SAN ANTONIO – UTSA is set to meet FAU in the opening day nightcap of the Conference USA Baseball Championships. The tournament is being played in Hattiesburg, Miss. at Pete Taylor Park, home of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Four seed FAU and five seed UTSA will meet Wednesday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN +.
UTSA (35-19, 19-11 Conference USA) come into Hattiesburg with an RPI of 49. At-large bids are typically given to those teams that hover around 45 so UTSA could help cement itself in the at-large conversation with a good showing in Hattiesburg. UTSA concluded the regular season this past weekend where they took a weekend series over UAB, 2-1. The Roadrunners finished the conference slate with a 19-11 record, tied with ODU and FAU for third in the conference. Through a series of three tiebreakers, UTSA was tabbed as the five seed for the conference tournament.
This 2022 Roadrunner squad has an opportunity to make history within UTSA athletics as they continue to assert themselves as a potential NCAA Tournament at-large team, something no other UTSA team – in any sport with the same postseason structure – has ever accomplished. FAU enters the weekday game sitting at a 92 RPI. The Roadrunners have received votes in 11 of 14 weeks, including the last eight polls.
Locked in 🔒🔒
— UTSA Baseball ⚾️ (@UTSABSB) May 24, 2022
📍 Hattiesburg, Miss.#BirdsUp 🤙 pic.twitter.com/I46hON3MEq
Wednesday's Pitching Matchup
The Roadrunners will turn to freshman right-hander Braylon Owens (3-1, 4.76 ERA) for his second career start on Wednesday vs. FAU. Owens has been a relief ace since getting roughed up in his lone start of the year, on Sunday of opening weekend at Tarleton State, his collegiate debut. Since his start, Owens has worked in 13 games and owns a 3-0 record and a 2.89 ERA in 28 innings, allowing 25 hits and 20 walks, striking out 33. Overall, including the start at Tarleton that saw him get an out and allow seven runs, Owens has appeared in 14 games with 28.1 innings worked, allowing 30 hits and 21 walks, striking out 33. He is coming off his best career outing, working 4.1 innings vs. UAB on Friday in relief, allowing four hits and one run, walking two and striking out five over 65 pitches. After allowing a homer to the first hitter he faced out of the bullpen, Owens settled in to worked 13 strong outs to put UTSA in position to earn a win via an eighth-inning rally.
FAU will send senior southpaw Hunter Cooley to the mound for Wednesday's nightcap. Cooley, a Vero Beach Fla. native who stands 6-foot-3, has made 14 starts for the Owls in 2022, working a team-high 98 innings, allowing 96 hits and 17 walks, striking out 72 with opponents hitting .254. In his last outing against Marshall, Cooley worked seven innings, allowing six runs on nine hits, walking one and punching out three.
Leading the Roadrunners
UTSA (35-19, 19-11 C-USA) is hunting its fourth all-time league tournament crown and their first since winning the Western Athletic Conference in 2013. UTSA won the Southland Conference Tournaments in 1994 and 2005. The Roadrunners have been led by one of the nation's top offenses, ranking among the nation's leaders in seven categories. UTSA ranks sixth in sacrifice flies (34), 24th in doubles (115), 27th in runs (435), 28th in hits (573), 31st in scoring (8.1), 32nd in batting average (.303) and 34th in on-base percentage (.401).
UTSA has belted 64 home runs in 54 games, owning 435 runs with 115 doubles, 14 triples and 30 steals. On the bump, UTSA pitchers own a 5.42 team ERA, walking 264 and punching out a school record 491 batters in 466.1 innings pitched. As a team, UTSA is fielding at a .966 clip.
