SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA Baseball team is set for a midweek slate, split on the road and at home. The Roadrunners first head to Waco, Texas, for their first road test at Baylor on Tuesday, before returning home to host UIW on Wednesday. The Baylor game will be streamed on ESPN+/Big 12 at 6:30 p.m. CT, while the home UIW game will be streamed on CUSA.tv at 6 p.m.
For Tuesday's game on ESPN+, Lincoln Rose will be the play-by-play announcer, while Pat Combs is the analyst. For Wednesday's home game on CUSA.tv, Karl Schoening is the broadcaster.
MEDAL FOR MILLER
Junior Simon Miller earned the Conference USA Pitcher of the Week honors this week, his first weekly honor in his career as a Roadrunner.
Miller played a significant role in UTSA's 4-1 record last week, earning a win and a save for the Roadrunners. Coming in to pitch two innings of relief in UTSA's 12-2 seven-inning "mercy rule" win over Houston on Feb. 22, Miller allowed no runs on just two hits while striking out one batter. He earned the win in this game, his second of the season (2-0).
The Canton, Texas, native came in the sixth inning of the first game of a Saturday doubleheader against Saint Mary's with UTSA leading by 10-8 and shut down the Gaels as he allowed no runs on zero hits with five strikeouts. The 11-8 win immediately gave the Roadrunners momentum in the series, winning their first game against the Gaels and eventually moving on to take three of four games for the series victory. He kept the opponents to a .105 batting average in his two outings this week.
LEADING THE ROADRUNNERS
Antonio Valdez leads the team with a batting average of .483, notching a conference-best 14 hits, nine runs and 14 RBI, along with three doubles and two triples. Three more Roadrunners have notched double digits in hits so far – Shane Sirdashney with 13, Leyton Barry with 12 and Matt King with 12.
On the mound, Luke Malone leads the Roadrunners with a 0.64 ERA in 14 innings of work across two starts, allowing just one run. Other key performers include Simon Miller (2-0 record and one save, 1.00 ERA, 13 K's in 9.0 IP), Daniel Garza (2-0 record, 1.54 ERA, 12 K's in 11.2 IP) and Ulises Quiroga (1-0 record, 4.50 ERA, 9K's in 10.0 IP).
In the conference, the Roadrunners lead with six total triples and .75 triples per game. Sirdashney leads the league with 15 runs scored and 1.88 runs per game.
LAST WEEK FOR THE ROADRUNNERS
The Roadrunners had a 4-1 week last week, improving to 6-2 overall. UTSA started the week off with a Wednesday matchup against Houston, run-ruling the Cougars, 12-2, in the shortened seven inning game.
UTSA started the weekend series against Saint Mary's with a 1-0 loss to the Gaels in a true pitching duel, but won the final three of the weekend to secure the series victory. The Roadrunners swept the Saturday doubleheader by 11-8 and 9-1 (seven inning game). UTSA then earned a 4-2 victory in the series finale to take the series.
Three Roadrunners had nine hits and batted over .500 on the week. Antonio Valdez went 9-for-17 with seven runs, 12 RBI, two doubles and two triples for a .529 batting average. Leyton Barry batted .529 as he also went 9-for-17 with five runs, a RBI and a triple. Lastly, Shane Sirdashney batted .500 as he went 9-for-18 with 10 runs, a RBI and a double.
On the opposite side of the ball, UTSA saw many guys succeed on the mound. Daniel Garza earned his second win and struck out seven batters in 7.2 innings pitched in three appearances. Freshman Ruger Riojas earned his first win in the Roadrunners' 11-8 win over the Gaels in game on Saturday's twinbill. Simon Miller earned his second win of the season and his first save in the same week, keeping the opponents scoreless with six strikeouts in six innings of work through two outings.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Baylor is 2-5 through the first two weeks of the season, after getting swept by Duke this past weekend in Durham, N.C. The Bears were picked to finish last (ninth) in the Big 12 Conference Preseason Poll. Baylor ended last season with a 26-28 record overall, falling to Oklahoma State, 11-1, in an elimination round of the Big 12 Championship.
The Bears' starter for Tuesday's matchup is Blake Rogers, who has a 4.91 ERA in three appearances. Hunter Teplanszky leads the Bears with a .389 batting average, going 7-for-18 at the plate with three runs and two RBI. Kolby Branch has started all seven games for Baylor, notching 10 hits for a .370 batting average while also recording seven runs, nine RBI, three doubles and a home run.
