SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team is set for a crosstown rivalry matchup against UIW on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Roadrunner Field for its last home game of the season.
The midweek matchup will be broadcasted on ESPN+ with Mike Capps and Karl Schoening on the call.
QUICK HITS
UTSA holds a 6-4 record in midweek games, picking up wins against Tarleton, UIW, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas State, as well as two Big 12 opponents in Houston and Baylor.
The Roadrunners lead the American Athletic Conference with 98 hits by pitch (20th in the nation) and 3.51 walks allowed per nine innings (18th in the nation). UTSA is also second in the conference with a .304 batting average, 529 hits, .392 on-base percentage, 30 sacrifice flies (20th in the nation), and a 2.46 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Ruger Riojas has nine victories, which is second in the conference and eighth-most in the nation. Matt King leads the nation with 10 sacrifice flies, while Mason Lytle is the toughest batter to strike out in the AAC (10.6). Lytle takes the top league spot in five categories, including doubles (17), doubles per game (0.35), hits (82), hits per game (1.67) and total bases (138). Lytle’s hits and hits per game numbers are ranked ninth-most in the nation, respectively.
In AAC games only, the Roadrunners lead the conference in hits by pitch and sacrifice flies. Mason Lytle leads the conference in hits and at-bats, while King has the most sacrifice flies.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
UIW holds a 24-26 overall record, after being swept by Southeastern Louisiana this past weekend. The Cardinals are 4-10 in midweek games this season, including wins over UIC, UTRGV, Prairie View and Rice. The team is currently sixth in the Southland Conference standings.
The Cardinals are starting junior right-handed pitcher Edward Mendoza, who holds a 14.73 ERA in four appearances. Offensively, Dalton Beck leads the team with a .391 batting average, 81 hits, 19 doubles, 16 home runs and 62 RBI.
SERIES HISTORY VS UIW
The Roadrunners hold an 19-12 advantage in the all-time series over the Cardinals, after UTSA defeated UIW by 7-4 earlier this on April 2. Braylon Owens (3-1) earned his third win of the season in the contest, pitching three innings of shutout ball. Ruger Riojas picked up his fifth save of the season, keeping the Cardinals to one run in the final two frames while striking out two.
LAST WEEK FOR THE ROADRUNNERS
UTSA secured a crucial conference series victory against South Florida in a three-game series at Roadrunner Field on May 10-12.
The Roadrunners opened the series with a 5-2 win on Friday, May 10. Matt King led the team with a 3-for-4 day at the plate with two runs scored. Ulises Quiroga (6-1) acquired his seventh win in eight innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts. Ruger Riojas picked up his seventh save of the season, recording the final two outs of the game while striking out one batter. The Roadrunners turned three double plays, their most of the season.
The series was evened on Saturday, May 10, as UTSA fell to South Florida by 6-3. Diego Diaz led the team as he went 3-for-5 with one RBI and a double. Three more Roadrunners had two-hit games, including Mason Lytle, Mark Henning and Zane Spinn. Spinn launched a solo home run in the eighth, the first of his career as a Roadrunner.
The Roadrunners earned a 5-3 victory over the Bulls on Sunday, May 12, to secure the series victory – the team’s sixth conference series win of the season. Mason Lytle and Matt King led the team with two-hit games. Riojas (9-3) secured his ninth win of the season, allowing just one run and striking out four batters in 3.2 innings pitched.
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 will head to Boca Raton, Fla., to conclude the regular season with a three-game conference series against Florida Atlantic on Thursday through Saturday.
-UTSA-