? Diamond notes (.pdf)
Games 52-54 ? May 17-19 ? Texas State (34-19, 19-8)May 17 ? 6:30 p.m. ? Bobcat Field ? San Marcos, Texas
May 18-19 ? 6/2 p.m. ? Roadrunner Field ? San Antonio, Texas
UTSA Looks To Clinch Outright Title This Week: Fresh off clinching atie for its first Southland Conference Regular Season Championship inschool history on Sunday, UTSA (32-19, 22-5) looks to claim theoutright title this week when it plays a regular-season-endingthree-game series against I-35 rival Texas State. Thursday’s opener isscheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Bobcat Field and it will conclude theRoadrunners’ current four-game road swing. The series then shifts toRoadrunner Field for a 6 p.m. contest on Friday and 2 p.m. Senior Daytilt the following day. UTSA has won five of its last six games away from home and the Roadrunners also have won 13 of its last 14 contests at the Bird Bath (dating back to March 23).
Senior Farewell: Seven seniors ? Josh Blakley, Blake Brannon, BrandonKoger, Noah Miles, Mitch Ponza, Josh Ruffin and Ryan Saltzgaber ? willbe making their final appearance at Roadrunner Field this weekend. Thegroup, which will be honored prior to Saturday’s regular season finale,collectively has helped lead the Roadrunners to back-to-back 30-winseasons and an SLC-record-tying 22 league victories this year.
Scouting The Bobcats: Texas State took two of three games from McNeeseState last weekend and enters this week’s series with a 34-19 overallrecord and 19-8 mark in SLC play. The Bobcats are three games behindUTSA in the league standings and need to sweep the Roadrunners to earna share of the regular season title and clinch the No. 1 seed in nextweek’s SLC Tournament. UTSA has won five of the last eight matchupsbetween the two schools, but Texas State holds a 34-23 advantage in theall-time series that dates back to 1992.
UTSA Clinches Tie For First Regular Season Crown: Last Sunday’s 2-1victory at Nicholls State gave the Roadrunners a share of their firstSouthland Conference Regular Season Championship in school history andUTSA needs to win just one game this week to clinch the outright titleand the No. 1 seed at next week’s SLC Tournament. The Roadrunners alsoneed just one victory to set the conference record for league victoriesin a season. They currently are tied with McNeese State (2006) andNorthwestern State (2005).
A New Standard: UTSA’s SLC-record-tying 22 conference victories thisyear mark the first time in school annals that the program has postedback-to-back seasons with 20 league wins. The Roadrunners were 20-10 ayear ago.
Back-To-Back, Jack: UTSA’s 15-10 victory against Texas A&M-CorpusChristi on May 6 pushed the Roadrunners’ overall record to 30-18,giving them 30 wins in consecutive seasons for the first time in 12years (1994, 39-18/1995, 31-23) and just the second time in schoolannals. UTSA now has posted at least 30 wins five times in theprogram’s 16-year history, three of which have come under the directionof seventh-year skipper Sherman Corbett. The Roadrunners were 37-22 ayear ago and 30-29 in 2001.
Getting Off On The Right Foot: UTSA’s success this season can bedirectly attributed to its solid 11-2 record in series openers. Afterdropping their first lid-lifter of the year to Louisiana-Lafayette(10-2, Feb. 16), the Roadrunners reeled off 11 consecutiveseries-opening victories, including eight in a row in SLC play, beforelosing 4-1 at Nicholls State last Friday. UTSA has outscored theopposition by 50 runs (84-34) in its 11 opening wins.
Bring Out The Brooms: The Roadrunners opened the SLC campaign withconsecutive sweeps of McNeese State, Central Arkansas and SoutheasternLouisiana and continued that trend in consecutive weekends at SamHouston State (April 27-29) and against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi(May 4-6). The season-opening sweeps marked the first time theprogram’s 16-year history that UTSA swept back-to-back-to-backthree-game series against league opponents. The Roadrunners now haveswept SLC foes 18 times in school annals, 12 (66.7 percent) of whichhave come under the direction of head coach Sherman Corbett.