SERIES HISTORY VS BAYLOR
The Bears hold a 36-8 lead over the Roadrunners in the all-time series. The teams last played each other last season on March 22, 2022, when UTSA fell to Baylor, 3-2, in Waco. Garrett Poston had a hit and two walks against the Bears in the last meeting, while Shane Sirdashney and Matt King scored the two runs for the Roadrunners.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
UIW has started the season with a 3-4 record, after going 2-1 last weekend in the Kleberg Bank College Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas. UIW will play Texas State on Tuesday, prior to UTSA hosting the crosstown showdown on Wednesday. The Cardinals were picked to finish last in the Southland Conference Preseason Poll, while senior utility player Alec Carr was named to the preseason first team.
Wilson Ehrhardt leads the Cardinals with a .385 batting average, going 10-for-26 at the plate with three runs, seven RBI, three doubles and a couple home runs. UIW's Wednesday starter is to be announced, but they started EJ Garcia in their midweek matchup with Tarleton on Feb. 21. He went 3.0 innings pitched while allowing four hits for two runs. He has a 6.35 ERA in a couple appearances.
SERIES HISTORY VS UIW
The Roadrunners lead the all-time series over the Cardinals by 17-11. The teams last played last season on March 29, 2022, when UTSA defeated UIW by 6-4 in 10 innings at the Cardinals' ballpark on the other side of town. Leyton Barry went 2-for-5 in the last meeting with a pair of runs including the winning fifth run. Daniel Shafer earned the win as he allowed no runs on two hits in three innings, while Luke Malone earned the save as he shut down the Cardinals in the bottom half of the 10th to secure the win.
FUEL TO THE FIVE
The Roadrunners were picked to finish fifth in the Conference USA, after a phenomenal season in 2022 in which UTSA broke multiple program records and advanced to the C-USA Championship game. Defending champion Louisiana Tech was voted to finish first. C-USA newcomer Dallas Baptist was picked to finish second, followed by Florida Atlantic at third and Charlotte at fourth.
DON'T STOP THEM NOW
Daniel Shafer and Simon Miller were both named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List. Daniel Shafer was UTSA's main closer/high-leverage reliever in 2022. The Willis, Texas, native went 3-1 in 16 appearances for the Roadrunners, before a season-ending injury in April. In 27.1 innings pitched, he struck out 38 batters while walking just 13. Of C-USA returners, Shafer had the third-most saves (5) in the conference last season.
Simon Miller posted a 4-3 record (second-most wins on the team) through 18 appearances in relief. In 36.0 innings, he allowed just 18 runs on 24 hits, while striking out 47 batters in that span. The Canton, Texas, native became the Roadrunners' go-to closer/high-leverage pitcher in the second half of the season when injuries affected the bullpen. Miller helped UTSA to an 8-3 record in his final 11 appearances.
PRESEASON 'RUNNERS
A conference-best four Roadrunners earned preseason honors, tied with Charlotte as the only two teams with four preseason honorees. The four honorees are Leyton Barry, Luke Malone, Daniel Shafer and Simon Miller.
Leyton Barry led the Roadrunners with an impressive .343 batting average in 2022, his second straight season leading UTSA in batting average. The Houston, Texas, made 53 starts in 56 games played, playing at second base and shortstop. He totaled 49 runs and 38 RBI with 79 hits. Barry was the difference maker in UTSA's upset over No. 2 Stanford as he cranked out the walk-off hit to win the game. He notched 24 multi-hit games, including 12 games in which he had at least three hits.
Luke Malone was voted to the All-Tournament Team and All-Conference First Team last season after a breakout season as UTSA's Friday night ace. With an ERA of 2.61 and nine wins last season, Malone led the C-USA in 2022 amongst returning players. His nine wins was also the second-most in a single season in UTSA program history. Established himself as the Roadrunners' Friday night starter, earning 11 starts in 19 appearances while collecting a 9-3 record and two saves. The Round Rock, Texas, native led the team with 87.2 innings pitched, allowing only 35 runs on 81 hits throughout the 2022 campaign. Amongst returning players in the C-USA, Malone owned the second-best opponent batting average (.240).
ON DECK
The Roadrunners return home to host a three-game series against Pac-12 opponent Utah on Friday-Sunday at Roadrunner Field.
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