NEW ORLEANS – The UTSA baseball team continues its five-game road trip, heading to New Orleans to face Tulane in a three-game conference series. The series opens on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Game two is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m. and the series finale is Sunday at 12 p.m.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ with Jack Benjamin on the call.
QUICK HITS
The Roadrunners started off a five-game road trip with a 9-7 win against Baylor in Waco on Tuesday night. UTSA kicked off league action with a huge series win over the reigning American Athletic Conference champions and then-No. 10 East Carolina this past weekend. The Roadrunners took two of three games in the series, including a 4-2 series opener and a 6-5 series finale.
Ruger Riojas was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week after picking up two saves in the ECU series, while Mason Lytle was named to the weekly honor roll for his nine-hit week.
Broc Parmer is currently on a team-leading 20-game reached base streak, while Lytle is on a 11-game streak. Lytle has a team-leading 14 multi-hit games, while Caleb Hill trails with 12. 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 eight starts – starting it off with a four-hit game against Northwestern on March 16. He has averaged 1.75 hits per game.
The Roadrunners lead the American Athletic Conference in three different categories, including batting average (.312), hits (279) – 13th in the nation in that category – and slugging percentage (.475). UTSA averages 3.40 walks allowed per nine innings, good for second in the AAC and 19th in the nation. The team is also third in the league and 25th in the nation with two shutouts.
Riojas holds a 1.48 ERA, good for second in the conference and 17th in the nation. He also has a league-leading four victories. Matt King leads the nation with six sacrifice flies. Lytle leads the conference with 42 hits (10th in the nation) and 1.75 hits per game (15th in the nation). Hector Rodriguez is the toughest batter to strikeout in the league with a 13.3 strikeout rate, while Lytle trails at second with a 10.1 strikeout rate. Hill leads the conference in runs (34), runs per game (1.42) and total bases (67).
SCOUTING THE GREEN WAVE
Tulane holds a 15-10 overall record, after a 9-4 loss to Southern Miss on Tuesday. The team started conference play with series win over Rice, taking the first two of a three-game series against the Owls. Despite winning the 2023 American Athletic Conference Tournament, the Green Wave were voted to finish ninth in this year’s preseason coaches’ poll.
Junior outfielder Teo Banks was named the AAC Preseason Player of the Year. Gavin Schulz currently leads the team with a .314 batting average and 22 RBI. Chandler Welch leads the conference with six games started (along with teammate Will Clements), 8.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 0.99 walks allowed per nine innings. Marcus Cline leads the league with six sacrifice bunts.
SERIES HISTORY VS TULANE
The Roadrunners and Green Wave are tied at 3-3 in the all-time series record, dating back to 2013. The two teams played a three-game series against one another in each of the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Both of those series were in New Orleans.
LAST WEEK FOR THE ROADRUNNERS
UTSA started the five-game road trip with a 9-7 win over the Big 12’s Baylor Bears on Tuesday. Ruger Riojas picked up his fourth save of the season, which is his third consecutive appearance in which he has earned a save. Caleb Hill and Mason Lytle both went 3-for-5 at the plate.
The Roadrunners opened up conference play with a huge series win over conference favorite and then-No. 10 East Carolina on March 22-24. UTSA started the series with a 4-2 win on Friday. Robert Orloski picked up his third win of the season as he pitched six innings of one-run ball, while Riojas picked up his second save with four strikeouts in the final three frames.
The Roadrunners battled through a strong hitting game in the Saturday matchup with the Pirates, but ultimately fell by 14-10. Tye Odom (3-for-5 with five RBI and one run) and Hector Rodriguez (3-for-5 with one run) led the team.
UTSA secured the upset series victory with a 6-5 win in the series finale on Sunday. Broc Parmer led the team with three hits (two of those were doubles). Daniel Garza picked up the win and Riojas picked up his third save of the season and second of the week. The series victory was the first time the Roadrunners won a three or four game series against a top-10 team in program history.
RUGER RIOJAS = MR. RELIABLE
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Ruger Riojas was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week on March 25.
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 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 (1.48) and first in wins (4). In only the second season of his collegiate career, he has already picked up nine wins and 89 strikeouts.
AAC HONORS FOR THE ‘RUNNERS
Junior outfielder Mason Lytle was named to the weekly honor roll on March 25, after he picked up nine hits, eight runs and a .450 batting average across four starts at center field during the previous week against Texas State and No. 10 East Carolina.
Senior right-handed pitcher Uli Quiroga was named to the weekly honor roll on March 18. He 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.
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 return to the Alamo City to face UIW across town at the Cardinals’ home Sullivan Field in a crosstown rivalry midweek matchup on April 2 at 2 p.m.
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