SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team is back home to host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for Baseball History Day at Roadrunner Field.
The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ with Mike Capps and Karl Schoening on the call.
Fans can enjoy trivia and fun facts about baseball history throughout the game, as well as collect a special Jackie Robinson trading card.
QUICK HITS
UTSA has a 4-4 record in midweek games so far this season, picking up wins against Tarleton and UIW, as well as two Big 12 opponents in Houston and Baylor. The Roadrunners have also won five consecutive weekend series - against Northwestern, then-No. 10 East Carolina, Tulane, Charlotte and Memphis.
The Roadrunners lead the American Athletic Conference in three different categories, including batting average (.316), hits (405) – sixth in the nation in this category, and runs (269). UTSA’s batters have been hit by pitch 72 times, which ranks second in the conference and 19th in the nation.
Ruger Riojas has a 1.99 ERA, which is third in the conference and 19th in the nation, and six victories, which leads the conference and is seventh-most in the nation. Matt King leads the nation with nine sacrifice flies, while Mason Lytle is the toughest batter to strike out in the AAC (11.6).
Lytle takes the top league spot in four categories, including hits (65) and hits per game (1.84) – which he ranks third and second in the nation, respectively – as well as triples (3) and total bases (106). Riojas leads the conference and is fourth in the nation with seven wins.
AAC HONORS FOR THE ‘RUNNERS
Junior utility player James Taussig was named to the AAC weekly honor roll on Monday after leading the team with a .500 batting average, along with six hits, four runs, four RBI and two home runs. In the series-clinching finale against Memphis on April 14, Taussig paced the team with a 3-for-4 performance with one run and three RBI.
Senior right-handed pitcher Uli Quiroga and junior infielder Hector Rodriguez were both named to the conference weekly honor roll on April 8. This was Quiroga’s second time on the honor roll as he turned in a series-clinching quality start against Charlotte on April 7, only allowing one run and striking out seven in a six-inning start. Rodriguez had a breakout week in which he picked up eight hits, five runs, and five RBI for a .615 batting average. He also had a career-best 4-for-4 day in the April 6 matchup against Charlotte.
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.
Quiroga’s first time on the weekly honor roll was 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.
SCOUTING THE ISLANDERS
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi holds a 17-23 overall record, after losing a series to Houston Christian on April 12-14. The Islanders are currently in fifth place in the Southland Conference standings. The team was predicted to finish sixth in the preseason coaches’ poll. In midweek games, the Islanders hold a 6-5 record, which includes one win each over Texas and Texas State.
Redshirt junior infielder Isaac Webb leads the team with a .364 batting average, 59 hits and 30 runs. The Islanders lead the Southland in double plays (30) and sacrifice bunts (24).
SERIES HISTORY VS TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI
The Roadrunners hold a 44-28 advantage in the all-time series against the Islanders. The two teams played a three-game series earlier this season on March 8-10, in which Texas A&M-Corpus Christi took the series two out of three. UTSA won the middle game on Saturday, March 9, by 5-4 in a thrilling 12-inning matchup.
LAST WEEK FOR THE ROADRUNNERS
UTSA earned a road series win over Memphis this past weekend as the Roadrunners picked up their fourth consecutive AAC series victory in as many tries. The team won the first game on Friday by 9-6. Mason Lytle paced the team with a 4-for-6 game, including three runs, one RBI and one triple. Hector Rodriguez also had a 3-for-5 day. Ruger Riojas earned his seventh win of the season, striking out three batters in 2.1 innings, while Daniel Garza earned his second save of the season.
The Roadrunners dropped the second game on Saturday by 12-5 as the Tigers evened the series. James Taussig had a perfect 2-for-2 day with a home run, two runs and one RBI. Cooper Hrbacek and Anthony Giannette kept Memphis scoreless in the final three frames.
In Sunday’s rubber match, UTSA and Memphis battled back and forth but it was a pair of home runs by Lytle that proved to be the difference in the series-clinching 7-5 victory. Taussig had a team-leading 3-for-4 game as he picked up one run, three RBI and a home run. Ulises Quiroga picked up his fourth win of the season, while Fischer Kingsbery struck out five to earn his second save of the season.
UTSA battled against a tough No. 3 Texas A&M team in College Station, Texas, to start last week on April 9. Despite leading most of the game, the Roadrunners fell to the Aggies by 6-5 on a walk-off solo home run in the ninth. Alexander Olivo led the team with a 2-for-3 day at the plate with two RBI, a walk and a hit by pitch.Starting pitcher Fischer Kingsbery kept the Aggies scoreless through the first two frames, while striking out three batters.
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 host a three-game conference series against UAB this Friday through Sunday for Fiesta Weekend at Roadrunner Field. The series will start at 6 p.m. on Friday, before Saturday’s first pitch of 2 p.m. and Sunday’s series finale at 12 p.m.
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