HATTIESBURG, Miss. – After defeating host school No.14 Southern Miss for the second time in two days in the Conference USA semifinals, UTSA will meet second seed Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA finals on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and the winner will punch their ticket to the postseason with an automatic bid in hand.
The meeting between the two schools is a rematch of the conference-opening series the two teams shared back in early March. The Bulldogs took the series 2-1 but were outscored by UTSA 21-14 in the series.
UTSA enters Sunday's championship game undefeated (3-0) in the tournament while the Bulldogs are (3-1). The championship appearance is UTSA's first since 2014 when they fell to Rice in Hattiesburg. The Roadrunners are looking to win their first conference tournament since 2013 when they won the WAC tournament.
This 2022 Roadrunner squad is seeking the first at-large bid among the NCAA major sports, including men's & women's basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball in school history. That could however be erased with a win tomorrow as an automatic bid would be clinched. If that ends up being the case, it will be the fourth time UTSA has clinched an automatic win and gone on to the college baseball postseason.
Sunday's Pitching Matchup
UTSA will turn to senior righty Jacob Jimenez (2-1, 4.98 ERA) for his 10th start of the year and his 16th appearance. Jimenez started on Friday as the opener at No. 14 Southern Miss, working two innings on 28 pitches, allowing a run over a walk and three strikeouts. He issued a walk to open the third inning and UTSA went to the bullpen with a two-run homer denting his outing. Jimenez has made starts in five of his last six outings, working no longer than 2.2 innings in each start. He worked 2.2 shutout innings vs. Louisiana Tech in relief on March 19, allowing only a walk and three strikeouts. Over his career, Jimenez has appeared in 26 games with 15 starts after transferring to UTSA from Galveston College. He has tossed 61.2 innings, allowing 55 hits and 36 walks with 59 strikeouts.
Louisiana Tech will counter with fifth-year senior righty Jarret Whorff (5-7, 6.19 ERA). Whorff has started 12 games and appeared in 18 games, working 56.2 innings, allowing 60 hits and 29 walks, striking out 60 and holding foes to a .271 average. Whorff worked two innings on Saturday vs. Old Dominion, allowing three runs on four hits with a walk and six strikeouts. On March 20 at UTSA in a start in the season finale, Whorff allowed nine runs in 3.2 innings, walking two with a strikeout.
Leading the Roadrunners
UTSA (38-19) enters Sunday's championship game 3-0 in the C-USA tournament. Its first-round win in the C-USA tournament came over FAU. The Roadrunners and Owls didn't meet until Thursday morning, a change from the scheduled Wednesday night game, due to weather. Thursday morning UTSA took care of business, downing FAU 6-4. The following day UTSA met tournament host Southern Miss on Friday at 10 a.m. UTSA and USM exchanged blows in a game that featured three ties and three lead changes before UTSA took the win. Meeting UTSA in the semifinals was, again, Southern Miss who had defeated FAU in the loser's bracket. The second meeting between the two teams was far less competitive, as UTSA put it on the Golden Eagles, winning 11-2.
UTSA is hitting .305/.401/.482 with 459 runs in 57 games, ripping 123 doubles, 15 triples and 67 homers, stealing 30 bases. On the mound, UTSA has a collective 5.35 team ERA across 493.1 innings, allowing 487 hits and 272 walks, striking out 511 opponents with the opposition hitting .255. On the defensive side, UTSA is fielding at a .968 clip.
At the plate, junior second baseman Leyton Barry leads the team with a .346 batting average with 14 doubles, two triples, four homers and 38 RBI. Junior centerfielder Shane Sirdashney totes a .325 average, owning 10 doubles, a triple, five homers and 35 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 .311 with 21 doubles, six homers and 49 RBI, while fellow senior rightfielder Chase Keng owns a .326 average with 17 doubles, two triples, nine homers and 57 RBI. Sixth-year graduate-senior leftfielder Ian Bailey has batted .300 with 16 doubles, three triples, 15 homers and 49 RBI. Senior first baseman Ryan Flores has hit .325 with 12 homers and 52 RBI, while sophomore Garrett Poston owns a .315 average with two homers and 24 RBI and freshman shortstop Matt King has hit .242 with 12 doubles and 27 RBI. Redshirt-sophomore catcher Josh Killeen has added a .325 average with three homers and 23 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 (4-3, 3.25 ERA), Braylon Owens (3-1, 5.40 ERA), Ulises Quiroga (2-4, 7.45 ERA), Ryan Ward (1-0, 4.82 ERA), Ryan Beaird (2-3, 7.32 ERA) and Fischer Kingsbery (0-0, 4.71 ERA) have each appeared in double-digit games in relief. Simon Miller has struck out 47 in 36 innings.
Series history
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series against UTSA, 16-13. The two teams met last year in the conference tournament which Louisiana Tech hosted. Both teams were knotted at six apiece and went to the 12th inning where La Tech walked off on the Roadrunners, winning 7-6. The two teams also met earlier this season as UTSA hosted the Bulldogs in the opening conference series. La Tech took 2 of three over UTSA, however, the Roadrunners outscored the Bulldogs 21-14 in the series. In fact, Louisiana Tech beat UTSA with go-ahead eighth and ninth inning runs in its two series wins.
A Look at La Tech
The Bulldogs (41-19) have hit .274 as a team through 60 games, with 436 runs scored, 73 homers and a 263-508 walk-strikeout ratio, stealing 62 bases. On the mound, Louisiana Tech carries a team ERA of 4.12 over 532.2 innings, allowing 501 hits and 180 walks, striking out 578 and holding foes to a .248 average. Defensively, the Bulldogs have fielded .977 with 26 errors in 60 outings.
Louisiana Tech entered the Conference USA Tournament as the number two seed and is 3-1 in its four games played. The Bulldogs began the tournament by blanking seventh seed Charlotte 4-0. In the second round La Tech met the third seed Old Dominion and beat the Monarchs 7-2. The semifinals featured a rematch of game two, as ODU (1-1) met La Tech (2-0). The two schools went to war in Saturday's first semifinal game. The two schools needed 13 innings to settle things and ODU came away with a 9-6 win. Since the tournament is double elimination, the two schools played two on semifinal Saturday. The second game was more of the same as the two teams went at it. After a go-ahead two run shot in the top of the ninth the Bulldogs needed a rally and they got one. A walk-off two-RBI single ultimately gave La Tech the win and advanced them to Championship Sunday.
Catcher Jorge Corona leads La Tech with a .355 average, owning eight doubles, nine homers and 33 RBI. Second baseman Taylor Young has hit .345 with 11 doubles, a triple and five homers while outfielder Cole McConnell has hit .331 with 11 doubles, six homers and a team-high 37 RBI. Infielder Logan McLeaod has hit .310 to round out the four above .300 batters for La Tech. In relief, Kyle Crigger (2-1, 1.48 ERA) has appeared in a team-leading 16 games and owns 5 saves in 30.1 innings, walking six and striking out 29.
Schedule
Sunday * UTSA vs. Louisiana Tech * 1 p.m. [CBS Sports Network]
Pitching Matchup
Sunday
Sr. RHP, Jacob Jimenez (2-1, 4.98 ERA) vs. Sr. RHP, Jarret Whorff (5-7, 6.19 ERA)
UP NEXT: UTSA awaits its future in the NCAA Selection Show which will air live on Monday morning at 11 a.m. on ESPN 2. The Roadrunners are hoping to earn their first ever at-large bid for the college baseball postseason, or will secure an automatic bid with a win on Championship Sunday.
- UTSA -
