CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The UTSA Baseball team heads south to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday night at Chapman Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
QUICK HITS
This is the fourth and final time the Roadrunners and Islanders face off this season. UTSA hosted Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for a three-game series on March 10-12, sweeping the series. In that series, the Roadrunners put up 50 runs against the Islanders, including a program record 31 runs in the Saturday March 11 win.
The Roadrunners took sole possession of first place in the Conference USA standings, taking two games in a three-game series against Rice this past weekend. Tied for first place coming into this series, UTSA and Rice battled for that top spot this weekend and UTSA came out victorious while improving to a 5-1 C-USA record.
The Roadrunners lead the conference in the top hitting and pitching categories, including batting average (.325) and earned run average (3.23). Antonio Valdez is on a reached-base streak of 25 games (all of UTSA's games this season). Simon Miller leads the nation in wins (6) and ERA (0.64).
LEADING THE ROADRUNNERS
Antonio Valdez leads the team with a batting average of .408, notching a conference-high 40 hits, 40 RBI, team-high eight home runs and eight stolen bases, along with 31 runs, four doubles, and four triples. Shane Sirdashney leads the Roadrunners with 33 runs, Matt King has a team-best five triples and Leyton Barry leads the team with eight doubles.
On the mound, Simon Miller leads the nation with a 0.64 ERA and six wins, along with a team-high 41 strikeouts. Other key performers include Ulises Quiroga (4-0, 1.32 WHIP), Luke Malone (1.89 ERA, 1.08 WHIP), Ruger Riojas (.94 WHIP, 2-0), Daniel Garza (1.55 WHIP), Ryan Beaird (1.45 WHIP) and Daniel Shafer (.78 WHIP, 5 saves).
The Roadrunners lead the conference in multiple categories – batting average (.325), ERA (3.23), hits (283), on-base percentage (.429), runs (206), scoring (8.2), slugging percentage (.522), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.75), triples (16), triples per game (0.64), WHIP (1.29), win-loss percentage (.800) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.23). UTSA's 16 triples is second in the nation, just behind Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's 18 triples.
Miller leads the nation with a 0.38 ERA and six wins. Valdez is fourth in the nation with 40 RBI, while recording a conference-best 40 hits, 1.68 hits per game, 37 RBI, 1.68 RBI per game and 76 total bases. Sirdashney leads the conference with 33 runs, while King leads the C-USA with five triples and 0.20 triples per game.
LAST WEEK FOR THE ROADRUNNERS
The Roadrunners hold an 20-5 overall record (5-1 in Conference USA play) after a series win over Rice in Houston this past weekend. In a battle for the top spot in the Conference USA standings, UTSA went head-to-head with Rice on March 24-26. The first game was an extra-inning thriller in which the Roadrunners took a 4-3 win over the Owls in 11 innings. Rice took the middle game by 13-8, but the Roadrunners bounced back with a 6-5 win in the finale to secure the series win and take sole possession of the top spot in the C-USA.
UTSA opened last week with a 5-3 loss to UTRGV in Edinburg, Texas.
Taylor Smith dominated at the plate, earning a .429 batting average with six hits, two home runs, three RBI and four runs. Josh Killeen also hit .400 with six hits, three of them being doubles. Daniel Shafer was a crucial piece in UTSA's wins last week, coming in to shut down the last inning in both wins while earning both saves. Fischer Kingsbery fanned five batters in 3.1 innings pitched in two appearances, earning his first win of the season.
SCOUTING THE ISLANDERS
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi holds a 12-13 record, after a series loss to Southeastern Louisiana this past weekend. The Islanders concluded the series with a 3-1 win over the Lions, but lost the first two. Since the Roadrunners last saw the Islanders in a March 10-12 series, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi went 5-4 in the past two weeks.
Chance Reisdorph leads the Islanders with a .370 batting average, while Brendan Ryan leads the team with 38 hits, 26 runs and 23 RBI. The Islanders are starting redshirt sophomore Matthew Watson in the midweek matchup. Watson has a 5.88 ERA and 1-2 record in seven appearances and five starts. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi leads the nation with 18 triples, just two more than UTSA.
SERIES HISTORY VS TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI
The Roadrunners have a 43-25 advantage in the all-time series over the Islanders. UTSA hosted Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 10-12, 2023 for a three-game series as the Roadrunners swept the Islanders. UTSA put up 50 runs against the Islanders, including a program record 31 runs in the Saturday March 11 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.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners return home to host a three-game conference series against WKU this Friday-Sunday. All three games will be available to stream on CUSA.tv with a subscription.
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