SAN ANTONIO — Entering the halfway mark of Conference USA action, UTSA will welcome Old Dominion to Roadrunner Field this weekend for a three-game series that is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday.
The Monarchs will be making the trek to the Alamo City for the first time. The two clubs squared off a year ago in Norfolk, Va., and ODU won the series, 2-1. The Roadrunners won the first-ever matchup by blanking the Monarchs by a score of 5-0.
UTSA (19-14, 7-5 C-USA) heads into the series off a midweek victory at Houston Baptist. Cody Brannon was the pitcher of record as he hurled five innings in relief. Jesse Baker one again came up big, as his three-run homer in the top of the ninth secured the win.
Winners of its last two outings, the Roadrunners are hitting .284 and they lead the league in doubles (77/8th NCAA) and home runs (28).
A new name sits atop the squad's season box with Baker leading the team with a .359 batting average. The junior leads the team with nine home runs, including one in each of the past four games, 12 doubles and 29 RBIs. He is slugging .738 on the year.
Brock Hartson will get the starting nod Friday night. The junior right-hander leads the pitching staff with 42 strikeouts and has a 3.69 ERA through 53.2 innings of work. Aaron Burns (1.39 ERA) will get the call for Saturday’s contest, while Nolan Trabanino (5.29 ERA) will start series finale.
Old Dominion (17-14, 5-7 C-USA) comes to town off a Wednesday's loss to VCU. The Monarchs also faced Liberty on Monday and picked up a 5-1 win. In its last conference series, ODU took two of three home contests against Charlotte.
Old Dominion is led by P.J. Higgins, who is batting .366 with a team-leading 48 hits and he has scored 23 runs.
Click here for complete series notes.