DALLAS – Karan Patel earned Conference USA co-Pitcher of the Week, presented by Top of the World, announced by the league office Sunday.
This is the second award of the season for the senior right-handed pitcher from Sugar Land, Texas.
"Karan's performances just keep climbing the mountain from good to great," head coach Jason Marshall said. "He seems to get better every time out.
Patel worked the longest outing of his career in Thursday's 4-3 win over Charlotte, helping the Roadrunners clinch a spot in the conference tournament. He recorded his 10th quality start in his last 11 appearances, allowing three runs – two earned – in 8.0 innings. Patel scattered seven hits, walked two and fanned a career-high 13 batters.
His effort last Thursday was a critical game for us," Marshall said. "He stepped up with 13 K's and became the all-time K leader at UTSA (for a single season). That is a great accomplishment for him and better yet it helped propel us into post-season play. That is a great finish to a great career at UTSA."
His 13 strikeouts increased his season total to 102, becoming the first UTSA pitcher in program history to record 100 strikeouts in a single season. At the conclusion of the regular season, Patel ranks fourth in career strikeouts in program history with 248, trailing only Justin Burgess' (1994-97) 267, Jeff Hutzler's (1992-95) 265 and Eric Montoya's (1997-2000) 249.
The Roadrunners face regular season champion and top-seed Florida Atlantic in The First Conference USA Baseball Championship presented by the Air Force Reserve Wednesday at 4 p.m.
