22nd Annual Southland Conference Tournament
May 20-23 ? Whataburger Field ? Corpus Christi, Texas
May 20 ? Game 54: Northwestern State (26-24), 9 a.m.
May 21 ? Game 55: Southeastern Louisiana/Sam Houston State, TBA (9 a.m. or 4 p.m.)
UTSA seeking third SLC Tournament title this week: UTSA (31-22, 20-12 SLC), winners of five of its last half dozen contests, heads to Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi as the No. 3 seed at this week’s Southland Conference Tournament. The Roadrunners will play sixth-seeded Northwestern State (26-24, 18-13) in the event’s first game at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. The Demons took 2-of-3 games from UTSA at the Bird Bath from April 9-11, but the Roadrunners hold a 27-25 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to the 1993 season due to wins in eight of the past 11 matchups.
The remainder of the field: The other half of the UTSA’s bracket includes No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana (35-20, 21-12) and two-time defending SLC Tournament Champion Sam Houston State (32-22, 18-14), which is the seven seed this year. That game is slated for noon on Wednesday. The winners will meet at 4 p.m. Thursday, while the losers will play an elimination game at 9 a.m. The other side of the tournament bracket includes SLC Regular Season Champion Texas State (38-14, 24-7), which will play No. 8 Stephen F. Austin (23-30, 14-18) at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, and four seed Lamar (36-20, 20-13), which will square off against No. 5 UT Arlington (29-24, 19-13) in Wednesday’s final contest at 7 p.m.
Birds handle rest of their bracket during regular season: The Roadrunners fared well against both Southeastern Louisiana and Sam Houston State this spring. UTSA opened SLC play by taking 2-of-3 games against the Lions (March 6-8) and the Birds swept the Bearkats for the fourth year in a row three weeks later in Huntsville.
Roadrunners in SLC Tournament play: UTSA, playing in a school-record sixth consecutive conference tournament, has posted an all-time record of 17-16 in 10 previous appearances (1994, ’96-97, ’99, 2001, ’04-08), including championships in 1994 and 2005.
Six players named to All-SLC teams: Another successful regular season by UTSA resulted in a half dozen players being named to the All-Southland Conference teams, the league office announced on Monday. Leading the way for the Roadrunners were senior All-America center fielder Michael Rockett and junior third baseman Lance Brown, both of whom were named to the first team, the Roadrunners most first teamers since 2006. Senior outfielder Jose Hernandez earned second-team accolades, while sophomore second baseman Ryan Hutson collected third-team honors. Rounding out the award winners were senior shortstop Marshal Davis and junior pitcher Red Patterson, who both were honorable mention selections.
NCAA rankings: The Roadrunners offense is ranked among the top 20 nationally in triples (14th/22), home runs (19th/86), slugging percentage (19th/.539) and UTSA is just outside the top 20 in hits (24th/634) and runs scored (27th/446). Meanwhile, senior Jose Hernandez’ 24 doubles rank seventh nationally and fellow senior Michael Rockett’s school-record 95 hits stand eighth. Other Roadrunners in the top 20 include junior Lance Brown (triples/6/18th) and Rockett (total bases/SLC-best 157/18th).
The bomb squad: UTSA has launched a school-record 86 home runs this season, the 19th-best total in the NCAA, and that has shattered the previous mark of 66 that was set in 1999. Junior Ryan Rummel set the program’s new standard with his two-run shot on May 9 at McNeese State. The Birds have been on a home-run binge of late, leaving the yard 44 times in their last 14 outings, including a school-record eight last Friday against Central Arkansas (previous: 7, vs. Incarnate Word, April 29, 1997).
On pace for best offensive season ever: In addition to a new program standard for homers and total bases (1,062) this season, the Roadrunners are close to establishing new school records for team batting average, runs scored, hits, doubles, RBIs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Below is a list of those marks.
Category 2009 Record (Year)
Batting avg. .322 .316 (2008)
Runs scored 446 467 (2008)
Hits 634 647 (2008)
Doubles 126 134 (2008)
Home runs 86 66 (1999)
RBIs 394 419 (2008)
Total bases 1,062 1,005 (2008)
Slugging pct. .539 .490 (2008)
On-base pct. .399 .406 (1996)
Downright offensive: UTSA is coming into this week’s tournament on fire, having scored in double figures in six of its last nine games (all wins). In fact, the Birds have scored 10 or more runs 20 times this spring and been on the winning end of all but one of those tilts. The only team to defeat the Roadrunners when they score in double digits this year is Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (10-11, March 28).
Comeback kids: The Roadrunners have shown great resiliency all year long and that is most evident in their 18 come-from-behind victories, including five walk-off wins. Senior Jose Hernandez has been responsible for two of the walk-off triumphs, as he launched two-run homers to defeat Southeastern Louisiana on March 6 and Central Arkansas on May 15.
Setting a new league standard: Senior All-America center fielder Michael Rockett has spent the majority of his final season rewriting the Southland Conference record book and laying claim to being the top player in league history. The Sugar Land native has set new conference career marks for at-bats (929), hits (333), doubles (63), RBIs (206) and total bases (527).
More about Michael: Rockett not only has set a quintet of SLC career marks this year, but he also has added UTSA all-time records for games started (215) and runs scored (197) and the program’s single-season standard for hits (95). His .396 batting average this spring currently ranks second in school history and his 157 total bases are eight shy of Jeff Juarez’ record established 10 years ago.
