader with her fifth long ball of the season, but Meagan Denny struck out 15 Roadrunners to help lead No. 8 Texas to a 4-1 victory over UTSA on Thursday in front of 556 fans in the first-ever night game at Roadrunner Field. Rogers answered a solo home run by Jacqueline Williams with a monster blast over the scoreboard in left field to knot the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth. It was her 56th career homer, breaking a tie with former Roadrunner Christy Brownlee at the top of the league’s home run list. Tallie Thrasher quickly broke the tie with a line drive shot to left in the top of the fifth, putting the Longhorns on top for good. Rogers’ home run was one of only two hits off Denny, who walked just two batters to run her record to 12-2.
Tough Slate: UTSA has played a tough schedule in 2007, with three games against teams ranked in the top 10 of this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Polls. The Roadrunners faced No. 3/4 Alabama in the CenturyTel Classic, No. 4 Texas A&M at the Aggie Classic and No. 8 Texas on March 8. UTSA will face three more ranked teams (No. 9/10 LSU, No. 8 Texas and No. 14/16 Baylor) that made the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
Rogers Rewriting SLC Record Book: Senior Jessica Rogers broke the SLC career home runs record with her 56th in the 4-1 loss to No. 8 Texas on March 8, moving out of a tie atop the league list with former Roadrunner Christy Brownlee. The 2005 SLC Player of the Year also eclipsed the SLC career total bases mark of 428 set by Lori Tande (Louisiana-Monroe) from 1999-2002 with four in the Texas game and now has 430 for her career. Rogers, who set the conference single-season home run and RBI records with 23 and 64 in 2005, took down the league’s career RBI record of 147 with five in the Rutgers win on Feb. 16 and now has 159.
Making History: Junior right-hander Amanda Nikolenko tossed the eighth no-hitter in school history in a 10-0 victory over Rutgers on Feb. 16 at the Aggie Classic. The Ashland, Mo., native struck out five and allowed just two walks and a hit batter in becoming the fifth different Roadrunner to hold a team hitless in 16 seasons of softball.
Going, Going, Gone: UTSA has made a name nationally with the success it has enjoyed hitting the long ball. Dating back to 2003, the Roadrunners have slugged 404 home runs in 243 games, an average of 1.66 per game. Last season, UTSA shattered its own NCAA record, hitting 105 round-trippers in 51 contests for a 2.06 average, eclipsing the 1.87 mark set in 2004 (101/54). The Roadrunners own three of the top six home run seasons in NCAA history — 105 (2006), 103 (2005), 101 (2004) — and set a conference record with 14 home runs in four games at the 2006 SLC Tournament. This season, UTSA has just 15 long balls in the first 23 games (0.65), but has heated up over the past week with 11 homers in seven games.
SLC Supremacy: UTSA is the winningest program in Southland Conference history, owning a 236-147 (.616) all-time record in conference games. Dating back to 2004, the Roadrunners are 67-18 (.788) in league play, including a 22-5 mark last season. UTSA has won three consecutive SLC regular season crowns and is 10-2 in SLC Tournament games over the last three years, winning two-of-three titles (2004, 2006).
A New Era: Lori Cook is in her second year as head coach after guiding the Roadrunners to one of the most successful seasons in school history in 2006. UTSA was 37-14 overall, won its third consecutive SLC regular season title with a 22-5 mark, won the SLC Tournament for the second time in three years and made its second NCAA Tournament appearance. Cook’s career record is 47-27 (.635).
Up Next: UTSA faces No. 9 LSU at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 13, in Baton Rouge, La.
