SAN ANTONIO – After playing 12 of the first 13 games at home, UTSA baseball leaves the Lone Star State for the first time in 2019.
The Roadrunners open a four-game road trip deep in Southeastern Conference country with a three-game weekend series at No. 18 Auburn. This is the first ever meeting between the two schools on the diamond and just the fourth current SEC member faced by UTSA.
Game Coverage: The series opener and finale are available on SECN+, which is available on the ESPN Watch app. Live stats can be found at https://auburntigers.com/sidearmstats/baseball.
After defeating No. 19 Texas 10-7 in Austin Feb. 27, UTSA tangles with a nationally ranked team for the second time in back-to-back weeks.
Last time out, the Roadrunners fell short at home against their I-35 rival Texas State Tuesday. Plating five runs in the middle frames, with two in the fifth and three in the sixth, the Bobcats claimed an 8-3 victory.
Auburn enters the weekend with a six-game winning streak defeating UT Martin 2-0 Wednesday at Plainsman Field. The shutout is the third in five games for the Tigers' pitching staff, which ranks 16th in the nation with a team ERA of 2.47.
UTSA's senior Karan Patel is scheduled to get the ball on the mound in Friday's opener and sophomore Tanner Burns will get the nod for the Tigers. In a matchup of righties, Patel enters with a record of 0-2 and has an ERA of 2.70, while Burns is 2-0 with an earned-run-average of 0.92.
Junior right-hander Slater Foust (2-0, 0.92) takes the hill for the Roadrunners and his counterpart is sophomore southpaw Jack Owen (2-0, 0.00).
At time of the release, neither team has settled on their starters in the series-finale Sunday.
Dylan Rock leads UTSA with a .386 batting average with 17 hits, including five doubles and one triple. He has scored 11 times and driven in team-high 12 runs.
Rock reached base four of his five plate appearances in Tuesday's game against Texas State, with a single, double and two walks. With a double in the third inning of Tuesday's contest, Rock extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
Tapia reached base for the 13th time this season Tuesday and has a team best .518 on-base percentage. He is hitting .350 with 14 hits, including three doubles and a home run. His eight walks are second on the squad to Rock, and a pitch has hit Tapia seven times. His 4-4 in stolen-base attempts matches Brian Arias for the teams lead.
Julien Edouard paces the Tigers in hitting with a .366/.509/.756 slash line. He is 15-for-41 at the plate with five home runs and one double, driving in team-high 13 runs. Edouard has drawn 10 free passes and been hit by a pitch three times.
Eight of Rankin Woley's 17 hits have been for extra-bases, which is the most of the squad. He has doubled six times, which is a team best, tripled once and homered once.
On the rubber, Tanner Burns leads the pitching staff with three starts, posting a 2-0 record. He touts a 0.92 ERA, allowing two runs on seven hits, three walks and struck out 29 in 19.2 innings of work.
Cody Greenhill's five appearances, all out of the bullpen, are the most on the staff. He has a 2.00 ERA, surrendering two runs on five hits, two walks and fanning two in 9.0 innings tossed.
