SAN ANTONIO – UTSA will hit the road for the first time this spring when it visits former Southland Conference foe Sam Houston State at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
UTSA (2-1) will head east for its first midweek game of the season. The last time the Roadrunners took on the Bearkats was back in 2014 with UTSA coming out on top, 9-2. The win snapped an 11-game losing skid against Sam Houston State.
The Roadrunners head to Huntsville off last weekend's series victory against Connecticut. UTSA won its fourth consecutive season opener and again the following afternoon, both in walk-off fashion.
Through the early going, C.J. Pickering sits atop the squad's season box score with a .400 batting average. He went 4-for-10 over the weekend and drew three walks for a .538 on base percentage.
Meanwhile, Skyler Valentine (.385) leads the team with five hits, a .692 slugging percentage and four runs scored. The sophomore led UTSA to victory in the season opener, as he scored the game-winning run in the ninth on a wild pitch. Valentine homered earlier in the contest to even the score at one.
On the bump, Andre Shewcraft and Chance Kirby sit No. 1 and 2 on staff.
Kirby (1.23 ERA) had a masterful performance in his season debut, as he held the Huskies to one run and struck out six in 7.1 innings of action. After giving up a home run to lead off the second inning, Kirby retired 13 consecuitve batters and 17 of the next 18 hitters overall.
Meanwhile, Shewcraft made two appearances in relief and did not allow a run in four innings of work.
Sam Houston State (0-3) was swept by sixth-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette in its season-opening series and Tuesday marks the opener of a seven-game home stand. Leading the way for the Bearkats is Zach Smith, who is batting at a .500 clip (4-for-8) with team-highs of two runs scored and a pair of doubles.
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