SAN ANTONIO — The Roadrunners are set to host Youngstown State in a four-game series starting at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27 at Roadrunner Field at San Antonio, Texas, with a double header beginning at noon on Saturday, Mar. 1, and the series finale being at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Mar. 2.
The Matchup
The Roadrunners will host Youngstown State in a four-game series to cap off a 10-game homestand. This will be the Roadrunners’ last four-game series of the season and the doubleheader being played on Saturday will also be the last doubleheader UTSA will play this season.
The games on Friday, Feb. 27 and Sunday, Mar. 1 will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Karl Schoening and Mike Capps on the call. Live stats for the game will be on utsa.statbroadcast.com.
Series History
This will be the first time that UTSA and Youngstown State have ever played each other.
On the Mound
On the mound for the Roadrunners on Friday will be right-handed pitcher Zach Royse who has started two games for the Roadrunners totaling 11.2 innings pitched with 12 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.86. Owens will be on the mound in the first game of the doubleheader, he also has two starts to his name with a 5.40 ERA, one win and nine strikeouts with 10.0 innings pitched.
In this last game of the series on Sunday, Conor Myles will be the starter, Myles has 10.1 innings pitched with one win, a 0.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts.
Last Time Out
UTSA defeated Houston Christian 12-1 in seven innings on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Starting pitcher of the game, James Hubbard, earned his first win of the season. On Wednesday, Feb. 26, UTSA completed its fourth run rule of the season beating Oakland 13-3 in seven innings.
At-Home Dominance
The Roadrunners are 6-0 at home, outscoring their opponents 66-10. In four of the six games played at Roadrunner Field, UTSA has been able to put their opponents away early by run-ruling their opponents in the seventh inning.
Hallmark’s 150th
Head coach Pat Hallmark currently has 147 wins at the helm of the Roadrunners. He currently has a 147-99 record in his six seasons leading UTSA. If the Roadrunners can win three of the four games of the Youngstown St. series, the third win will be Hallmark’s 150th win as the Roadrunners’ head coach. He will then become just the third Roadrunner manager to win at least 150 games.
Leading the League
The Roadrunners have been dominating in the last six games, which puts them in front of the AAC in five different statistical measures. As a team, the Roadrunners have a .358 batting average which leads the AAC. They have a total of 119 hits, which leads the league and is second in the nation just behind Lamar. To wrap up the offensive metrics, the Roadrunners have 174 total bases, the most in the AAC.
The pitching staff leads the league in ERA (3.51) and innings pitched (77.0).
Leading Lytle
Mason Lytle has 21 total hits on the season, which leads the AAC. He also leads the conference in at-bats with 43. He has a batting average of .488, which is second in the conference.
No Free Bags
The Roadrunners hold a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.50, which leads the nation and first in the American Athletic Conference. They also have a 1.64 ratio of walks per nine innings, which is also the best in the country.
Doubles and Jacks
The Roadrunners’ bats have certainly come alive early this season as Andrew Detlefsen leads the American Athletic Conference in doubles with six on the year. Detlefsen and Caden Miller are tied for first in the conference in home runs with three.
AAC Weekly Awards
After an outstanding week, two Roadrunners found their way into the AAC Weekly Honor Roll. Braylon Owens, who tossed six scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and striking out eight batters, is the first Roadrunner pitcher to be named to the weekly honor roll. Miller recorded seven hits, two home runs and two doubles on the week for a slugging percentage of 1.000 and is the first Roadrunner hitter to be named to the weekly honor roll.
Energy Stu
Senior catcher Andrew Stucky, whose name is pronounced STEW-key, was the inspiration for a team mantra, Energy Stu. Comes from a phrase shouted to the team to raise the energy at practice.
The Return of Malone
Former pitcher Luke Malone rejoins the Roadrunners in a different capacity as he joined the coaching staff in October 2024 as the Director of Player Development and Analytics.
Malone was a star pitcher for the Roadrunners from 2020 to 2023, earning all-conference accolades in each of his final two seasons. The right-hander finished his career with a 17-9 record, 4.45 ERA, 178 strikeouts and a pair of saves in 63 appearances that totaled 234.2 innings pitched.
2024 AAC All-Freshman Team
The Roadrunners welcome back both Diego Diaz and Robert Orloski, who both made the 2024 AAC All-Freshman Team. Both Diaz and Orloski are already seeing significant action for the Roadrunners.
Diaz has started four games for the Roadrunners at second base, playing in a total of seven games. Orloski has pitched in two games for the Roadrunners, tallying 7.2 innings pitched with seven strikeouts and no walks.
Preseason AAC Rankings
After finishing 17-10 to finish second in the American Athletic Conference in 2024, their first year in the league, the Roadrunners were picked to finish fourth by the league’s coaches in 2025.
Lytle’s Accomplishments
Senior outfield Mason Lytle has racked up an impressive list of awards entering his senior campaign. In his first year with the Roadrunners, Lytle was named 2024 AAC Newcomer of the Year while also being named to the AAC All-Academic Team.
Leading up to the 2025 season, Lytle has been named as the 2025 Preseason Player of the Year, the 2025 D1Baseball AAC Preseason Player of the Year and to the 2025 Perfect Game College Baseball Preseason AAC All-Conference Team. He was also named the 32nd-best outfielder in the nation, according to D1Baseball.
The Hodge Brothers
UTSA has a pair of brothers on the team, Ty and Nathan Hodge. The Hodge brothers come from College Station, Texas, but have two different paths in finding their way to UTSA. Ty Hodge is a transfer from Houston Christian who spent a year at Texas A&M. Nathan Hodge is a true freshman.
Home Grown
28 of the 38 players on the roster are from Texas, making up just shy of 75 percent of the roster. These players range from southern Texas, such as Pharr, all the way up to northern Texas, such as Mansfield. Josh Vaughn is the lone Roadrunner that calls San Antonio home.
Overseas Roadrunners
The Roadrunners have two players that come from outside of America, Lorenzo Morresi and Conor Myles. Morresi is from Macerata, Italy. Before coming to UTSA, Morressi spent two seasons in Hobbs, New Mexico, playing at NMJC.
Myles comes from the southern hemisphere, calling Melbourne, Australia, home. Myles spent two seasons in west Texas, as he played for Odessa JC before coming to play for the Roadrunners.
Fresh-faced Freshmen
UTSA has seven true freshmen on the roster and two redshirt freshmen. The two redshirt freshmen are Ryan Jester, who spent last season with the Roadrunners, and Holden Harris, who comes to UTSA after spending the 2024 season at TCU.
The seven true freshmen are Peyton Adams, Jordan Ballin, Mason Jacob, Nathan Hodge, Ryley Chapman, Todd Rochelle and Caden Miller.
Up Next
After the weekend, the Roadrunners will travel to College Station, Texas, to take on #1 Texas A&M at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 4 at Blue Bell Park.
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