SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team will return to action with a four-game series at Roadrunner Field, hosting Middle Tennessee, starting on Friday at 6 p.m. The series will resume on Saturday with a pair of seven-inning games, starting at 2 p.m. and conclude on Sunday at 11 a.m. All four games will be broadcast live on CUSA TV.
UTSA (11-11, 3-4 Conference USA) will face off with Middle Tennessee (15-11-1, 4-3-1 C-USA) in a four-game series, part of UTSA's season-long eight-game homestand. The Roadrunners are coming off a weekend that saw Southern Miss pick up three wins and the Blue Raiders last weekend went 2-1-1 in three games with Rice.
The Roadrunners will turn to a pair of freshmen to start the first two games, with the final two starters yet to be determined. Righty John Chomko (0-1, 2.61 ERA) will make his second career start on Friday. He has worked 10.1 innings, allowing four walks and striking out 10 over six appearances. Right-hander Kobe Jaramillo (1-0, 5.25 ERA) will make his third start in his sixth outing. He has worked 12 innings on the year, walking eight and striking out 11. UTSA has also used Shane Daughety (2-0, 2.25 ERA), Luke Malone (1-1, 5.87 ERA), Simon Miller (2-1, 3.95 ERA), Reece Easterling (1-0, 4.70 ERA), Grant Miller (0-1, 7.07 ERA) and Ryan Ward (0-3, 8.38 ERA) for multiple starts in 2021.
The Blue Raiders will start righty Aaron Brown (4-2, 3.40 ERA) on Friday, lefty Peyton Wigginton (2-2, 3.23 ERA) in the opener on Saturday and righty Zach Keenan (2-2, 2.41 ERA) in the nightcap. Sunday, lefty Trent Seibert (1-0, 3.30 ERA) will make his sixth start of the year. Brown has fanned 61 in 42.1 innings, allowing only 25 hits and nine walks in his seven starts, two of which have been complete games. Wigginton has 33 strikeouts and 14 walks in 39 innings, while Keenan has walked only five and struck out 41 in 37.1 innings. Seibert has struck out 30 and walked four in 30 innings.
Middle Tennessee has hit .233/.335/.363 under third-year head coach Jim Toman, totaling a 3.32 team ERA and a .971 fielding percentage. The Blue Raiders have slugged 38 doubles, four triples and 20 homers, scoring 125 runs in 27 games, with a .363 slugging and a .335 on-base percentage, stealing an impressive 70 bases. On the mound, MT has fanned 248 in 230.2 innings, allowing a .223 opponent average, walking 59 and allowing 191 hits.
Cole Escher leads the team in average with a .364 clip, the only everyday player hitting over .300. Fausto Lopez has stolen 17 of 25 bases and hit .290 with two homers and 12 RBI, while Brett Coker has hit three homers, driving in 14 and stolen 10 of 11 bases. JT Mabry leads the team with a .277 average with four homers and 14 RBI, stealing six bases.
The Roadrunners have hit .285/.384/.460 through 22 games in 2021, scoring 178 runs in 22 games, with 43 doubles, 29 homers and 155 RBI. On the mound, UTSA has a 5.12 team ERA in 190 innings, allowing 195 hits and 96 walks, striking out 180 and holding foes to a .265 average. Defensively, UTSA has fielded .977, throwing out nine of 22 would-be basestealers.
Senior infielder Griffin Paxton leads the team with a .386 average, belting seven doubles, one triple and four homers, driving in 18 runs with a .500 on-base percentage. Junior outfielder Dylan Rock has hit .318 with three homers and 16 RBI, with senior catcher Nick Thornquist hitting .305 with four homers and 24 RBI. Infielder Joshua Lamb has hit .294 with eight doubles, three homers and 22 RBI, with freshman infielder Austin Ochoa hitting .258 with two homers and 13 RBI. Senior outfielder Ian Bailey leads the team with five homers, hitting .253, with Kyle Bergeron batting .250 with a homer and eight RBI.
In relief, UTSA has seen Daniel Garza (1-0, 4.91 ERA), Hunter Mason (3-4, 5.57 ERA) and Jay Ward (0-0, 6.43 ERA) each appear in at least six games out of the bullpen. Arturo Guajardo (0-0, 9.53 ERA) and Grant Miller (0-1, 7.07 ERA) each own saves.
UTSA leads the all-time series with Middle Tennessee, 13-6, including a 6-3 mark in games played in San Antonio. The Blue Raiders won the series in San Antonio in 2019, snapping a streak of five consecutive series wins for the Roadrunners to open the all-time series.
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