| Sophomore Tim Palincsar leads UTSA in nearly every offensive category. |
SAN ANTONIO ? After wrapping up its season-opening 10-game home stand with six wins in a row and an 8-2 record, UTSA looks to carry that momentum into its first road trip of the season when it faces the College of Charleston (8-2) in a weekend three-game series in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Senior right-hander Steven Vasquez (1-1, 2.84 ERA) gets the start in Friday's 4 p.m. (CT) series opener. Vasquez will be opposed by Cougars righty Danny Meszaros (0-0, 7.84). Saturday's contest is slated for a noon start and sophomore right-hander Ryan Proudfoot (2-0, 4.63) will square off against southpaw Austin Garrett (2-0, 5.25). Senior righty Bradley Chovanec (3-0, 0.98) will toe the rubber in Sunday's noon finale. Right-hander Jordan Tiegs (0-0, 3.60) will get the call for the College of Charleston.
All three games will be broadcast live on goUTSA.com and Associate Sports Information Director Brian Hernandez will call all the action live from Patriot's Point Stadium. The series also will be available via JumpTV's Gamewatcher.
On paper, it looks to be a battle between two of the South's top offenses.
UTSA brings a .325 team batting average into the series and it is averaging 8.4 runs per contest. Meanwhile, College of Charleston batsmen have been nothing short of spectacular in the season's first 10 games, as they are hitting a combined .371 and scoring 13.1 runs per tilt. The Cougars also have a .688 slugging percentage on the strength of 56 extra-base hits (26 doubles, two triples, 28 home runs).
Sophomore designated hitter Tim Palincsar leads UTSA with a .457 batting average (16-35), three doubles, a pair of homers and 14 RBIs. The 2007 Freshman All-America selection also has reached base at a .558 clip and walked eight times. All told, seven Roadrunners are hitting .300 or better in the campaign's first 10 games.
UTSA holds the edge on the mound, as its hurlers have posted a 3.68 ERA in 88 innings of work. The Roadrunners have allowed just 70 hits (.213 BAA), while striking out 89 against 48 walks. Meanwhile, opponents are hitting .304 against the College of Charleston this year and the Cougars have a collective 6.36 ERA in 92 innings.
UTSA took two of three games last year at Wolff Stadium in the first meetings between the two programs.
The Roadrunners, off to their second-best start in school history, arecoming off a mid-week sweep of Kansas State. UTSA used an eighth-inningrally on Tuesday night to post 5-4 victory and Palincsar launched a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth onWednesday to propel the Roadrunners to a thrilling, 9-8 triumph tocomplete the sweep.