UTSA Dominating SLC Series Finales: The Roadrunners, off to aprogram-best 22-5 start in Southland Conference play (previous: 19-8 in2006), have built that impressive record on the strength of eightvictories in nine series finales this season. UTSA ? which has scoredin double figures in 12 of its 27 league games (including five in a rowfrom March 17-25), outscored the opposition by 112 runs (231-119) andis averaging 8.6 runs per contest ? has three run-rule triumphs inseries finales this year. The Roadrunners defeated McNeese State, 16-2(eight innings), on March 18; Central Arkansas, 14-1 (seven), on March25; and Texas-Arlington, 12-1 (seven), on April 7.
Perfect Start Best Ever: UTSA began the 2007 Southland Conferenceseason a perfect 10-0, which was its best SLC start in school historyand tied for the second-best in league history. Lamar started 14-0 in1984, while Texas-Arlington was 10-0 a year ago. UTSA’s previous beststart was 4-0 in both 1994 and ’96.
Offense Tops In SLC: UTSA’s offense has been nothing short ofspectacular since the Southland Conference campaign opened inmid-March. The Roadrunners lead the league in nearly every offensivecategory: batting average (.327), runs (231), hits (316), doubles (69),triples (16), home runs (38), total bases (531) and slugging percentage(.550).
UTSA Among NCAA Leaders: Through games of May 13, the Roadrunnerscurrently rank among the national leaders in several categories:triples per game (24th/0.39), slugging percentage (25th/.482), homeruns per contest (30th/1.08), strikeouts per nine innings (49th/7.5),doubles per game (50th/2.1), batting average (51st/.308), win-losspercentage (54th/.627) and scoring (60th/7.0). In the individualrankings, junior Trent Lockwood ranks 35th in doubles per game (0.40)and slugging percentage (.690) as well as 53rd with his 12 home runs(No. 5 on UTSA’s single-season list) and 59th in homers per contest(0.24). Senior Josh Blakley stands 46th nationally with histeam-leading 2.37 ERA (on pace to break UTSA’s single-season record).
You Dropped A Bomb On Me: Fifty of UTSA’s 55 home runs (90.9 pct.) thisseason have been hit during the past 34 contests. Leading the long ballparade are senior Ryan Saltzgaber and junior Zach Etheredge, both ofwhom have slugged all nine of their homers this year during that time,and junior Trent Lockwood, who also has left the yard nine times. Rightbehind that trio are sophomores James Keithley and Michael Rockett,both of whom have left the yard seven times. Lockwood, Rockett andSaltzgaber have grand slams among their homers. Also on the board aresenior Mitch Ponza and redshirt freshman Tim Palincsar ? who both havefour long balls ? and junior Josh Wilson, who hit a pinch-hit home runagainst Texas-Pan American (April 17).
Season Tater Total Second-Best In School Annals: With 55 home runs thisseason, UTSA already has surpassed its season total from a year ago andit is tied for the highest total of the Sherman Corbett era (55, 2004).The 55 long balls rank as the second-most in school history. The UTSArecord is 66 set in 1999.
UTSA Leaves Yard Four Times: The Roadrunners launched four home runs intheir 11-3 victory against Northwestern State on April 13 and it wasthe first time in more than two years that the program has done so. Thelast time UTSA hit four long balls in a contest was a 14-3 victoryagainst Texas-Pan American on March 30, 2005.
Record-Setting Weekend: The sweep of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (May4-6) was record setting in more ways than one. The 51 runs scored bythe Roadrunners shattered the school’s previous mark for a three-gameseries (41; vs. Texas State, April 1-2, 1995/vs. McNeese State, March2-3, 1996). Friday’s 12-0 victory was highlighted by three home runs inthe fifth inning, which tied a school mark for long balls in one frame.In Saturday’s 24-11 rout, UTSA tied the school record with 22 RBIs,while senior Ryan Saltzgaber tied the school mark with five hits andfive runs scored. Meanwhile, junior Phillip Allen tied the single-gamerecord with seven RBIs (Jeff Juarez, vs. Yale, March 16, 1999).
