SAN ANTONIO — UTSA heads into its most important Conference USA series of the season when it hosts No. 15 and league-leading Southern Miss for a three-game set that will begin on Thursday at Roadrunner Field.
In the final regular-season series of the year, Thursday and Friday's first pitches are scheduled for 6 p.m. while Saturday's finale is slated for 11:30 a.m. The UTSA baseball coaching staff also will recognize its graduating seniors prior to Friday's contest.
The Roadrunners currently are tied for fifth with Charlotte in the league standings, but a close race remains with the remaining teams who have yet to clinch a spot at The First, A National Banking Association, C-USA Tournament. Southern Miss, Old Dominion, Louisiana Tech and Florida Atlantic already have clinched berths with two games separating the remainder of the field.
UTSA (28-23, 15-12 C-USA) is coming off Tuesday's 10-0 loss to #27 Baylor.
Ben Brookover continues his lead on the stat sheet with his .373 average, which ranks third in C-USA and 45th in the country. Meanwhile, Kevin Markham and Bryan Arias follow with a .338 and .333 averages, respectively. Markham leads the squad with 71 hits, including 30 for extra bases, and 52 runs scored, while Arias adds 68 hits of his own with 29 of those going for extra bases. The San Antonio product also leads the team with 53 runs scored and 41 RBIs.
Southern Miss (41-12, 22-5 C-USA) clinched the No. 1 seed at next week's conference tournament with last weekend's sweep of UAB. The last time Southern Miss won a title was back in 2003 when the Golden Eagles also captured the C-USA Tournament crown.
Southern Miss currently is riding an 11-game win streak with its last loss coming at the hands of Old Dominion all the way back on April 23. Most recently, the Golden Eagles handed Southeastern Louisiana an 11-3 loss at MGM Park in Biloxi, the site of the C-USA Tournament. Southern Miss ranks in the top 15 in the country in multiple offensive categories.
The Golden Eagles lead the league with a .313 team batting average, while Dylan Burdeaux leads the offense with a mark of .355, which has come on the strength of 88 hits, including 21 doubles and nine home runs.
Southern Miss leads the all-time series with the Roadrunners, 7-4.
Prior to Thursday's contest, the UTSA Athletics Department will be hosting an outing for all staff and their families, catered by Fuddruckers.
