SAN ANTONIO – For the first time in two weeks, the UTSA baseball team is back at Roadrunner Field, as the Roadrunners are set to host FIU for a three-game Conference USA weekend series.
UTSA (24-13, 9-6 C-USA) looks to make it four Conference USA weekend series wins in a row, as the Roadrunners face the FIU Panthers. The series will take place over the April 22-24 weekend. UTSA enters the weekend series having lost two straight, its first two-game losing streak since March 26/27.
The Roadrunners are 7-3 in their last ten contests which included a 5-3 record on the road where they faced off with tough opponents like No. 29 Old Dominion, Sam Houston and No. 9 Texas State. UTSA currently sits at 56 in the college baseball RPI standings after dropping Tuesday's game against No. 9 Texas State.
The Panthers (11-23, 4-11 C-USA) enter the weekend series with UTSA following a tough series against Conference USA leader, No. 11 Southern Miss. The Panthers were swept but took the Golden Eagles to extras in the third game before falling 4-6 in 12 innings. The Panthers are 2-8 in their last 10 games and had tough outings against No. 8 Miami and Old Dominion during that stretch.
This will be the fifth all-time series meeting between the two C-USA programs and the first meeting since 2018. The series is tied 2-2 but the Panthers are 7-6 against the Roadrunners all time as they won a C-USA tournament game over UTSA in 2015. UTSA is 3-3 against FIU in games played in San Antonio.
Miscellaneous Notes
- UTSA enters the weekend series having the second-highest batting average (.302) in all of Conference USA and ranks 24th nationally.
- UTSA ranks fourth in C-USA with 180 walks drawn.
- The Roadrunners have hit 80 doubles, the 20th most in baseball ranking second in C-USA.
- UTSA has 13 triples on the year, tops in C-USA and 12nd in the nation.
- UTSA possesses the 16th most hits in college baseball with 396. Ranking first in C-USA.
- UTSA's 306 runs rank 17th in college baseball and second in conference.
- UTSA leads the nation in sacrifice flies with 28 on the season.
- The Roadrunners are averaging 8.3 runs a game the second-most in C-USA and 19th overall.
- Pitcher Luke Malone owns the lowest ERA in all of Conference USA with a 1.97. That ERA ranks 23rd nationally.
- Opposing batters are hitting .225 against Malone. That's the ninth-lowest opponent batting average in the conference.
- Malone has allowed the tenth-fewest hits on the year (42) and third-fewest runs (15) in Conference USA. He has only allowed 11 earned runs, the second-fewest in C-USA.
- Malone is tied for the third-most wins in C-USA with five.
- Pitcher Daniel Shafer is tied for the fifth-most saves in C-USA with five.
- UTSA has three players in the top 10 of the conference for being hit by pitches.
- Sammy Diaz (11) is third in conference, Jonathan Tapia (10) is fourth and Shane Sirdashney (8) is ninth.
- Sirdashney has the eighth-best batting average (.352) in conference and owns the fifth-best on-base percentage (.469).
- Tapia has hit the ninth-most doubles in C-USA (12) and has scored 28 runs on the year, ranking seventh-most in the conference.
- Ian Bailey has logged the fourth most at-bats (155) in the conference. In those at-bats he:
- Has the second-most triples of any C-USA player (3).
- Has scored the fourth-most runs with 40
- Ryan Flores has drawn 27 walks on the season which ranks as the sixth most in C-USA.
- Flores and teammate Chase Keng both have five sacrifice flies on the year, placing them both in the top three of that statistical category in Conference USA.
- Keng also ranks top ten in the conference for RBI. Keng has tallied 40 on the year which places him tied for sixth in Conference USA.
- Garrett Poston owns the seventh-best on-base percentage in the conference, boasting a .466.
Weekend Information
Friday, April 22 at 6 p.m.
R-Jr. RHP, Luke Malone (5-1, 1.97 ERA) vs. Fr. RHP, Kevin Martin (0-2, 10.07 ERA)
Saturday, April 23 at 2 p.m.
Sr. RHP, Jacob Jimenez (2-1, 5.27 ERA) vs. So. RHP, Patrick Pridgen (2-4, 4.22 ERA)
Sunday, April 24 at 11 a.m.
UTSA TBD vs. FIU TBD
All games will take place at Roadrunner Field and will be streamed on CUSA TV.
UP NEXT: UTSA will welcome I-35 rival Texas State to Roadrunner Field on Tuesday, April 26. The Roadrunners and Bobcats will be playing their second game in a week, as the two squads previously met on April 19 where Texas State held off a furious UTSA rally and won, 14-12. First pitch for Tuesday's game is set for 6 p.m. and will be streamed on CUSA TV.
- UTSA -