SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA baseball team will wrap up its eight-game road swing on Tuesday when the Roadrunners travel to Houston Baptist for a 2 p.m. contest.
UTSA (9-9) has been on the road for most of the month of March and posted 3-4 in its last seven games, including a pair of losses at Marshall to open Conference USA action last weekend. The Roadrunners easily won the series opener on a 4-2 decision but came up short in the nightcap after scoring 10 runs in the ninth to suffer a 12-11 setback.
Catcher Tony Beam was exceptional for UTSA over the weekend hitting at a .700 clip and improving his overall average to a C-USA best .429. Beam was 7-of-10 and was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle in the series opener.
Meanwhile, on the hill, Karan Patel will make his fifth start of the season on Tuesday. The right-handed pitcher owns a 5.63 ERA and a 1-1 record. Patel has logged 16 innings and has issued 14 walks with 12 strikeouts.
Houston Baptist (8-10) has played six of its last seven on the road and are riding a five-game losing streak. The Huskies last picked up a win on March 10 at Kansas.
On the season, HBU is hitting .262 and is led by Zane Otten's .410 batting average. Otten has tallied 16 hits with 10 runs scored, three doubles, a triple, five RBIs, five stolen bases and a pair of walks. Spencer Holloran, who has played in all 18 games this season, boasts a .343 batting average with team bests in hits (24), runs scored (17), triples (4), home runs (2), RBIs (15) and walks (12).
JT Jakubik will get the starting nod for the Huskies, making his fourth overall appearance and second start. Jakubik owns a 0-1 record in eight innings of work and has not allowed an extra base hit in the seven hits allowed.
UTSA leads the all-time series, 8-4, and it won the last meeting in Houston by a score of 6-2.