Ten-Run Third A First Since 2005: In their 12-0 victory atTexas-Arlington on April 7, the Roadrunners scored 10 runs in the thirdinning, which was the first time since April 20, 2005, that UTSAcrossed the plate 10 times in a frame. The Roadrunners sent 15 battersto the dish and had seven hits in the stanza, including aschool-record-tying two by both junior Trent Lockwood and sophomoreMichael Rockett.
Lineup Change Does The Trick: Stuck with a 4-9 record and averagingjust 4.2 runs per game, head coach Sherman Corbett decided to shufflehis lineup on March 9. The seventh-year skipper moved sophomore JamesKeithley into the leadoff spot and since that switch, the Roadrunnershave posted a 28-10 (.737) record, hit .322 as a team and averaged 11.5hits and 7.9 runs per game.
Red Hot Offense: After starting the year slowly, the UTSA offense hasexploded the past 34 games, 25 of which have resulted in victories(73.5%). The Roadrunners have scored 283 times (8.3 pg) and outscoredthe opposition by 120 runs during that time. UTSA has posted a .328batting average on the strength of 398 hits (11.7 pg), slugged .548(666 total bases) and reached base at .394 clip. Nearly 38 percent ofthe squad’s 398 hits (150) have gone for extra bases, including 82doubles, 18 triples and 50 home runs. The Roadrunners also have stolen37 bases.
Tough Schedule: The Roadrunners’ 55-game schedule is highlighted by sixopponents that qualified for the 2006 NCAA Tournament ? Baylor, Collegeof Charleston, Houston, Rice, Texas and Texas-Arlington. UTSA has a 5-7record against those squads this season.
Close Games: In addition to scoring runs in bunches this year, theRoadrunners have shown the knack of playing close games. Twenty-sevenof the club’s 51 contests (52.9%) this year have been decided by threeruns or less and it has a 16-11 mark in those games. UTSA has a 6-5record in one-run tilts, a 6-3 mark in two-run contests and 4-3 recordin games decided by three runs.
Ruffin On The Career Charts: Senior Josh Ruffin’s name can be found allover the Roadrunners’ career record book. The Humble native is UTSA’sall-time record holder with five career shutouts and he also rankssecond in victories (20); third in appearances (79) and innings pitched(324); fourth in games started (41), complete games (nine) andstrikeouts (205); and fifth in ERA (4.53).
Blakley Throwing Strikes: Senior Josh Blakley has been as good as itgets coming out of the UTSA bullpen this season. The Lorena native hasa perfect 6-0 record with one save and leads the staff with a 2.37 ERA(third SLC). Blakley has appeared in a team-high 24 contests and has asterling 54/11 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 60.2 innings. His 1.29 ERA inSouthland Conference games ranks second in the league and he currentlyis riding a 16.2 scoreless innings streak (nine games). Theright-hander picked up his sixth win of the year with 3.2 scorelessframes at Nicholls State on May 13. His fourth victory of the seasoncame on March 31 against Southeastern Louisiana after he tossed acareer-high 5.2 scoreless innings. The right-hander collected his firstwin of the campaign when he struck out a career-high six over 4.1innings against St. Mary’s on Feb. 26. He has gone at least fourinnings in eight of his appearances and at least three in two others.
Home Cooking: Roadrunner Field and Wolff Stadium were tough places forthe opposition to play in 2006, as UTSA registered a school-record 24home victories. That broke the previous mark of 23 home wins set in1994. This year has been no different, as the Roadrunners are 18-6 athome this year, including wins in 13 of their last 14 games played atRoadrunner Field (dating back to March 23). UTSA now has posted a261-176 (.597) all-time home record in the program’s 16-year history.
