IRVING, Texas – Sophomore Ruger Riojas of the UTSA baseball team has been named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week, announced the conference on Monday afternoon. Junior outfielder Mason Lytle was also named to the weekly five-person honor roll.
This is the first weekly conference honor for the sophomore from Wimberley, Texas. Riojas was a key component of the Roadrunners earning an upset series victory over No. 10 East Carolina to open up conference play. Riojas closed out the series opener and series finale of the weekend series, earning saves in both of those games – his second and third saves of the season.
On Friday against the Pirates, he pitched the final three innings, striking out four batters and allowing just one unearned on one hit to pick up the save. In Sunday’s series finale, Riojas entered the game with the tying run at the plate and no outs in the eighth inning. He was able to power through the final two frames while picking up a couple of strikeouts. On the week, he earned two saves, picked up a 0.00 ERA and six strikeouts, and kept opposing batters to a .111 batting average.
This season, Riojas is in the top five of the conference in seven different categories, highlighted by second in ERA (1.53) and first in wins (4). In only the second season of his collegiate career, he has already picked up nine wins and 87 strikeouts.
Earning a spot on the weekly honor roll, Lytle helped lead the team to a 2-2 record this week, including a series victory upset over No. 10 East Carolina. He picked up nine hits, eight runs and a .450 batting average across four starts at center field. He also made a few outstanding game-saving catches.
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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