2009 Season Opener
San Francisco Dons (31-26 in 2008) at UTSA Roadrunners (39-19 in 2008)
Games 1-4 ? Friday-Sunday, Feb. 20-22 ? 6/2 (DH)/1 p.m.
Wolff Stadium (9,700) ? San Antonio, Texas
Probable starting pitching matchups (2008 W-L, ERA. IP, K)
Friday, Feb. 20: Matt Lujan, lhp (7-2, 3.19, 79.0, 51) vs. Clay Schrader, rhp (high school)
Saturday, Feb. 21 (Game 1): Doug Murray, rhp (JUCO transfer) vs. Kris Ruepke, lhp (6-3, 5.51, 78.1, 40)
Saturday, Feb. 21 (Game 2): Garrett Luippold, lhp (4-1, 5.80, 40.1, 30) vs. Red Patterson, rhp (redshirt)
Sunday, Feb. 22: Alex Kalogrides, rhp (3-4, 4.20, 49.1, 44) vs. Ryan Proudfoot, rhp (7-3, 4.61, 70.1, 46)
Probable UTSA starting lineup (2008 BA, R, HR, RBI, SB)
1. R Lance Brown, 3b (.368, 5, 0, 4, 0)
2. R Ryan Rummel, dh (.291, 36, 4, 30, 1)
3. R Michael Rockett, cf (.360, 60, 10, 68, 9)
4. R Aaron Powell, rf (.357, 36, 4, 34, 2)
5. R Jose Hernandez, lf (.319, 17, 1, 24, 1)
6. R Ryan Hutson, 2b (.246, 47, 7, 32, 5)
7. R Tyler Carpenter, c (.299, 26, 3, 23, 4)
8. R Matthew James, 1b (high school)
9. S Marshal Davis, ss (redshirt)
Leading off:
? UTSA is the consensus preseason favorite to win its third consecutive Southland Conference Regular Season Championship
? The Roadrunners return 22 letterwinners, 10 pitchers and six positionstarters from last year's squad that tied a school record with 39 wins
? Two-time defending SLC Coach of the Year Sherman Corbett has led the program to three league titles in the last four years (two regular season/one tournament)
? Michael Rockett and Zach Calhoon are preseason All-Americans
? Four players were named to the conference's preseason teams (Rockett & Calhoon first team/Aaron Powell & Ryan Proudfoot second team)
? When freshman right-hander Clay Schrader toes the rubber on Friday night, he will become just the second true freshman to start a season opener in school history
? Senior right fielder Aaron Powell brings a career-best 11-game hitting streak into Friday's season opener (.381/16-42)
Series history: This weekend will mark the first all-time meetings between the two schools.
On the Web: A free audio stream of all 55 of UTSA's games will be carried live courtesy of Yahoo! Sports this season. Ed Suarez will call all the action this weekend. Live stats also will be available at no cost for every contest the Roadrunners play this spring. on goUTSA.com Beginning with the March 24 tilt against Texas-Pan American, video streaming will be available for Rowdy Zone subscribers for 16 selected home games at Roadrunner Field (March 27-29 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; April 9-11 vs. Northwestern State; April 13 vs. Dallas Baptist; April 17-19 vs. Lamar; May 2-3 vs. Texas State; May 14-16 vs. Central Arkansas).
Wolff Stadium dominance: A fixture on the program's home schedule since 1998, UTSA is slated to play four games at Wolff Stadium this season. Built in 1994 and known as "The Jewel of the Texas League," the facility is home to the San Antonio Missions, the Double A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Roadrunners have a 60-46 (.566) all-time record at the Wolff and have been particularly successful the past three seasons, posting a 19-7 record. In fact, UTSA has won 17 of its last 22 contests at the stadium entering this weekend.
Trying to reverse a trend: The Roadrunners are 4-13 all-time in season openers and they have not won a lid-lifter since a 4-0 victory at Texas A&M on Feb. 8, 2000.
Preseason All-Americans: Senior center fielder Michael Rockett and junior closer Zach Calhoon both have earned preseason All-America honors from multiple organizations. Rockett, who became the program's first-ever second-team honoree last spring, was selected to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's first team and Collegiate Baseball's third team. Calhoon, meanwhile, earned third-team accolades from both the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball.
Rockett a national player of the year candidate: Preseason All-American Michael Rockett has been named to the Brooks Wallace and NCBWA's Dick Howser Award watch lists, both of which honor the nation's top player. Rockett is coming off a junior campaign that saw him hit .360 with a UTSA-record 25 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs and 68 RBIs. He also scored 60 runs, stole nine bases and threw out seven runners at the plate from center field.
Calhoon stopper of the year candidate: Junior closer Zach Calhoon was one of 40 relief pitchers named to the NCBWA's Stopper of the Year watch list on Tuesday. Calhoon saved an SLC-best 13 games a year ago, a mark that ranked eighth nationally (NCAA's third-best returning total). He also posted a 4-1 record with a 1.54 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 41 innings of work (26 appearances).
Duo among nation's best: On pace to break nearly every hitting record in school annals, senior center fielder Michael Rockett ranks among returning hitters nationally in career hits (238/third), RBIs (152/third), total bases (370/third) and doubles (47/sixth). Meanwhile, junior closer Zach Calhoon's UTSA career-record 19 saves stand fourth among the country's returnees.
Exclusive company: Freshman right-hander Clay Schrader will join some exclusive company when he takes the Wolff Stadium mound on Friday night. Schrader will become just the second true freshman in the program's 18-year history to start a season opener and first since the inaugural campaign in 1992. Jeff Johnston got the nod in UTSA's first-ever game, a Feb. 8 contest against Texas-Pan American.
Preseason polls: UTSA was the consensus choice to win its third consecutive SLC Regular Season Championship, as voted by the league's coaches and sports information directors. The Roadrunners picked up five first-place votes in both polls and outdistanced second-place Lamar by nine points (111-102) in the SIDs Poll. In the coaches poll, they were ahead of Sam Houston State and Texas State by four tallies (110-106).
Getting ready for the grind: UTSA is slated to play 55 games this season and those contests will take place over an 85-day span. In a rare feat for a southern-based program, the Roadrunners will play 30 of their tilts away from the Alamo City, which translates to 54.5 percent.
Team captains: Seniors Marshal Davis, Michael Rockett and Kris Ruepke and junior Ryan Rummel will serve as team captains this spring.
