SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team will host preseason conference favorite and No. 10 East Carolina for a three-game series to open up American Athletic Conference play on Friday through Sunday. The series opens with a 6 p.m. Friday start, while Saturday’s first pitch is at 2 p.m. and the series concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m.
All three games can be viewed on ESPN+ with Karl Schoening and Mike Capps on the call.
QUICK HITS
UTSA is coming off a heartbreaking, but hard-fought 14-13 loss to Texas State on Tuesday. Despite fighting back from a six-run deficit early and making it a one-run game in the ninth, the Roadrunners were unable to complete the comeback against the rival Bobcats in the Battle of I-35 matchup.
Broc Parmer is currently on a team-leading 17-game reached base streak, while Caleb Hill is on a 12-game streak. Mason Lytle and Hill each have 10 multi-hit games. Hill had a program-record five-hit game on March 9.
Lytle is on a hot streak recently, notching multi-hit games in his last four starts – including a four-hit game last weekend against Northwestern on March 16, his second four-hitter of the season, and a three-hit game against Texas State on Tuesday. He has averaged 1.65 hits per game, tied with Hill for the team lead.
The Roadrunners lead the American Athletic Conference in three different categories, including batting average (.305), hits (229) – 19th in the nation in the category – and slugging percentage (.482). UTSA averages 3.33 walks allowed per nine innings, good for second in the AAC and 16th in the nation. The team is also third in the league and 20th in the nation with two shutouts.
Hill leads the conference in runs (30) and runs per game (1.50) – ranked 21st and 23rd in those categories. Matt King has hit a conference-leading five sacrifice flies (also second in the nation). Mason Lytle is the toughest batter to strike out in the league with a 10.2 strikeout rate. Ruger Riojas leads the American with four victories (sixth in the nation).
SCOUTING THE PIRATES
East Carolina holds a 15-4 record this season, following a 10-1 win on Tuesday against Elon on the road and a series sweep against Columbia last weekend on March 15-17. The team is currently ranked No. 10 by D1Baseball, No. 12 by Baseball America, No. 13 by USA Today Coaches’ Poll and No. 14 by National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association (NCBWA) – the four major ranking organizations in college baseball.
The Pirates were unanimously voted to win the American Athletic Conference in the preseason coaches’ poll. The team won its fourth consecutive regular season title in 2023, while also making its fifth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance (33rd overall).
Junior right-handed pitcher Trey Yesavage was named the AAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, while five more Pirates (Zach Root, Danny Beal, Justin Wicoxen, Carter Cunningham and Jacob Jenkins-Cowart) were named to the preseason all-conference team. Senior first baseman Cunningham leads the Pirates in almost every category, including batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, runs, RBI, doubles and home runs.
East Carolina leads the AAC and is in the top 25 in the nation in nine different categories, including ERA, fielding percentage, least hits allowed per nine innings, sacrifice bunts, shutouts, strikeout-to-walk ratio, strikeouts per nine innings, WHIP and least walks allowed per nine innings.
SERIES HISTORY VS EAST CAROLINA
The Roadrunners and Pirates are even at 2-2 in the all-time series record against each other. The two teams previously crossed paths when they were both playing in the Conference USA in the 2014 season, UTSA’s first season in the C-USA and East Carolina’s final season in the C-USA. While UTSA stayed in the C-USA through the 2023 season, ECU moved on to the American Athletic Conference in 2014-15, before the teams finally reunited again in the American Athletic Conference this year (2023-24).
In a three-game series in Greenville, N.C., on May 16-17, 2014, the Pirates took two of the three games. The Roadrunners then defeated ECU by 8-3 in a Conference USA Tournament matchup on May 22, 2014.
AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
The Roadrunners have a 44-123 record against ranked opponents in the all-time history dating back to the first season of UTSA baseball in 1993. The last time the Roadrunners hosted a ranked team was last season as No. 18 Dallas Baptist came to play a three-game conference series at Roadrunner Field, while the Roadrunners were also ranked No. 22.
UTSA’s last ranked win (14-8) came against No. 7 Texas State on April 26, 2022. The Roadrunners last home series win against a ranked opponent was also in 2022 against No. 23 Charlotte on April 1-3.
The highest-ranked team Roadrunner Field has hosted was No. 2 Stanford on Feb. 28, 2021, and the highest-ranked team for a three or four-game series played at the Bird Bath was No. 14 Rice on May 9-11, 2014.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE ROADRUNNERS
UTSA is coming off a heartbreaking, but hard-fought 14-13 loss to Texas State on Tuesday. Despite fighting back from a six-run deficit early and making it a one-run game in the ninth, the Roadrunners were unable to complete the comeback against the rival Bobcats in the Battle of I-35 matchup. Mason Lytle led the team with a 3-for-6 showing at the plate with one run and a double.
The Roadrunners earned a series win over Northwestern to close out the nonconference slate last weekend, in which the Roadrunners took two of three against the Wildcats. This is the Roadrunners’ second series win of the season.
The Roadrunners won the first game by 12-2 to start a Saturday doubleheader, led by a 4-for-5 performance by Mason Lytle and five-inning outing by Robert Orloski. The Wildcats took game two by 10-4 to force a rubber match in the series finale.
UTSA shut out Northwestern in the series finale by 2-0 on Sunday. Lytle, Andrew Stucky and Hector Rodriguez led the Roadrunners with two hits apiece. Uli Quiroga turned in a quality start of scoreless, six-inning ball with three strikeouts, earning his first win of the season. Daniel Garza earned his first save of the season as he pitched the final three innings of the shutout.
AAC HONORS FOR ULI
The Baytown, Texas, native made his second start of the season in a 2-0 shutout over Northwestern on March 17 that secured UTSA’s second series win of the season. He recorded a quality start in which he pitched the first six innings and earned his first win (1-0), while keeping the Wildcats scoreless on just two hits.
The senior also struck out three batters in his outing. He faced 21 batters, only three more than the minimum in a six-inning appearance. He kept the Wildcats to just a .100 batting average, while not allowing an extra-base hit.
In four appearances, he has earned two starts and totes a 3.38 ERA. Quiroga has struck out nine batters in 13.1 innings pitched, while keeping opposing batters to an impressive .180 batting average. In his career, he has collected 10 wins and 103 strikeouts in 112.1 innings of action so far.
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 up to Waco, Texas, to face the Baylor Bears on March 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.
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