HOUSTON – The UTSA Baseball team is set for its first road weekend series of the season, heading to Houston to face Rice in a three-game conference slate this Friday-Sunday. Friday's first pitch is set for 3 p.m. CT, while Saturday is at 2 p.m. and Sunday is at 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed on CUSA.tv.
QUICK HITS
UTSA just snapped a 10-game winning streak, after falling to UTRGV by 5-3 on Tuesday. The Roadrunners had the fifth-longest active streak in NCAA Division I before that, which started with a 11-5 win over Utah on March 4. During that win streak, the Roadrunners had 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 18-4 record through the first 22 games, their best start to season since 1994 (138-4 through first 22).
After the 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 (.336) and earned run average (2.72). Antonio Valdez is on a reached-base streak of 22 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 this 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 last week. 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 .435, notching a conference-high 37 RBI, team-high six home runs and eight stolen bases, along with 28 runs, four doubles, and four triples. 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 and five wins, along with a team-high 34 strikeouts. Other key performers include Ulises Quiroga (4-0, 1.24 WHIP), Luke Malone (1.67 ERA, 1.11 WHIP), Ruger Riojas (.98 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 (.336 – second in the nation), ERA (2.72), hits (254), on-base percentage (.441), runs (188), scoring (8.5), slugging percentage (.537), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.91), triples (16), triples per game (0.73), WHIP (1.28), win-loss percentage (.818) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.09). UTSA's 16 triples is second in the nation, just behind Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's 17 triples.
Valdez is third in the nation with 37 RBI, while recording a conference-best 37 hits, 1.68 hits per game, 37 RBI and 1.68 RBI per game. Sirdashney leads the conference with 32 runs and 1.45 runs per game. King leads the C-USA with five triples and 0.23 triples per game. Miller leads the nation with a 0.38 ERA and five wins, while also leading the conference with a 0.89 WHIP.
LAST WEEK FOR THE ROADRUNNERS
The Roadrunners hold an 18-4 overall record after falling to UTRGV by 5-3 on Tuesday. UTSA blasted three solo homeruns – Caleb Hill, Taylor Smith and Antonio Valdez – to account for its three runs of the game.
UTSA opened the conference schedule with a three-game series sweep over Florida Atlantic last weekend (March 17-19), also its second straight weekend sweep after taking all three from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 10-12. This sweep helped extend UTSA's win streak to 10 games. 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.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Rice has a 11-10 overall record and 3-0 in Conference USA, after falling to Texas A&M by 8-7. The Owls were picked to finish eighth in their Preseason Coaches Poll. Infielder Aaron Smigelski was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
Connor Walsh leads the Owls with a .348 batting average, 24 hits, 17 runs and 18 RBI. Rice's Friday ace Parker Smith holds a team-best 2.02 ERA, fanning 26 in 26.2 innings pitched.
SERIES HISTORY VS RICE
The Owls hold a 27-15 all-time series record over the Roadrunners. The last time UTSA and Rice played was in a three-game series from April 15-17, 2022, when the Roadrunners took two of three games over the Owls.
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 are set for a midweek matchup at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 28. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Chapman Field on ESPN+.
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