Hit The Lights: For the first time in school history, UTSA is playingnight games at Roadrunner Field this season. Eight of the team’s 21contests at the facility are being played under the lights. The Feb. 16home opener against Louisiana-Lafayette kicked off the night-timeaction at the “Bird Bath” and UTSA has a 6-1 record under the lights atRoadrunner Field this year. The Roadrunners have posted six nightvictories in a row since dropping the home opener to the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Roadrunners Collect 400th All-Time Victory: UTSA won its 400th game inschool history when it defeated St. Mary’s, 8-5, on Feb. 26. In 16years of action, the Roadrunners have compiled 430 all-time wins, anaverage of nearly 27 per season.
2007 Captains: Senior starting pitcher Josh Ruffin, junior catcher ZachEtheredge and junior shortstop Marshal Davis will serve as teamcaptains this season.
Preseason Polls: UTSA was picked to finish second in the West Divisionby the sports information directors and third by the league’s coachesin the Preseason SLC Polls. The Roadrunners received five first-placevotes in the SID rankings and three in the coaches poll. They were sixpoints (51) behind co-favorites Texas-Arlington and Texas State in thecoaches poll and only three (58) behind UTA in the SID poll. Defendingregular season champion McNeese State was the consensus choice todefend its regular season title in the East.
Trio Named To Preseason All-SLC Teams: Three Roadrunners were named tothe preseason All-SLC teams, as senior pitcher Josh Ruffin andsophomore outfielder Michael Rockett were first-team selections andsenior third baseman Ryan Saltzgaber was named to the second team.Ruffin earned first-team accolades a year ago, while Rockett was asecond-team honoree and Saltzgaber was an honorable mention selection.
What’s Back In 2007: UTSA is coming off a season that saw it finishwith a 37-22 record (20-10 SLC). The team welcomes back 17letterwinners ? including five position starters and six pitchers ? inaddition to 19 newcomers this season. Topping the list of returnees are2006 first-team All-SLC starting pitcher Josh Ruffin, a senior, andFreshman All-America center fielder Michael Rockett. Also back aresophomore second baseman James Keithley and senior third baseman RyanSaltzgaber, both of whom earned honorable mention accolades a year ago.
Player Updates
C ? Zach Etheredge, Jr. - True iron man who has started all 51 gamesbehind the plate ... leads the squad with 13 multi-RBI performances ...ranks second with 16 doubles, nine home runs and a .566 sluggingpercentage ... stands third with a .338 batting average, 22 multi-hitperformances, 45 RBIs and 112 total bases ... registered a career-highfour hits, including a pair of solo homers, against Northwestern State(April 15) ... had a seven-game hitting streak from March 17-27 in whichhe posted a .452 average (14-31) with three doubles, a triple, fivehome runs (1.097 SLG) and 16 RBIs ... registered a .462 batting average(6-13) with three runs scored in the three-game set at Stephen F.Austin (April 20-22) ... hit .500 (5-10) with three doubles and five RBIsin the weekend sweep of Southeastern Louisiana (March 31-April 1) ...claimed SLC Hitter of the Week honors on March 26 after hitting .450(9-20) with three doubles, a triple, three home runs and 11 RBIs ...hitting .360 with 12 doubles, a triple, seven homers, 28 RBIs, 75 totalbases, a .676 slugging percentage and .405 on-base percentage inSouthland Conference games ... named to Southwest Diamond ClassicAll-Tournament Team (4-10, 4 R, 4 RBIs).
