EDINBURG, Texas – The UTSA Baseball team opens up a week on the road as the Roadrunners head to South Texas to face UTRGV on Tuesday night at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
QUICK HITS
UTSA is currently on a 10-game winning streak, the fifth-longest active streak in NCAA Division I, which started with a 11-5 win over Utah on March 4. During that win streak, the Roadrunners have averaged 11.5 runs per game. Eight of those 10 games, UTSA also hit at least one home run.
The Roadrunners opened their conference schedule with a series sweep over Florida Atlantic who was picked to finish third in the Conference USA standings – two spots above UTSA. Only one of two teams to go 3-0 in the first conference weekend, UTSA sits alongside Rice at the top of the standings. The Roadrunners also have an .857 winning percentage with an 18-3 record through the first 21 games, their best start to season since 1994 (17-4 through first 21).
After this phenomenal start to the season, UTSA is receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll. The Roadrunners also earned the No. 25 spot in the RPI rankings this week, the highest amongst Conference USA teams.
The Roadrunners lead the conference in the top hitting and pitching categories, including batting average (.341) and earned run average (2.59). Antonio Valdez is on a reached-base streak of 21 games (all of UTSA's games this season).
KING OF THE HILL
Junior Caleb Hill earned his first Conference USA Hitter of the Week honors on Monday, March 20.
The Grandview, Texas, native helped lead the Roadrunners to a 4-0 week, including a conference-opening series sweep over Florida Atlantic. The junior has been seeing the ball well, being a huge contributor in UTSA extending its winning streak to 10 straight – the fifth longest active streak in the nation.
In four games during the week of March 13, Hill had a .615 batting average, including eight hits, two doubles, a triple and a homerun. Starting the week off with a 9-3 win over SFA, Hill put an exclamation on the win with a solo homer in the ninth. In UTSA's 8-2 conference-opening win over FAU, Hill opened up scoring and kickstarted the Roadrunners offense with a two-RBI triple in the first. In the Roadrunners' 7-2 win in game two of the series, Hill had a perfect 2-for-2 game with two runs and two RBI. Both of those hits produced runs, accounting for a couple of RBI to secure the series win over FAU. In the finale 5-3 win over FAU, Hill provided some much-needed insurance to an intense finale.
LEADING THE ROADRUNNERS
Antonio Valdez leads the team with a batting average of .432, notching a nation-high 36 RBI, team-high five home runs and six stolen bases, along with 27 runs, four doubles, and four triples. Leyton Barry has a team-high 36 hits, while Shane Sirdashney leads the Roadrunners with 32 runs, Matt King has a team-best five triples and Caleb Hill leads the team with seven doubles.
On the mound, Simon Miller leads the nation with a 0.38 ERA, along with a team-high 34 strikeouts and five wins. Other key performers include Ulises Quiroga (4-0, 1.24 WHIP), Luke Malone (1.67 ERA, 1.11 WHIP), Ruger Riojas (.94 WHIP, 2-0), Daniel Garza (3-0, 1.30 WHIP), Ryan Beaird (2.00 ERA, 1.28 WHIP) and Daniel Shafer (.90 WHIP, 3 saves).
The Roadrunners lead the conference in multiple categories – batting average (.341), ERA (2.59), hits (246), on-base percentage (.449), runs (185), scoring (8.8), slugging percentage (.539), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.90), triples (16), triples per game (0.76), WHIP (1.26), win-loss percentage (.857) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.03). UTSA's 16 triples is second in the nation, just behind Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's 17 triples.
Valdez leads the nation with 36 RBI, while recording a conference-best 1.71 RBI per game. Barry leads the conference with 36 hits and 1.71 hits per game, while Sirdashney has a conference-high 32 runs and 1.52 runs per game. King leads the C-USA with five triples and 0.24 triples per game.
Miller leads the nation with a 0.38 ERA and five wins, while also leading the conference with three saves (tied with fellow teammate Daniel Shafer), and 0.89 WHIP.
LAST WEEK FOR THE ROADRUNNERS
The Roadrunners improved to a 18-3 overall record after a perfect 4-0 week last week. UTSA has won every weekend series they've played so far, as well as every midweek game.
UTSA is coming off a conference series sweep over Florida Atlantic to open the C-USA schedule, also its second straight weekend sweep after taking all three from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 10-12. The Roadrunners opened the series with an 8-2 win over the Owls, before securing the series sweep with a 7-2 win and 5-3 win in a Sunday doubleheader.
UTSA opened the week with a 9-3 win over SFA on March 14. Matt King had a perfect 3-for-3 night with two runs, two RBI and a double. Caleb Hill also notched three hits, along with three RBI and a home run. Ryan Beaird earned his first win of the season, allowing no runs and striking out three in 2.2 innings pitched.
SCOUTING THE VAQUEROS
UTRGV has a 9-10 overall record and 1-5 in the Western Athletic Conference, after being swept by Sam Houston on March 17-19. The Vaqueros were picked to finish fourth in their conference. Brandon Pimentel was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
Isaac Lopez leads the Vaqueros with a .390 batting average, 30 hits and four homeruns, while Zerek Saenz has a team-high 23 runs and Montclair Cain has a team-high 19 RBI. The Vaqueros lead their conference with a 4.55 ERA.
SERIES HISTORY VS UTRGV
The Roadrunners hold a 53-31 all-time series record over the Vaqueros. The last time UTSA and UTRGV played was May 3, 2022, when the Roadrunners fell by 12-1 to the Vaqueros. Sammy Diaz and Josh Killeen had a hit each, while Killeen scored UTSA's lone run in the game.
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.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners travel to Houston this weekend to face Rice in a three-game conference series on Friday-Sunday.
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