· Diamond notes (.pdf)
Games 14-16 • March 9-11 • College of Charleston (12-1)
3 p.m./2 p.m./11 a.m. • Wolff Stadium • San Antonio, Texas
Roadrunners Return Home For Three-Game Series: UTSA (4-9), coming off a 1-2 weekend at the Al Ogletree Classic, kicks off a four-game home stand on Friday when it welcomes the College of Charleston to Wolff Stadium. The three-game series begins at 3 p.m. on Friday and continues with 2 p.m. and 11 a.m. contests on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Scouting The Cougars: The College of Charleston defeated No. 2 South Carolina, 5-4, in 10 innings on Tuesday and stands at 12-1 this season. The Cougars enter Friday’s contest riding an eight-game winning streak and they rank second in the country with 11.7 runs per contest. This weekend will be the first matchups between the two programs.
Home Away From Home: A fixture on the Roadrunners’ home schedule for more than a decade, UTSA is scheduled to play five games at Wolff Stadium this season. After victories against St. Mary’s and Houston last week, the Roadrunners now have won seven consecutive games at the facility. Built in 1994, it also is home to the San Antonio Missions, the Double A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
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 are 2-3 at home this year and now have posted a 245-173 (.586) all-time home record.
Close Games: Just 13 games into the 2007 season, the Roadrunners have shown the knack of playing close games. Ten of the club’s 13 contests have been decided by three runs or less. UTSA has a 3-3 record in one-run tilts, an 0-2 mark in two-run games and 1-1 record in contests decided by three runs.
Chasing 400: UTSA won its 400th game in school history when it defeated St. Mary’s, 8-5, on Monday night. In 15-plus years of action, the Roadrunners have compiled 402 all-time wins, an average of nearly 27 per season.
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.
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.
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 fifth in victories (15), sixth in innings pitched (259.1), seventh in appearances (69) and complete games (six), ninth in strikeouts (157) and 10th in earned run average (4.79).
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. The Feb. 16 home opener against Louisiana-Lafayette kicked off the night-time action at the “Bird Bath.”
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.
Player Updates
C • Zach Etheredge, Jr. - 2007 tri-captain … starter in all 13 games this year … hitting .295 with a .367 on-base percentage and four two-hit games … has a pair of doubles, driven in seven base runners and been hit by three pitches … named to Southwest Diamond Classic All-Tournament Team (4-10, 4 R, 4 RBIs).
1B/DH • Trent Lockwood, Jr. - Has started 12 games this year, nine at first base and three at DH … hit safely in his first eight contests … has the squad’s only three home runs and leads the club in RBIs (11), total bases (23) and slugging percentage (.489) … also ranks second with a .306 batting average and a pair of stolen bases … has three two-hit games and three multi-RBI performances … named to Southwest Diamond Classic All-Tournament Team (5-14, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, SB).
2B • James Keithley, So. - Has started 13 games at second base this year … will move to left field for this weekend’s series … hitting .355 (11-31) with two doubles and six RBIs since starting the season 2-for-21 (.095) … hitting .400 (10-25) with a pair of two-hit games and two three-hit performances in last six contests … 2006 honorable mention All-SLC.
3B • Ryan Saltzgaber, Sr. - 2007 preseason second-team All-SLC … starter in all 13 contests this year … leads squad with 16 hits, four doubles and four stolen bases and ranks second with .314 batting average … also has scored seven runs and driven in five … has hit safely in eight of last nine contests (.333/12-36) … has five multi-hit games this season, including 3-for-5 performance vs. Missouri State (Feb. 24) … ’06 honorable mention All-SLC.
SS • Marshal Davis, Jr. - 2007 tri-captain … has reached base by hit or walk in 17 consecutive games dating back May 22, 2006 … leadoff hitter has started all 13 games this year and leads team with 10 runs scored, .435 on-base percentage and 15 walks … also has stroked a pair of doubles and driven in three base runners … has five two-hit games.
LF/DH • Tim Palincsar, Fr. - Starter in 10 games this year (5 LF/5 DH) … enters weekend on seven-game hitting streak (.385/10-26) … leads team with .317 batting average and ranks second with eight runs scored, a .378 on-base percentage and two stolen bases … also has a pair of doubles, five RBIs and four walks … named to the Al Ogletree Classic All-Tournament Team (5-11, 2 R, 2B, SB).
CF • Michael Rockett, So. - 2007 preseason first-team All-SLC … hitting .308 with four doubles and nine RBIs … tied for team lead with 16 hits … has hit safely in 10-of-13 games this season and recorded six two-hit games … has handled last 130 chances without an error dating back to March 25, 2006 … tied his career high with four RBIs against Houston (Feb. 22) … ’06 Freshman All-America and second-team All-SLC selection.
SP • Josh Ruffin, Sr. - 2007 tri-captain and preseason first-team All-SLC … struck out career-high nine and picked up first victory of year vs. Gonzaga (Feb. 23) … allowed just three runs on six hits in eight-plus innings for first quality start of season … has gone at least six innings in last two starts … ’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 • Bradley Chovanec, Jr. - Leads squad with 19 strikeouts … recorded first quality start last Saturday vs. Sam Houston State when he allowed three runs in 6.1 innings, while striking out five … made first career UTSA start on Feb. 17 against Louisiana-Lafayette (5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 K) … tossed three scoreless innings in relief and struck out three in the season opener at No. 6 Rice (Feb. 13).
RP • J.T. Mackey, Jr. - Squad’s top setup man sports 1-1 mark with one save in seven games … has allowed just one unearned run on seven hits in 8.2 innings of work … has struck out seven while walking just three … picked up first UTSA victory with two scoreless innings against Stephen F. Austin last Friday … earned first save against St. Mary’s (Feb. 26).
RP • Zach Calhoon, Fr. - Has emerged has team’s closer … sports 1-0 record with two saves in five appearances … has tossed 8.1 scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and four walks, while striking out 13 … named SLC Pitcher of the Week on March 5 after posting win (vs. Houston) and save (vs. Stephen F. Austin) … struck out career-high five in 4.2 innings vs. Cougars (Feb. 27) … fanned final two batters against Gonzaga (Feb. 23) to earn first collegiate save.
Head Coach Sherman Corbett: With more than 20 years of playing and coaching experience, Sherman Corbett is in his seventh season at UTSA. The winningest coach in school history (179 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, including eight being selected in the MLB Draft.