1B/DH ? Trent Lockwood, Jr. - Has started 50 games (47 1B/3 DH) ... hasreached base by hit or walk in all but four contests ... leads the clubin batting average (.384), hits (78), multi-hit games (27), doubles(20/No. 2 on UTSA single-season list), home runs (12/No. 5 on UTSAsingle-season chart/53rd NCAA), RBIs (52), multi-RBI contests (13),total bases (140), slugging percentage (.690/35th NCAA) and on-basepercentage (.443) ... also ranks second in triples (three) and third inruns (44) ... tied the school’s single-game record for hits when he went5-for-5 with a double and home run at Nicholls State (May 12) ... has hitsafely in 32 of his last 36 contests (.426 BA, 31 XBH, 40 RBIs, .777SLG, .482 OBP) ... has 23 multi-hit performances during that stretch ...recorded a .462 (6-13) batting average with a pair of doubles, a homerand an .846 slugging percentage in the Nicholls State series (May11-13) ... hit .571 (8-14) with eight runs scored, a pair of doubles,three home runs and nine RBIs in three-game sweep of TexasA&M-Corpus Christi (May 4-6) and was named SLC Hitter of the Week ...had an 11-game hitting streak from April 3-20 (.391, 5 XBH, 8 RBI, .630SLG), his third stretch of at least eight contests this season ... had a12-game hitting streak from March 11-31 in which he posted a .510batting average (25-49) with eight doubles, a triple, three homers(.898 SLG) and 17 RBIs ... hit safely in his first eight games as aRoadrunner ... tied a school record with two hits in the third inning onApril 7 at Texas-Arlington ... had a career-high six RBIs on March 17 atMcNeese State ... earned SLC Hitter of the Week honors on April 16 afterhitting .438 (7-16) with a double, one triple, a home run and five RBIs... hitting .414 with 14 doubles, two triples, eight homers, 35 RBIs, 88total bases, a .793 slugging percentage and .472 on-base percentage inleague games ... named to Southwest Diamond Classic All-Tournament Team(5-14, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, SB).
2B/LF ? James Keithley, So. - Has started 42 games at second base andnine in left field ... ranks second on the club with 46 runs, threetriples and eight stolen bases ... stands third with a .389 on-basepercentage ... owns a .321 batting average with 10 doubles, eight homeruns and 33 RBIs ... had a career-best 19-game hitting streak snapped onApril 7 at Texas-Arlington ... hit .400 (36-90) with four doubles, threetriples, five home runs (.678 SLG) and 13 RBIs during that stretch ...squad is 28-10 (.737) since he moved into the leadoff spot on March 9against the College of Charleston ... has scored a run in 24 of the past35 games ... hitting .345 (67-194) with nine doubles, three triples,eight home runs and 31 RBIs since starting the season 2-for-21 (.095) ...hit .528 (7-13) with two doubles, a pair of homers and seven RBIs inthree-game sweep of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (May 4-6) ... was7-for-15 (.467) with eight runs scored, a double, one triple, a pair ofhome runs and three RBIs vs. Central Arkansas (March 23-25) ... went 7-14(.500) with four runs scored, a triple, his first homer of the year andfour RBIs vs. the College of Charleston (March 9-11) ... has a .342batting average with six doubles, a triple, five homers, 20 RBIs, a.556 slugging percentage and .421 on-base percentage in conference play... 2006 honorable mention All-SLC.
3B ? Ryan Saltzgaber, Sr. - 2007 preseason second-team All-SLC ...starter in all 51 contests ... has hit a homer in six of his last 19games and ranks second on the club with nine long balls ... also rankssecond with a .355 batting average, 75 hits, 25 multi-hit performancesand 116 total bases ... stands third with a .550 slugging percentage ...also has 10 doubles, a pair of triples, 38 RBIs and seven stolen bases... has recorded at least two hits in 19 of his last 30 tilts ... had acareer-high 10-game hitting streak from March 11-27 ... hit at a .364clip (16-44) with two doubles, a pair of triples, three homers (.705SLG) and 14 RBIs during that stretch ... has six three-hit performancesand school-record-tying five-hit contest (vs. Texas A&M-CorpusChristi, May 5) this year ... also tied the UTSA mark with five runsscored vs. the Islanders (May 5) and finished the three-game sweep witha .615 (8-13) batting average and nine runs ... hit .500 (6-12) with adouble and two RBIs in series at Nicholls State (May 11-13) ... owns a.365 batting average, six doubles, a triple, six long balls, 21 RBIsand a .591 slugging percentage in league action ... a 2006 honorablemention All-SLC choice.
