SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will have another tough weekend ahead of it, as the Roadrunners will clash with No. 6 Texas Tech in a three-game set that begins at 6:30 p.m. om Friday at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
Texas Tech (12-2) will be the second ranked opponent that UTSA will face in the early going this season. The Roadrunners faced then-No. 24 Utah last weekend and dropped two of three contests against the Utes.
UTSA will play its first road series of the year as part of its current eight-game road swing. The Roadrunners head into the weekend following Tuesday night's 9-1 thumping at I-35 rival Texas State. Two big scoring innings lifted the Birds to victory in the first of two scheduled meetings this spring.
UTSA (7-5) has seen some strong performances at the plate this season led by senior Kevin Markham. The outfielder leads the team with a .442 batting average and tops the squad in seven offensive categories, including a national-leading 10 doubles.
A new rotation will be featured this weekend with southpaw Nolan Trabanino earning the Friday night start. The senior boasts a 1.96 ERA in 18.1 innings of work and he is tied for the team lead with 13 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .197 batting average.
Texas Tech has won four of its last five contests with the lone loss to then-No. 11 Texas A&M. The Red Raiders' only other loss this season came at Mississippi State.
In the coaches' poll this week, Texas Tech is ranked as high as No. 6 in the D1Baseball.com poll and as low as No. 14 in Baseball America's. The Red Raiders are coming off Tuesday's 13-1 home victory against fourth-ranked Arizona.
On the season, Tech is hitting .295 and it has committed just eight miscues through its 14 games. The Red Raiders have outscored their opponents, 107-41.
Grant Little leads the team with a .400 batting average on 14 hits with 15 runs scored and a .488 on base percentage. Hunter Hargrove (.379) leads the team with 22 hits, including 11 for extra bases. Meanwhile, Steven Gingery heads up the pitching staff with a 1.23 ERA.
