CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 24 UTSA baseball team travels for its first out-of-state trip this season, facing Charlotte this Easter weekend. Incoming weather moved around the games but all three games are still set to be streamed on ESPN+ at the 49ers' home ballpark at Hayes Stadium.
Due to weather, the series has been shuffled around quite a bit. The first two games will be played as a doubleheader on Thursday with the first game to begin at 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET. The second game will follow 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. Game three of the series is still to be determined as to when it will be played due to the amount of rain scheduled to hit the area over the next 72 hours.
FINALLY RANKED
For the first time in program history, the UTSA Roadrunners have earned rankings in national polls, including No. 24 in Baseball America, No. 27 in NCBWA and No. 23 in Perfect Game.
The Roadrunners have had a phenomenal first half of the season, winning every single one of their weekend series while sweeping three of them. UTSA went 3-1 last week, sweeping WKU in a three-game conference series. The .793 overall winning percentage and .889 conference winning percentage the Roadrunners have produced has finally caught the attention of the polls as UTSA earned spots on three different polls and received votes on another.
QUICK HITS
UTSA has won all seven of its weekend series this season, including three series sweeps. Two of those weekend series sweeps came in conference play against Florida Atlantic and Western Kentucky.
The Roadrunners is at the top of the conference in the top hitting and pitching categories, including first in earned run average (3.41) and second in batting average (.317). Simon Miller leads the nation in ERA (0.55) and is third in the nation in wins (6). Antonio Valdez leads the conference in hits (47) and RBI (42).
D1Baseball released its midseason position rankings during the week of March 27 as a slew of Roadrunners made the lists at their respective positions. Simon Miller checked in at No. 9 in the top 50 relievers list, while Luke Malone is No. 53 in the top 100 starting pitchers list. Antonio Valdez earned No. 18 in the top 50 third basemen list, while Matt King landed at No. 29 in the top 50 shortstops and Leyton Barry sits at No. 40 in the top 50 second basemen list. Uli Quiroga earned a feature at No. 33 in the top strike-throwers list.
LEADING THE ROADRUNNERS
Antonio Valdez leads the team with a batting average of .402, notching a conference-high 47 hits and 42 RBI, team-high eight home runs and eight stolen bases, along with 33 runs, six doubles, and a team-best five triples. Shane Sirdashney leads the Roadrunners with 36 runs, Matt King has a team-best five triples and Leyton Barry leads the team with nine doubles.
On the mound, Simon Miller leads the nation with a 0.55 ERA and and third in the nation with six wins, along with a team-high 50 strikeouts. Other key performers include Ulises Quiroga (4-0, 31 K's), Luke Malone (2.00 ERA, 1.07 WHIP), Ruger Riojas (3-0, 1.00 WHIP) and Daniel Shafer (.95 WHIP, 5 saves).
The Roadrunners lead the conference in multiple categories – ERA (3.32), hits (326), on-base percentage (.416), runs (229), slugging percentage (.511), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.78), triples (17), triples per game (0.57), WHIP (1.29), win-loss percentage (.767) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.17).
Miller is first in the nation with a 0.59 ERA and third in the nation with six wins. Valdez is 12th in the nation with 42 RBI, while recording a conference-best 47 hits and 1.40 RBI per game. Valdez and King are tied for the conference-best five triples and 0.17 triples per game.
Taylor Smith is currently on a reached base streak of 23 games, while Caleb Hill extended his reached base streak to 17 games.
LAST WEEK FOR THE ROADRUNNERS
The Roadrunners hold an 23-7 overall record, after falling to UIW by 9-6 on a walk-off homerun by the Cardinals. Five Roadrunners notched a pair of hits each, including Caleb Hill, Taylor Smith, Shane Sirdashney, Antonio Valdez and Isaiah Walker.
UTSA swept a three-game conference series against WKU last weekend. The conference sweep extended UTSA's conference first-place standing (8-1) cushion to two games. The Roadrunners started the weekend off with a 3-2 win on Friday, before securing the series victory with a 5-4 win on Saturday and getting the series sweep with a 7-2 win on Sunday.
SCOUTING THE 49ERS
At the halfway mark of the season, Charlotte holds an even 14-14 record (5-4 in conference action), after a 10-0 mercy rule seven-inning win over Radford on Tuesday. The 49ers took two of three games from Louisiana Tech to start the conference schedule. Charlotte then lost a series to Dallas Baptist, before winning a series over UAB last weekend.
The 49ers were picked to finish fourth in the Conference USA Preseason Coaches Poll with one first-place vote. Senior infielders Jack Dragum and Austin Knight, along with junior outfielder Jake Cunningham, were named to the preseason all-conference team. Charlotte is tied for third in the conference standings with a 5-4 record right now.
Cam Fisher leads the 49ers with a .387 batting average, 39 hits, 36 runs, 32 RBI and a conference-high 15 home runs. Wyatt Hudepohl is Charlotte's game one starter. He has a 2-3 record and a 4.33 ERA in seven starts. Cameron Hansen is a possibility to start as he has started in a game in all three of the 49ers' conference series so far. Hansen has a 2-1 record and team-best 2.31 ERA.
SERIES HISTORY VS CHARLOTTE
The Roadrunners lead the all-time series over the 49ers by 14-13. The teams last played each other last season on April 1-3, 2022, when the UTSA swept Charlotte in the three-game series.
Playing in Charlotte, the Roadrunners also have a 7-6 advantage over the 49ers. The last time UTSA played a series at Charlotte, the 49ers took three of the four game series on April 16-18, 2021. That was also the 2021 season that Charlotte won the regular season.
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 to the Lone Star State, facing Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, on April 11 at Blue Bell Park. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
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