SS ? Marshal Davis, Jr. - Starter in all 51 games ... has reached base byhit, walk or hit by pitch in 50 of his last 56 games dating back May22, 2006 ... leads team with 35 walks ... also has scored 30 runs, strokedsix doubles and two triples and driven in 20 runs ... has eight two-hitgames and a pair of career-high-tying three-hit performances (March 17at McNeese State/April 1 vs. SE Louisiana).
LF ? Phillip Allen, Jr. - Seen action in 41 contests, including 35starts (28 LF/7 RF) ... has started 27 of the last 29 games in left field... ranks second on the squad with eight stolen bases ... hitting .277 withsix doubles, two triples, 22 RBIs, 19 walks and a .383 on-basepercentage ... has a .357 (15-42) batting average with four doubles, atriple and 16 RBIs in last 13 starts ... tied the UTSA single-game recordwith seven RBIs on May 5 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ... added afour-RBI effort on May 12 at Nicholls State ... all of his RBIs have comein SLC play ... has five two-hit games and a quintet of career-high-tyingthree-hit performances.
CF ? Michael Rockett, So. - 2007 preseason first-team All-SLC ... standssecond on the club with 48 RBIs and third with 70 hits, 22 multi-hitgames and 14 doubles ... also hitting .323 with a triple, seven homeruns, 43 runs and five stolen bases ... had a 13-game hitting streak fromApril 1-21 (.304, 4 XBH, 16 RBI) ... has recorded 14 two-hit games, seventhree-hit performances and a career-high-tying four-hit effort vs.Central Arkansas (March 24) ... tied a school record with two hits in thethird inning on April 7 at Texas-Arlington ... had his first career grandslam and a career-high five RBIs at No. 6 Texas (April 3) ... also has apair of four-RBI efforts (Feb. 27, vs. Houston/March 25, vs. CentralArkansas) ... hit .533 (8-15) with two doubles, three homers and nineRBIs in sweep of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (May 4-6) ... was 10-for-13(.769) with two doubles, a triple, his first homer of the season andsix RBIs in the three-game sweep of Central Arkansas (March 23-25) ...hitting .345 with eight doubles, a triple, six home runs, 29 RBIs, a.580 slugging percentage and 32 runs scored in SLC play ... 2006Freshman All-America and second-team All-SLC selection.
RF ? Mitch Ponza, Sr. - Has seen action in 46 contests this season,including 39 starts (all in right field) ... has started the past 29games, hitting safely in 18 (.282, 14 XBH, 25 RBIs, .515 SLG) ... leadssquad with four triples ... has 19 extra-base hits (11 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR) ...also hitting .278 with 30 RBIs (25 in SLC play), a .493 sluggingpercentage and five stolen bases ... has eight two-hit games and a pairof three-hit efforts (at Stephen F. Austin, April 20/at Sam HoustonState, April 28) ... his two-out, two-run home run in the 10th inninggave Roadrunners a thrilling 7-6 victory at Stephen F. Austin (April20) ... registered a career-best four RBIs against Northwestern State(April 15).
LF/DH ? Tim Palincsar, Fr. - Starter in 48 games (6 LF/42 DH)... leadsclub with 53 runs scored and 12 stolen bases (in 12 attempts) ... rankssecond on the squad with a .411 on-base percentage and 26 walks ...hitting .313 with 11 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 33 RBIs ...had a career-high 13-game hitting streak from March 21-April 10 inwhich he had a .415 (22-53) batting average with seven doubles, onetriple, three home runs (.755 SLG) and 18 RBIs ... also reached base at a.492 clip and stole five bases during that stretch ... had a career-highfour hits against Texas-Pan American (April 17) ... had a career-bestfour RBIs vs. Southeastern Louisiana (April 1) and matched thatperformance six days later at Texas-Arlington (April 7) ... hit firstcareer homer vs. the College of Charleston on March 10 ... had seven-gamehitting streak from Feb. 23-March 4 (.385/10-26) ... named to the AlOgletree Classic All-Tournament Team (5-11, 2 R, 2B, SB).
