SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team is set to host Charlotte in a three-game American Athletic Conference series 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 12 p.m.
All three games can be viewed on ESPN+ with Karl Schoening on play-by-play and rotating analysts.
QUICK HITS
UTSA is on a six-game winning streak, following a 7-4 win over crosstown rival UIW at the Cardinals’ home park of Sullivan Field on Tuesday. The team returns home after five games on the road, last hosting then-No. 10 East Carolina to open AAC play on March 22-24. The Roadrunners have also won four total weekend series this season, including their first two AAC series against then-No. 10 East Carolina and Tulane.
Mason Lytle has earned the AAC Player of the Week honor on April 1, as he recorded 12 hits, seven runs, five RBI for a .600 batting average to lead UTSA to a 4-0 record last week. The junior is on a hot streak recently with a 15-game hitting streak, the last 12 of those being multi-hit games.
The Roadrunners lead the American Athletic Conference in four different categories, including batting average (.315), hits (330) – fifth in the nation in this category, triples (7) and triples per game (0.24). UTSA averages 3.48 walks allowed per nine innings, good for second in the AAC and 19th in the nation.
Ruger Riojas has a 1.95 ERA, which is second in the conference and 20th in the nation and five victories, which leads the conference and is 10th-most in the nation. Riojas’ five saves ranks second in the league and 14th in the nation. Matt King leads the nation with seven sacrifice flies, while Hector Rodriguez is the toughest batter to strike out in the AAC (13.4).
Lytle takes the top league spot in three categories, including hits (53) and hits per game (1.89) – which he ranks second in the nation in both – and total bases (80). Caleb Hill leads the AAC with 37 runs and 1.32 runs per game.
BIG HONOR FOR MASON LYTLE
Junior centerfielder Mason Lytle was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on April 1, following a 4-0 week for UTSA in which he picked up 12 hits, seven runs, five RBI and a .600 batting average along. He recorded two doubles, a triple, home run and two stolen bases across the week.
This marks the Pearland, Texas, native’s first weekly accolade as a Roadrunner. Transferring from Oregon, Lytle has been a key component to UTSA’s offensive power. He leads the conference with 53 hits, 80 total bases and 132 at-bats. Lytle is also second in the league with a .402 batting average and 13 stolen bases.
In an offensive battle against Baylor on March 26, he scored the tying run in the fifth which reignited UTSA’s fight to eventually win. On March 29 against Tulane, he scored the Roadrunners’ first run and 11th run. In the series finale against the Green Wave on March 30, he hit his fifth home run of the season, while picking up two runs and four RBI to lead UTSA to the series sweep.
SCOUTING THE 49ERS
Charlotte holds a 13-16 overall record, after a 13-9 loss to Campbell on Tuesday. The 49ers are 3-3 through the first two weekends of American Athletic Conference play, dropping an away series to Florida Atlantic and winning a home series against South Florida. Charlotte was voted to finish second in the preseason coaches’ poll, after winning the Conference USA Tournament last season, but are currently tied for fifth place in the standings.
Senior right-handed pitcher Cameron Hansen was named to the preseason all-conference team. The 49ers are third in the nation with 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Reliever AJ Wilson ranks in the top 25 in the nation in four categories, highlighted by sixth in strikeouts per nine innings (15.92) and 16th in total strikeouts (56). Junior first baseman Juan Correa leads the American with nine home runs (0.32 per game). Displaying patience at the plate, Charlotte leads the league with 160 walks this season.
SERIES HISTORY VS CHARLOTTE
The Roadrunners and the 49ers are tied at 15-15 in the all-time series record, dating back to the 2014 season. Charlotte and UTSA were in the Conference USA together from 2013-2023, playing each other once every season in a three-game league series besides the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Last season, the two teams played three games against each other, two during the regular season and one in the Conference USA Tournament. In the regular season series, the teams played a Thursday doubleheader in which UTSA took the first game by 5-3, before Charlotte evened the series with a 12-10 second game win. The finale was canceled due to inclement weather in Charlotte. In an elimination game in the C-USA Tournament, the 49ers took a 11-2 win to send the Roadrunners home on May 25.
Eight Roadrunners on the 2024 roster played in the three games last season, including Caleb Hill, Isaiah Walker, Matt King, Drake Smith, Fischer Kingsbery, Daniel Garza, Ruger Riojas and Ulises Quiroga.
UTSA last hosted Charlotte at Roadrunner Field in a three-game Conference USA series on April 1-3, 2022. The Roadrunners swept the No. 23 nationally-ranked 49ers in that series.
THE AMERICAN DREAM
In their first season in the American Athletic Conference, the Roadrunners hold a 5-1 record in conference play through the first two weekends and are tied for first in the standings with Wichita State. UTSA has picked up a big series win against conference favorite and then-No. 10 East Carolina, as well as a road series sweep over 2023 C-USA Tournament champion Tulane.
In AAC games only, the Roadrunners lead the conference in batting average, hits and total bases. Matt King holds an impressive .520 batting average in league games, leading the conference in the category, with teammate Mason Lytle shortly behind at .517 and second place. Lytle also has the most runs, hits and at-bats, while King has the most sacrifice flies. Riojas leads the conference with two saves and three games finished, while Garza has a AAC-leading two wins.
UTSA officially made the move to the AAC on July 1, 2023, joining a strong baseball conference, already consisting of East Carolina, Memphis, Wichita State and Tulane. A handful of former Conference USA opponents also made the transition with UTSA, including Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Rice and UAB.
The Roadrunners have seen success in every conference they’ve joined. UTSA went 283-277 in the Southland Conference with two tournament championships and two regular season championships from 1993-2012. In their lone season in the Western Athletic Conference in 2013, the Roadrunners had a 15-11 conference mark and won the tournament. From 2014-2023 in the Conference USA, UTSA posted a 139-127 record.
LAST WEEK FOR THE ROADRUNNERS
UTSA started this week with a 7-4 win over crosstown rival UIW across town at Sullivan Field. Despite a slow start in which the Roadrunners didn’t record a hit through the first three innings, the team battled back. Four Roadrunners had two-hit games, including Mason Lytle, Caleb Hill, Tye Odom and Broc Parmer. Braylon Owens (3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 K) picked up his third win of the season, while Ruger Riojas (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 K) recorded his fifth save.
The Roadrunners earned a big series sweep on the road against Tulane on March 28-30 to improve to a 5-1 conference mark, also picking up the team’s first conference road series sweep since the 2015 season (March 13-15 against Marshall). In the series finale on March 30, the team beat the Green Wave by 12-6 to secure the sweep. Both Lytle and Hector Rodriguez turned in 3-for-5 games, while starter Ulises Quiroga earned his second win of the season.
UTSA clinched the series victory on March 29 with a 11-7 win. Odom exploded for a 4-for-5 showing with one run, three RBI and a triple. Daniel Garza struck out seven batters in the final 5.1 innings pitched to earn the win.
The Roadrunners opened the series with a 6-3 win, led by a 4-for-5 game by Matt King. Riojas picked up fifth win of the season as he struck out seven batters in the final 4.2 innings of the game.
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 to College Station, Texas, for a big midweek matchup against No. 3 Texas A&M on April 9 at 6 p.m.
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