At the plate, senior centerfielder Shane Sirdashney leads the club with a .349 average, owning 10 doubles, five homers and 32 RBI. Senior second baseman Leyton Barry has hit .336 with 13 doubles, two triples, four homers and 37 RBI, while junior catcher Sammy Diaz has hit .309 with four homers and 29 RBI, owning a 17-11 walk-strikeout ratio in 149 at-bats. Fifth-year senior Jonathan Tapia has hit .310 with 19 doubles, six homers and 45 RBI, while fellow fifth-year senior rightfielder Chase Keng owns a .325 average with 16 doubles, two triples, eight homers and 56 RBI. Sixth-year graduate-senior leftfielder Ian Bailey has batted .298 with 15 doubles, three triples, 15 homers and 48 RBI. Senior first baseman Ryan Flores has hit .319 with 11 homers and 49 RBI, while sophomore Garrett Poston owns a .304 average with a homer and 21 RBI and freshman shortstop Matt King has hit .231 with 10 doubles and 24 RBI. Sophomore catcher Josh Killeen has added a .321 average with three homers and 20 RBI.
In relief, Daniel Shafer (3-1, 3.29 ERA) owns the 12th-most saves in UTSA single season history (five) with 38 strikeouts and just 13 hits allowed in 27.1 innings. John Chomko (2-0, 3.92 ERA), Simon Miller (3-3, 3.24 ERA), Braylon Owens (3-1, 4.76 ERA), Ulises Quiroga (2-4, 7.13 ERA), Ryan Ward (1-0, 5.09 ERA), Ryan Beaird (2-3, 7.32 ERA) and Fischer Kingsbery (0-0, 4.95 ERA) have each appeared in double-digit games in relief. Simon Miller has struck out 46 in 33.1 innings.
Series history
FAU leads the all-time series against the Roadrunners, 15-8. The two teams have met twice at a neutral site (Biloxi, Miss. in 2019 for the C-USA tournament), where the Owls are 2-0. The last time the two squads met was earlier in the season when they met in Boca Raton for a three-game series. FAU took the weekend series in early March 2-1 where they outscored UTSA 24-18 across the three games.
Scouting the Owls
FAU (34-21, 19-11 C-USA) has hit .290 as a team through 55 games, with 398 runs scored, 85 home runs, and a 273-460 walk-strikeout ratio, stealing 48 bases. On the mound, FAU totes a 5.78 team ERA across 489.1 total innings, allowing 515 hits and 217 walks, striking out 453 and holding opponents to a .269 average. Defensively, FAU is fielding .975 with 48 errors in 55 outings.
The Owls enter the first game of the conference tournament coming off of a three-game sweep of the Marshall Thundering Herd. FAU outscored Marshall 33-19 across the series and run-ruled the Thundering Herd in Saturday's series finale. FAU, like UTSA, is 19-11 in conference on the year and thanks to its weekend win over UTSA earlier in the season, earned the four seed.
The Owls are led offensively by a trio of sluggers. Infielder Nolan Schanuel is batting .372 on the season with 80 hits. Of those 80 hits, 17 are doubles, and 14 are homers, giving him 139 total bases on the year. Outfielders Gabriel Rincones Jr. and Dylan Goldstein complete the offensive attack for FAU. Rincones Jr. has 18 home runs and 17 doubles while leading the team in total bases with 150 all while batting .346. Goldstein also has 18 dingers on 63 hits. Combined, the three have 50 home runs and pace the Owl offensive attack.
Schedule
Wednesday * UTSA vs. FAU * 7:30 p.m. [ESPN +]
Projected Weekday Rotation
Wednesday
Fr. RHP, Braylon Owens (3-1, 4.76 ERA) vs. Sr. LHP, Hunter Cooley (8-4, 4.78 ERA)
UP NEXT: UTSA will return to Pete Taylor Park on Thursday. Depending on if the Roadrunners win or lose on Wednesday will determine the Thursday opponent. If the Roadrunners win, they'll play at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against the winner of USM/UAB. If the Roadrunners drop game one to FAU, they'll face the loser of USM/UAB at 4 p.m. on Thursday. No matter what time UTSA ends up playing, the game will be streamed on ESPN +.
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