UTSA Roadrunners (0-0) at No. 22/24 Texas Longhorns (0-0)
Saturday, Feb. 9 ? Noon (DH) | Sunday, Feb. 10 ? 2 p.m.
McCombs Field (1,254) ? Austin, Texas
Series Record: Texas leads, 24-3-1
Last Meeting: Texas, 6-1 (March 22, 2007)
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA opens the 2008 season with a three-game series atNo. 22/24 Texas this weekend at McCombs Field in Austin. A doubleheaderis scheduled for noon on Saturday, followed by a single game at 2 p.m.on Sunday.
Base Hits
? UTSA is 6-10 in season openers, including 1-1 under third-year head coach Lori Cook
? Texas leads the all-time series, 24-3-1, including 15-1-1 in Austin
? The Roadrunners last defeated the Longhorns, 3-1, on Feb. 21, 2001, in Austin
? Texas swept both meetings last season, 4-1, in San Antonio and, 6-1, in Austin
? Former UTSA head coach Corrie Hill is now in her third season as an assistant coach for the Longhorns
Tuning In: Texas will provide free live video and stats online here.
UTSA/Texas Series History: Texas leads the all-time series with UTSA, 24-3-1. The Longhorns have won 14 straight meetings and are 15-1-1 against the Roadrunners in Austin. UTSA’s last win also was its lone victory in Austin, a 3-1 decision on Feb. 21, 2001. Texas swept both meetings last season, 4-1, on March 6, in San Antonio and, 6-1, on March 22, in Austin. McCombs Field was the site of the 2006 NCAA Regional, UTSA’s second postseason appearance. The Roadrunners lost to Texas, 4-0, in the opening round.
Scouting The Longhorns: Texas returns 14 letterwinners from last year’s 35-20 team that advanced to the NCAA Gainesville (Fla.) Regional. Senior right-hander Megan Denny leads a traditionally-strong pitching staff after posting a 21-16 record, 1.37 ERA and 337 strikeouts in 2007. Sophomore Tallie Thrasher is the top returning hitter after registering a .321 batting average, 12 home runs and 32 RBIs last season. Head coach Connie Clark is 440-202-1 as she enters her 13th season at the helm.
Preseason Prognostications: UTSA has been picked to finish fourth by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors in the 2008 Southland Conference Preseason Polls. Junior Leanne Risberg and sophomore Rudi Cantu have been selected to the SLC Preseason first and second team, respectively, in the outfield.
Tough Slate: UTSA will face a tough schedule in 2008, beginning with Texas this weekend. The Longhorns are ranked No. 22 in USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll and No. 24 in the USA Softball/ESPN Top 25 Poll. Also on the slate are No. 8/9 Baylor, a Women’s College World Series participant in 2007, No. 25/21 Missouri and Houston, which is receiving votes in both polls.
Career Record Watch: Senior right-hander Amanda Nikolenko is on pace to break UTSA career records for wins, starts, complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts. She enters this season with 54 wins (record is 61), 83 starts (93), 55 complete games (72), 557 innings (601) and 449 strikeouts (519).
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 463 home runs in 278 games, an average of 1.67 per game. The Roadrunners have led the NCAA in home runs in four of the past five seasons and have hit more long balls during that span than any other program. In 2006, 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.
SLC Supremacy: UTSA is the winningest program in Southland Conference history, owning a 250-157 (.614) all-time record in conference games. Dating back to 2004, the Roadrunners are 81-28 (.743) in league play. UTSA won three consecutive SLC regular season crowns from 2004-06 and captured SLC Tournament titles in 2004 and 2006.
A New Era: Lori Cook enters her third year as head coach with a career 64-45 record (.587). In her first season in 2006, UTSA went 37-14, 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.
Up Next: UTSA travels to Las Cruces, N.M., to compete in the Hotel Encanto Invitational on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 15-17. The Roadrunners will face Colorado State, Illinois-Chicago, North Dakota State, New Mexico State and UT Arlington.