Rockett takes flight: Michael Rockett became a first-team All-SLC honoree for the second consecutive season and is just the second player in program history to earn such honors (Jeff Juarez, 1998-99). A four-time all-conference selection (he was a second teamer in 2006-07), the Sugar Land native is leading UTSA in batting average (career-high .396), runs scored (60), hits (school-record 95), multi-hit games (32) and total bases (SLC-leading 157). He also has 16 doubles, two triples, a career-best 14 home runs and 54 RBIs to go along with 13 stolen bases and seven outfield assists. Rockett, who has recorded a hit in all but three games this spring, also has three hitting streaks of 14 games or more, including a current 18-gamer that is one short of his career high set earlier this season (five to end 2008, 14 to open ’09). Rockett was just as impressive in conference games, hitting .390 with 37 runs, nine doubles, a triple, six homers, 31 RBIs and eight stolen bases.
Gunning them down: One of the more underrated aspects of Rockett’s game is his defense in center field, which arguably is the best in the country. Not only has he made several highlight-reel catches during his career, but he also is one of the hardest outfielders in the nation to run on. In fact, 12 of his last 15 assists dating back to 2007 have resulted in base runners being thrown out at the plate. Rockett has a total of 25 assists during his career (12 at the plate).
Hernandez hurting the opposition: Senior left fielder Jose Hernandez has hit .360 with 57 runs, 24 doubles (No. 2 on UTSA’s single-season chart), a triple, 15 home runs, a team-high 57 RBIs and nine stolen bases this year. The Anaheim Hills, Calif., native has accumulated 142 total bases, which translates to a squad-leading .721 slugging percentage, and he also has walked 36 times and been hit by 11 pitches, giving him a club-best .476 on-base percentage. In fact, Hernandez has reached base by hit, walk or hit by pitch in all but one contest this season. He tied a school record with three home runs, including a walk-off two-run shot on March 6 against Southeastern Louisiana, and also had a career-high six RBIs in that tilt, one of a team-leading 15 multi-RBI efforts this spring. Hernandez was even more of a force in league action, hitting .376 with 37 runs, 14 doubles, 11 home runs, 38 RBIs and an SLC-best 94 total bases (.752 SLG%).
Hot-hitting Hutson: Sophomore second baseman Ryan Hutson has been on quite a tear of late and it has him within one of the longest standing records in UTSA history. Hutson has hit home runs in five consecutive games and a total of 12 in the last 13 contests overall, including a quartet of two-homer performances. That has pushed his season total to a team-leading 17 and that is one shy of the school record shared by Kent Wallis (1998) and Jeff Juarez (1999). The Round Rock native is hitting .343 with a dozen doubles, a pair of triples and 43 RBIs this spring.
Brown back in a big way: Junior third baseman Lance Brown has bounced back from last year’s back injury that forced him to redshirt after playing just a half dozen contests. The Richland Hills native owns a .368 batting average to go along with 49 runs, 16 doubles, six triples (No. 3 on UTSA’s single-season chart), four home runs, 38 RBIs and nine stolen bases. He also has racked up a quartet of four-hit performances, has registered a .557 slugging percentage and is reaching base at a .419 clip. A preseason honorable mention pick prior to being injured last spring, Brown posted a .362 batting average in SLC play with 17 extra-base hits (9 2B, 5 3B, 3 HR) and 26 RBIs.
Patterson punching them out: Junior starting pitcher Red Patterson has been solid in his first season as a Roadrunner. The Frisco native, who will start Wednesday’s tournament opener, has posted a 5-3 record with a 4.97 ERA in 87 innings of work (13 starts) and he is second in the SLC with 80 strikeouts, which is the sixth-best single-season total in UTSA history. He also leads the Roadrunners with a half dozen quality starts and has gone at least six innings 10 times, including a streak of four consecutive eight-frame performances from April 3-24. The right-hander’s top performance was a four-hit shutout at Sam Houston State on March 20 and he also struck out a season-best nine in a nine-inning start at Nicholls on April 24.
Crocker’s consistency: Sophomore southpaw Matt Crocker easily has been the team’s top pitcher this spring. The Kingwood native has appeared in 19 games out of the bullpen and posted a 5-1 ledger to go along with a 3.57 ERA. He has fanned 38 hitters in 35.1 innings and allowed just 30 hits, which has translated to a .227 opposing batting average. Crocker has been outstanding the last five weeks, appearing in 10 contests with five wins, a 2.59 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. During that time, he has tossed at least two panels in all but one outing and he fanned a career-high seven in a win against Dallas Baptist, the first of his first career, on April 13. Crocker was named the SLC Pitcher of the Week on April 27 after picking up a pair of victories in UTSA’s sweep at Nicholls.
Clarke coming on strong: Sophomore right-hander Kevin Clarke has been solid out of the Roadrunners bullpen the past month, posting two wins, a save and 2.25 ERA in his last four outings, which covers 16 innings of work. The Huntsville native tossed a career-best 6.2 scoreless frames in a win at Nicholls on April 25 and picked up the first save of his career with four innings of one-run ball on May 10 at McNeese State. His latest appearance, which came in a victory last Friday against Central Arkansas, included a career-high nine strikeouts in five panels.
Keeping them close: Twenty-eight of UTSA’s 53 contests this spring have been decided by three runs or less. The Roadrunners have posted identical 4-2 marks in two- and three-run tilts and are 8-8 in one-run games.
Four in a row: UTSA has enjoyed remarkable success since 2006 and, by virtue of its 31 wins and 20 SLC victories this spring, now has posted four 30/20 campaigns in a row.
Victory No. 500: When UTSA defeated McNeese State, 15-10, on May 8, it posted the 500th win in the program’s 18-year history. The Roadrunners, who played their 1,000th contest on April 29 at #17 Baylor, enters this week’s SLC Tournament with a 504-505 (.499) all-time record dating back to their inaugural season in 1992.
