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| Senior Trent Lockwood (left) and junior Michael Rockett set UTSA's single-season RBIs and doubles records, respectively, on Sunday. | |
SAN ANTONIO ? Senior first baseman Trent Lockwood led a 16-hit offensive attack by going 3-for-4 with a double, homer and five RBIs, as UTSA moved closer to its second consecutive Southland Conference Regular Season Championship with a 14-7 victory against Nicholls State on Saturday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
UTSA improved to 36-14 overall and 20-6 in SLC play in winning for the 21st time in its last 26 games. The Roadrunners now have won at least 36 games in each of the past three seasons and they also have surpassed 20 conference victories in those three campaigns, a first in school history.
Lockwood pushed his season RBI total to 69 to break Kent Wallis' nine-year old school record of 67 set in 1999. Junior Michael Rockett ? who was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a home run, four runs scored and two RBIs ? pushed his two-baggers total to 25 to also establish a new program mark. Rockett now has 47 doubles during his three-year career and that ranks fourth on the program's all-time list.
Coupled with Lamar's 9-5 loss at Northwestern State on Saturday, the Roadrunners magic number dropped to two and they can clinch a share of the league title with a victory on Sunday. A victory combined with a Cardinals loss would give head coach Sherman Corbett's squad the conference's first back-to-back regular season champs in four years (Lamar, 2003-04).
UTSA scored 10 or more runs for the third game in a row and the 20th time this season. The Roadrunners, who are 19-1 when scoring in double figures, scored in each of the first seven innings.
The Birds, who won their eighth game in a row at Roadrunner Field (16 of 17 overall), crossed the plate first for the seventh consecutive contest and now are 29-6 this year when scoring first.
Lockwood's sacrifice fly in the first brought home junior shortstop James Keithley with the game's first run. It was Keithley's 65th run of the season, which is one shy of Jeff Juarez' school record of 66 set 1999.
Freshman second baseman Ryan Hutson's two-run homer in the second, his seventh of the year, pushed the lead to three and Lockwood followed Rockett's first double of the game with one of his own in the third to give UTSA a 4-0 advantage.
Nicholls State (9-41, 4-22 SLC) rallied for four runs on five hits in the fourth to tie things up, but Rockett's two-run long ball, his eighth of the campaign, put the Roadrunners back in front for good at 6-4.
A one-out double by sophomore third baseman Ryan Rummel plated two more in the fifth to extend the lead to four.
After the Colonels pushed three runners across the plate in the sixth, the Birds responded with three of their own and Lockwood's mammoth blast down the right-field line one inning later plated three and capped the seven-run victory. It was his 13th long ball of the year, which is tied for the fifth most in the program's 17-year history and the 27th of his storied two-year career, which is tied for the third-most in school annals.
Senior right-hander Bradley Chovanec (8-3) grinded out seven innings for the victory. The Burton native gave up seven runs on 13 hits, walked three and struck out five in his 12th start of the season. Senior righty Mark Ruffin shut out the Colonels over the final two frames.
All nine starters for UTSA reached base on the afternoon and Hutson, Keithley and sophomore Tim Palincsar had two hits apiece.
Nicholls State starter Bryan Myers (2-5), who was coming off a five-hit shutout at UT Arlington a week ago, was tagged with the loss after surrendering six runs (five earned) on eight hits in four innings of work.
Kevin Persick was a perfect 4-for-4 for the Colonels and Brandt Boudreaux and Walt Jones each recorded three hits.
Sunday's finale is slated for 1 p.m. and the seven-member senior class of Phillip Allen, Chovanec, Zach Etheredge, Lockwood, Ruffin, Steven Vasquez and Josh Wilson will be honored prior to the game. Junior lefty Kris Rupke (5-2, 4.68 ERA) will take the mound in search of his fifth consecutive victory. He will be opposed by right-hander John Beauchamp (0-0, 15.43), who will be making just his second start of the season for Nicholls State.