· Game notes (.pdf)
SAN ANTONIO — UTSA hosts Northwestern State in a key Southland Conference series this weekend at Roadrunner Field. First pitch in a Saturday doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m., followed by a single game at noon Sunday. The Roadrunners are coming off an eight-day layoff and are 20-23 overall and in third place in the league at 12-6. The Demons are 21-25 overall and seventh in the SLC at 11-10.
UTSA Roadrunners (20-23, 12-6 SLC) vs. Northwestern State Demons (21-25, 11-10 SLC)
Saturday, April 14 • 1 p.m. (DH) | Sunday, April 15 • Noon
Roadrunner Field (300) • San Antonio, Texas
Live Audio: goUTSA.com
Live Stats: goUTSA.com
Series Record: Tied, 28-28
Last Meeting: UTSA 6, Northwestern State 2 (March 12, 2006)
Tuning In: UTSA will provide free live stats and live audio for all three games through a Rowdy Zone subscription at goUTSA.com.
Base Hits
• UTSA is looking to snap a three-game SLC losing streak
• The Roadrunners and the Demons are meeting for the 57th time with the all-time series knotted at 28-28
• UTSA has won six straight and nine of the last 11 meetings with Northwestern State
• The Roadrunners have won seven of their last eight home games
• UTSA, which has led the NCAA in home runs each of the last four seasons, has slugged 48 round-trippers in 43 games this season (1.12 per game)
• Senior Jessica Rogers is batting .551 in 15 home games and .475 in 18 SLC contests
UTSA/Northwestern State Series History: UTSA and Northwestern State are meeting for the 57th time with the all-time series tied at 28-28. The Roadrunners have won six straight and nine of the last 11 meetings with the Demons. UTSA swept a three-game series in Natchitoches, La., last March and took two-of-three from Northwestern State in the last series in San Antonio in March 2005.
Scouting The Demons: Northwestern State enters this weekend’s series at 21-25 overall and in seventh place in the SLC at 11-10. Lyndsey Gorski leads a dangerous offense with a .336 batting average and 49 hits, while Margaret Patterson is batting .319 with five doubles, six home runs and seven stolen bases. Amanda Glenn is one of the top dual threats in the league as she boasts a .273 batting average, eight two-baggers, 10 round-trippers and 38 RBIs and also is the team’s top pitcher with a 12-12 record, 2.72 earned run average and 150 strikeouts in 149 innings pitched. Head coach Becky McMurty is 49-57 in her second season.
Week In Review: UTSA swept a doubleheader from Prairie View A&M, 10-2 and 15-0, last Friday at Roadrunner Field. Sophomore Leanne Risberg led a strong offensive output by going 5-for-6 with two doubles, two home runs and six runs batted in. UTSA scored 25 runs on 19 hits - including five home runs - in the twinbill in running their home record to 10-5 on the year. Risberg was 3-for-3 with a double, a home run and three RBIs in the opener and went 2-for-3 with another two-bagger and round-tripper and three RBIs in the nightcap. Senior Aimee Murray had three hits, including two long balls, and five RBIs on the afternoon, while freshman Rudi Cantu collected three hits and scored five runs. Freshman Brittany Bell made the most of her start behind the plate in game two, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Murray and Risberg increased their season home run totals to 11 and nine respectively with the two-homer output, while Jessica Rogers hit her team-best 14th. Game three was rained out.
Tough Slate: UTSA has played a tough schedule in 2007, with seven games against teams ranked in the top 15 of this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Polls. The Roadrunners faced No. 3/2 Alabama in the CenturyTel Classic, No. 5/5 Texas A&M at the Aggie Classic, No. 13/11 Texas on March 8 and 22, No. 6/6 LSU on March 13 and No. 9/13 Baylor in a March 28 doubleheader.
No Place Like Home: UTSA has turned Roadrunner Field into a true home-field advantage over the past three-plus seasons. Dating back to 2004, the Roadrunners are 56-11 (.836) at home, including a 10-5 mark this season. UTSA has won 18 of its past 23 home games.
Rogers Rewriting Record Books: 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. She now has 14 this season and 65 career homers, which ranks ninth on the NCAA’s all-time list. 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 489 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 180. In addition to those three career records, the South Grand Prairie High product has set school standards for hits (260) and extra-base hits (96) and ranks second with 147 runs and third with 685 at-bats. Her .380 career batting average is second all-time behind Amanda Michalsky’s .394. Rogers also broke the UTSA single-game record with 13 total bases and tied a single-game record with three home runs against Nicholls on March 24.
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. Nikolenko flirted with her second career no-no in the 15-0 victory against Prairie View A&M on April 6, allowing just one infield single in a five-inning affair.
Cantu Can Hit: Rudi Cantu, a true freshman from Alvin, has firmly entrenched herself near the top of the UTSA batting order. The former prep all-stater is batting .339 with 39 hits (third on the team) and a team-best five stolen bases. Although battling a minor injury, Cantu has heated up over the last month, batting a team-best .475 (19-for-40) with three doubles and four stolen bases since March 10.
Murray Moving Up: Senior Aimee Murray is moving up the UTSA career charts in several categories. The Cy-Fair High product has 11 home runs this season, giving her 46 for third place on the career list. The three-time all-conference shortstop has 146 career RBIs, which is second all-time behind Rogers. Murray also ranks second with 135 runs, third with 83 extra-base hits, fourth with 209 hits, fourth with 284 assists and seventh with 35 doubles.
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 437 home runs in 263 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 48 long balls in 43 games (1.12), which ranks second in the league and 21st in the country.
SLC Supremacy: UTSA is the winningest program in Southland Conference history, owning a 244-151 (.618) all-time record in conference games. Dating back to 2004, the Roadrunners are 75-22 (.773) in league play, including a 12-6 mark this 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 57-37 (.606).
Another Honor For Rogers: Jessica Rogers added another award to her resumé last week as she was named one of 20 national candidates for the 2007 Lowe’s Senior CLASS (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School) Award. Candidates were selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete. While on-the-field performance during their collegiate softball careers is a factor in determining candidates and the eventual winner, their personal character and off-the-field achievements in the classroom and community are major areas of focus. The award was conceived by famed sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman. A national media committee will select 10 finalists in April with the winner announced during the week of May 28 at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Up Next: UTSA hits the road for a three-game SLC series at Stephen F. Austin next Saturday-Sunday, April 21-22, in Nacogdoches.