SP ? Josh Ruffin, Sr. - Preseason first-team All-SLC pick is one of thetop pitchers in school history ... owns 6-3 record with 4.58 ERA in his14 starting assignments ... Roadrunners are 11-3 when he starts thisseason ... leads team with 66 strikeouts in a staff-best 88.1 innings ...also has team-high seven quality starts, three complete games and oneshutout ... 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA and 31 punchouts in last six starts (42.1IP) ... tossed five-hit shutout with six strikeouts against TexasA&M-Corpus Christi (May 4) to extend his career school record tofive ... tied career-high with nine punchouts at Nicholls State (May 11)... collected fifth win of season on April 27 at Sam Houston State (6.2IP, 1 ER, 5 K) ... allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits andfanned four in complete game win against Northwestern State (April 13)... went 7.2 innings, allowing three runs, in earning win at TexasArlington (April 5) ... tossed a four-hitter for first complete game ofyear and struck out seven, as UTSA won its SLC opener at McNeese State(March 16) ... allowed just one run on five hits and fanned six in seveninnings vs. the College of Charleston (March 9) ... struck outcareer-high nine and picked up first victory of year vs. Gonzaga (Feb.23) after allowing just three runs on six hits in eight-plus innings ...5-1 with 3.75 ERA, three complete games and a shutout in nine SouthlandConference starts ... 2006 first-team All-SLC.
SP ? Bradley Chovanec, Jr. - Third on squad with 53 strikeouts in 80.2innings ... has appeared in 17 games, including 13 starts, and has a 3-4record ... won first game since March 31 when he gave up four runs andstruck out career-high seven in 6.1 innings at Nicholls State (May 12)... tossed a complete-game five-hitter (one run) and struck out fiveagainst Southeastern Louisiana (March 31) ... gave up two runs and fannedsix in seven innings vs. Central Arkansas (March 24) to collect firstUTSA victory ... allowed three runs in 6.1 innings, while striking outfive vs. Sam Houston State (March 3) ... made first career start on Feb.17 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 K) ... has allowed justone run and fanned six in four relief appearances (9 IP).
SP ? Ryan Proudfoot, Fr. - Has 4-2 record, 2.92 ERA and three qualitystarts in 12 games (nine starts) ... has allowed just 38 hits (.211 BAA)and struck out 43 in 49.1 innings of work ... gave up just one run andfanned four in 5.1 frames at Nicholls State (May 13) ... collected fourthwin of year against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (May 6) after allowingthree runs on five hits and striking out three in six innings ...defeated Texas-Pan American (April 17) in his first start since April 1... gave up just one run on four hits and struck out three in seveninnings in that contest ... picked up a pair of wins during the week ofMarch 19-25 ... tossed five hitless innings with four strikeouts vs.Lamar (March 20) and then allowed just one run on four hits and punchedout a career-high 11 in six innings vs. Central Arkansas four dayslater (March 25) ... has a 2-0 mark with 2.08 ERA in 21.2 innings (fivegames/four starts) in SLC action ... has allowed just 15 hits (.188 BAA)and struck out 22.
SP ? Blake Brannon, Sr. - Has 43 punchouts in 53.2 innings of work (12starts) ... has a 1.02 ERA and nine strikeouts in his last three starts(17.2 IP) ... went the distance but was tagged with loss at Stephen F.Austin (April 22), allowing just one run on three hits with fourstrikeouts ... collected third win of season against Texas-Pan American(April 18) ... allowed an unearned run on just three hits in five innings... tossed five scoreless frames and fanned five at Texas-Arlington(April 7) ... allowed two runs and struck out six in seven innings atMcNeese State (March 18) ... registered first quality start of year vs.the College of Charleston (March 11) ... allowed pair of runs (oneearned) on just six hits in seven-plus innings, while tying career highwith eight strikeouts ... entered senior season riding UTSA-record 29scoreless innings streak and extended that stretch to 30 before givingup run vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (Feb. 16) ... needs just two moreappearances to tie the UTSA career record.
