SAN ANTONIO – UTSA baseball will wrap up its regular-season conference schedule with a four-game series at No. 14 Louisiana Tech, starting on Friday at 6 p.m. at J.C. Love Field. The series will resume with a pair of seven-inning games on Saturday, starting at 2 p.m. and conclude at 1 p.m. on Sunday with a nine-inning finale. All four games will be broadcast live on CUSA TV.
UTSA (21-21, 13-14 Conference USA) owns a magic number of one to clinch a berth in the postseason entering the final weekend of the regular season in the league. The top three teams in each division and then the next two overall teams in the standings, based on league winning percentage, clinch a berth in the C-USA Championships, hosted May 26-30.
The Roadrunners currently sit in third place in the C-USA Western Division, behind Louisiana Tech (19-7) and Southern Miss (20-7). Middle Tennessee (10-17-1) faces FIU (9-17) this weekend in four games to conclude its schedule. Rice (9-18-1) faces Charlotte (22-6) for four in Houston, with a single Rice loss in the series clinching a berth for the Roadrunners. Louisiana Tech will be playing for a title in the C-USA Western Division, sitting just a half game shy of Southern Miss, who travels to Florida Atlantic (16-12) for four games to wrap up the regular-season slate.
UTSA comes into the weekend after posting a series split with No. 19 Old Dominion last weekend in San Antonio. The Roadrunners scored 46 runs during the four-game weekend with ODU, falling 14-11 in the opener, posting 12-10 and 11-0 wins in doubleheader action on Saturday, before falling 6-2 in the finale that saw eight Roadrunners pitch.
The Roadrunners will turn to junior righty Pepper Jones (0-2, 6.00 ERA) on Friday night to face C-USA Pitcher of the Year frontrunner Jonathan Fincher (2-0, 2.06 ERA). UTSA turns to junior right-hander Jacob Jimenez (2-2, 2.79 ERA) in the opener on Saturday, facing LA Tech's Ryan Jennings (4-3, 4.40 ERA). UTSA has not determined starters for the final two games, with the Bulldogs starting Cade Gibson (3-3, 5.80 ERA) in the nightcap on Saturday and league wins leader Jarret Whorff (8-1, 3.15 ERA) in the series finale.
UTSA carries one of the nation's best offensive attacks into the series at LA Tech, ranking among the NCAA's top 25 in eight different categories. UTSA ranks eighth in the nation in scoring (8.1 runs per game), 10th in sac flies (26), 13th in hit by pitches (71), 15th in runs (341), 15th in slugging (.490), 17th in average (.303), 22nd in on-base percentage (.398) and 24th in home runs (56).
The Roadrunners have hit .303/.399/.490 as a team through 42 games, with 30 steals, 56 homers and 341 runs scored. UTSA has a 5.46 team ERA in 346 innings, allowing 159 walks and 372 hits, striking out 321. Defensively, UTSA has fielded .968, throwing out 15 would-be base-stealers.
Senior first baseman Griffin Paxton leads the team with a .348 average, slugging 13 doubles, one triple and seven homers with 37 RBI. Junior shortstop Joshua Lamb has hit .342 with 13 doubles, five homers and 37 RBI, and senior catcher Nick Thornquist has slugged .335 with eight doubles, one triple, 12 homers and 43 RBI. Junior outfielder Dylan Rock has hit .329 with 11 doubles, eight homers and 36 RBI, stealing nine bases. Jonathan Tapia has hit .290 with 21 RBI, Chase Keng has slugged seven homers and driven in 29 in 26 starts, and Ian Bailey has belted six homers and driven in 21 in 27 games.
On the mound, UTSA has seen Luke Malone (2-2, 5.57 ERA), Daniel Garza (1-1, 4.35 ERA), John Chomko (0-2, 4.91 ERA), Hunter Mason (6-5, 4.79 ERA), Grant Miller (0-2, 5.75 ERA) and Arturo Guajardo (3-1, 6.05 ERA) in double figure games in 2021. Kobe Jaramillo (1-0, 6.75 ERA), Simon Miller (3-1, 6.11 ERA), Reece Easterling (1-0, 6.08 ERA), Pepper Jones (0-2, 6.00 ERA), Kyle Sonduck (0-0, 5.40 ERA), Jacob Jimenez (2-2, 2.79 ERA) and Shane Daughety (2-0, 2.25 ERA) have each made multiple starts.
Louisiana Tech (33-12, 19-7 C-USA) has hit .305/.390/.489 as a team through 45 games, scoring 322 runs with 54 homers and 20 steals. Defensively, the Bulldogs have fielded .971, turning 31 double plays and throwing out 10 of 74 would-be base-stealers. On the mound, LA Tech has a 4.24 team ERA in 374 innings, allowing 142 walks and 347 hits, striking out 336 with opponents hitting .262.
Last weekend, the Bulldogs split two games at FIU as the final two games were canceled due to weather. The weekend prior, LA Tech swept Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro after splitting with Marshall in Ruston to wrap up April.
At the plate, the Bulldogs have been led by Cole McConnell, who has hit .354 to lead the team, adding eight doubles, two homers and 14 RBI. Hunter Wells has batted .351 with 13 doubles, two triples, eight homers and 37 RBI. Philip Matilia owns a .343 average with five doubles, two triples, six homers and 24 RBI, with Parker Bates also slugging six homers and driving in a team-leading 43 with a .335 average. Taylor Young has hit .333 with seven homers and 28 RBI, Manny Garcia has hit .331 with seven homers and 39 RBI and Steele Netterville owns eight homers and a .258 average.
Fincher comes into the final weekend looking like the leader for C-USA Pitcher of the Year honors, going 7-0 with a 2.06 ERA in 74.1 innings. He's allowed only 49 hits and 16 walks, striking out 65. Jarret Whorff leads the league with an 8-1 record, adding a 3.15 ERA with 57 strikeouts and 23 walks in 65.2 innings. Ryan Jennings (4-3, 4.40 ERA) and Cade Gibson (3-3, 5.80 ERA) have each made at least eight starts. Landon Tomkins (2-1, 3.91 ERA) has five saves with Kyle Crigger (2-1, 4.20 ERA) owning four saves in nine outings.
UTSA leads the all-time series with Louisiana Tech, 13-11 and own an 8-7 record in Ruston. In the last meeting, in 2019 in Ruston, LA Tech swept with a 4-2 win in the opener of a Friday doubleheader, an 8-7 win in the nightcap and a 6-3 win on Sunday. The Bulldogs have won six of the last seven games with UTSA. UTSA is searching for its first series win over LA Tech since 2017 in Ruston, a place UTSA has won three of five series vs. LA Tech.
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