UTSA Roadrunners (8-8) vs. No. 13 Baylor Bears (12-3)
Tuesday, March 4 ? 6:30 p.m.
Roadrunner Field (300) ? San Antonio, Texas
Series Record: Baylor leads, 13-12
Last Meeting: Baylor, 9-1 (March 28, 2007)
SAN ANTONIO ? Fresh off a convincing sweep of McNeese State, UTSA (8-8)hosts No. 13 Baylor (12-3), a 2007 Women’s College World Seriesparticipant, in a non-conference game on Tuesday, March 4. First pitchis set for 6:30 p.m. at Roadrunner Field.
Tuning In: Live stats will be provided at goUTSA.com. Live audio will be available to Rowdy Zone subscribers at goUTSA.com. Ed Suarez has the call.
Base Hits
? Baylor leads the all-time series, 13-12, and has won three straight meetings including a doubleheader sweep last year in Waco
? UTSA last defeated the Bears, 1-0, on March 21, 2001, in Waco
? The Roadrunners are 68-18 (.791) at Roadrunner Field dating back to 2004, including 4-2 this season
? Senior Amanda Nikolenko broke Jennifer Drake’s UTSA career record for innings pitched (601) on Sunday ... she now has tossed 605 innings
? With 487 career strikeouts, Nikolenko has moved past Paige Whitley for second place on UTSA’s all-time list ... she needs 33 Ks to break Ursula Mares’ school record of 519
? Sophomore Rudi Cantu is batting .625 (20-for-32) during her current career-long nine-game hitting streak
? Freshman Dany? Holmes struck out 13 McNeese State batters on March 1, one punchout shy of the school record of 14 set by Ursula Mares in 2005
Scouting The Bears: Baylor moved to 12-3 on the year with a three-game sweep of Louisiana-Monroe last weekend in Waco. The Bears did not allow a single run against the Warhawks and bring a .254 team ERA into Tuesday’s contest. Jenny Isham leads the pitching staff with a 6-1 record, 2.47 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 34.0 innings of work, while KJ Freeland (.577) and Kirsten Shortridge (.523) lead a potent offense that is hitting .337 as a team. Head coach Glenn Moore is 315-141 in eight years at Baylor.
McNeese State Series Recap: UTSA pounded out 34 runs on 40 hits in sweeping a three-game Southland Conference series from McNeese State over the weekend at Roadrunner Field. The Roadrunners took game one, 7-3, behind freshman Dany? Holmes, who punched out 13 Cowgirls and went 3-for-3 with a double, two home runs and four RBIs. UTSA blanked McNeese, 12-0, in game two behind senior Janeille Nickels’ three-hit shutout and Whitney Balch’s 4-for-4, 4-RBI performance. The Roadrunners crushed the Cowgirls, 15-1, on Sunday as senior Amanda Nikolenko scattered four hits and sophomore Mercedes Hessel recorded two hits and drove in five.
SLC Supremacy: UTSA is the winningest program in Southland Conference history, owning a 254-159 (.615) all-time record in conference games. Dating back to 2004, the Roadrunners are 85-30 (.739) in league play. UTSA won three consecutive SLC regular season crowns from 2004-06 and captured SLC Tournament titles in 2004 and 2006.
Tough Slate: UTSA is facing a tough schedule this year, including five teams that made the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Three teams are ranked in last week’s USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll ? No. 13 Baylor, No. 14 Houston and No. 22 Texas ? while Colorado State is receiving votes. In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll, Baylor is ranked No. 13, Houston is No. 16 and Texas is No. 25. Missouri and Colorado State are receiving votes.
Career Record Watch: Senior right-hander Amanda Nikolenko broke UTSA’s career record for innings pitched in her March 2 win against McNeese State, moving past Jennifer Drake with 605 frames. The Ashland, Mo., native also is on pace to break UTSA career records for wins, starts, complete games and strikeouts. She enters Tuesday’s contest with 57 wins (record is 61), 89 starts (93), 60 complete games (72) and 487 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 478 home runs in 294 games, an average of 1.63 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.
A New Era: Lori Cook is in her third year as head coach with a career 72-53 record (.576). 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 hits the road to face UT Arlington this weekend (March 8-9).