RP ? Josh Blakley, Sr. - Has appeared in team-high 24 games and has aperfect 6-0 record with one save and a team-best 2.37 ERA (third SLC) ...owns a sterling 54/11 strikeout-to-walk ratio (nearly 5-to-1) in 60.2innings of work ... has not allowed a run in his last nine outings, whichcovers a span of 16.2 innings ... has given up just nine hits (.170 BAA)and fanned 18 during that scoreless streak ... collected sixth win ofyear after fanning five (including four of final five hitters) in 3.2scoreless frames at Nicholls State (May 13) ... went the final 4.1innings at Sam Houston State (April 29) for fifth win of season ...tossed 5.2 scoreless innings, a career high, against SoutheasternLouisiana (March 31) ... fanned a career-high six in a victory againstSt. Mary’s (Feb. 26) ... has gone at least four innings in eight contestsand three in two others ... is 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 32/9strikeout-to-walk ratio in 35 innings of work (13 appearances) inSouthland Conference games.
RP ? J.T. Mackey, Jr. - Sports 6-2 mark with four saves and 4.54 ERA inteam-high 24 games (one start) ... has struck out 29 in 37.2 innings ofwork ... made first career start on April 10 at No. 13 Texas A&M ...induced game-ending double play at Nicholls State (May 12) and earnedfourth save of year ... picked up sixth victory of season with threescoreless frames at Sam Houston State (April 28) ... fifth win came after2.2 scoreless frames against Northwestern State (April 15) ... collectedfourth victory with a career-high five scoreless innings at McNeeseState (March 17) ... got out of a bases-loaded jam with nobody out in theeighth to keep Roadrunners within one run in that contest ... earned bothof team’s victories vs. the College of Charleston ... first UTSA victorycame after two scoreless innings against Stephen F. Austin (March 2) ...earned first save against St. Mary’s (Feb. 26) ... saved the Roadrunners’6-3 victories at Texas-Arlington (April 5) and against SoutheasternLouisiana (March 31).
RP ? Zach Calhoon, Fr. - Has posted a 3-2 record with a UTSA freshmanrecord six saves in 20 appearances ... has a 2.70 ERA and allowed just 18hits (.191 BAA), while striking out 41 in 26.2 innings ... struck out acareer-high six and picked up his team-leading sixth save of the yearon May 6 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ... named SLC Pitcher of theWeek on March 5 after posting a win (vs. Houston) and a save (vs.Stephen F. Austin) ... struck out a then-career-high five in 4.2 inningsvs. Cougars (Feb. 27) ... picked up a win and a loss in three-game seriesat Stephen F. Austin (April 20-22) ... collected his second victory ofthe season vs. Southeastern Louisiana (April 1) ... fanned final twobatters against Gonzaga (Feb. 23) to earn first collegiate save ... has a2-1 mark, four saves and 1.50 ERA and fanned 19 in 12.1 innings (10games) in Southland Conference play.
Head Coach Sherman Corbett: With more than 20 years of playing andcoaching experience, Sherman Corbett is in his seventh season at UTSA.The winningest coach in school history (207 victories), Corbett led theRoadrunners to 37 victories a year ago, the second-most in schoolhistory. In his first seven seasons, he has coached three of the five30-win squads in school history and the only two clubs to post 20 ormore Southland Conference victories. Corbett also has mentored 24All-SLC players, including seven first-teamers and the 2001 SLC Pitcherof the Year (Jared Howton), 2002 SLC Player and Hitter of the Year(Mark Schramek), 2003 SLC Freshman of the Year (Ryan Crew) and twoFreshman All-Americans ? Crew (2003) and Michael Rockett (2006). Twelveof his Roadrunners have gone on to professional careers, includingeight being selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.
