SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team is set to host Big Ten opponent Northwestern on Saturday and Sunday at Roadrunner Field. The Roadrunners and Wildcats open up the series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at noon, before playing the third game at 1 pm on Sunday.
Saturday’s doubleheader will not be streamed. Sunday’s game will be available on ESPN+ with Karl Schoening and Mike Capps on the call.
QUICK HITS
Broc Parmer is on a 13-game reached base streak, while Caleb Hill is on a eight-game hitting streak. Hill also has a team-high eight multi-hit games, including a program record five-hit game.
The Roadrunners lead the American Athletic Conference in least walks allowed per nine innings (2.66), also ranking third in the nation in the category. UTSA’s strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.48) is second in the conference and seventh in the nation.
Hill leads the conference in runs (24) and runs per game (1.50), while Matt King has hit a conference-leading four sacrifice flies (also fifth in the nation). Hector Rodriguez is the toughest batter to strike out in the nation with a 0.0 strikeout rate.
Zach Royse has the most starts (4) in the conference, while Ruger Riojas leads the American with four victories (third in the nation). Daniel Garza’s 12.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks first in the AAC and 15th in the nation.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Northwestern holds a 6-7 record this season, after a series loss to Louisville last weekend on March 8-10. The Wildcats are currently in ninth place out of 13 teams in the Big Ten Conference standings.
Three Wildcats were named to the Big Ten players to watch list, including graduate outfielder Tyler Ganus, sophomore infielder Owen McElfatrick, and freshman pitcher Garrett Shearer. McElfatrick leads the team with a .346 batting average, 18 hits, six doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI. Jackson Freeman is on a 13-game reached base streak.
This weekend series marks the first meeting between UTSA and Northwestern.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE ROADRUNNERS
UTSA is coming off a 4-3 loss to Abilene Christian on Tuesday, despite a late rally by the Roadrunners’ offense. Braylon Owens kept the Wildcats scoreless through the final 4.2 innings, striking out six batters in the outing.
The Roadrunners suffered a series loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in which UTSA only won one game of the three-game series in Corpus Christi last weekend. All three games were close ones within one or two runs, but it didn’t favor UTSA in the end.
The Islanders took game one on Friday by 4-2. Broc Parmer had a 2-for-4 showing with one run, one RBI and a home run – his third of the season. Ruger Riojas kept A&M-Corpus Christi scoreless through the final 2.1 innings.
The Roadrunners battled through a 12-inning thriller on Saturday and came out victorious by 5-4. Caleb Hill had a phenomenal five-hit game, tying a program record for most hits in a single game. He scored three of UTSA’s five runs. Zach Royse turned in a quality start of 6.1 innings in which he allowed just one run. Riojas (4-0) earned his fourth win of the season, keeping the Islanders off the board in the final 3.1 innings of action.
The series ended with a 6-4 loss despite UTSA tying the finale up late in the game. Matt King led the team with a 2-for-3 game, including a run and a RBI. A&M-Corpus Christi took an early lead with four runs in the first, but the Roadrunners tied it up in the seventh. In the bottom of the eighth, the Islanders again took the lead by 6-4 and that would be enough for them to take the series.
CHILL OUT, CALEB
Senior Caleb Hill was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on March 4 after leading UTSA to a 3-1 record the previous week. This was his second weekly conference accolade and his first in the AAC. In three starts during the week of Feb. 26, Hill picked up seven hits, six runs, six RBI and a couple of home runs.
Prior to the start of the season, he earned the No. 81 spot on D1Baseball’s Preseason Top 100 Outfielders list.
Hill leads the team in batting average (.413), slugging percentage (.714), on-base percentage (.513), hits (26), runs (24), and home runs (5). He is the conference leader in runs and runs per game (1.50), also ranking 27thand 28th in the nation in those respective categories.
THREE’S A LUCKY NUMBER
The Roadrunners were picked to finish third in their first season in the American Athletic Conference.
Ahead of UTSA in this year’s AAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, powerhouse East Carolina took the top spot. Charlotte, who made the move to the AAC with UTSA this year and won last year’s C-USA Tournament, earned second place.
Following UTSA is Florida Atlantic, South Florida, Memphis, Wichita State, Rice, Tulane and UAB took the fourth-10th spots, respectively.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners head north to face longtime rival Texas State in a Battle of I-35 matchup on Tuesday, March 19, at 6 p.m. at Bobcat Ballpark in San Marcos, Texas
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