SAN ANTONIO – As the UTSA team bus returned to campus Monday afternoon, it was greeted by a sea of supporters, staff members and former players who came together to line Barshop Blvd. and celebrate the program’s first-ever NCAA Regional Championship.
The 2025 American Athletic Conference regular-season champion Roadrunners are now 47-13 on the season and have continued to set impressive records and notch milestones along the way. Headed into this weekend’s Super Regional at UCLA, the Roadrunners are just two victories away from advancing to the College World Series.
For the long-time supporters of the UTSA Baseball team, this year’s accomplishments have been no surprise. For four consecutive seasons, the Roadrunners have notched 32 or more wins and have proven they can beat any team they face.
“We probably surprised a few people, but people that have seen us all year, I don’t know that they were totally shocked,” said UTSA’s sixth-year head coach Pat Hallmark, the 2025 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. “I knew we had a chance to do this, but I did not know if we would do it. We’ve had a good team for four years.”
With crowds of better than 7,000 fans per game throughout the NCAA Regional weekend at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, UTSA in essence created Bird Bath North, an extension of the hostile home-field environment for which Roadrunner Field is known.
In the ninth inning Sunday, with UTSA’s trip to the Super Regionals on the line, Texas pinch hitter Tommy Farmer IV popped his 3-2 pitch into foul territory. As UTSA third baseman Norris McClure snagged the foul ball for the first out of the frame, Hallmark’s view of the play was obstructed by the camera well down the third-base line. The reaction to the play by the Roadrunners’ fans was overwhelming.
“From my dugout view, I couldn’t see Norris catch the pop up, all I saw was the crowd,” Hallmark said. “The crowd was so loud and there were so many of them when he caught it, I thought he missed it because I thought it was Texas fans because it was so loud. As he comes bouncing back on the field where I could see him and we made the out, I thought, ‘these fans are fantastic.’”
Among those in the crowd this weekend was a number of Hallmark’s former players from throughout his coaching career.
“I’m glad it was so close that they were able to come up,” Hallmark said. “We don’t do this without the groundwork those people laid. It’s not lost on me. There were kids there that I coached at UIW. I’m glad to see every one of them. They’re all San Antonio people and a lot of UTSA people also. I loved seeing the former players.”
UTSA’s players took note of the impact of the fans who exhorted them to the historic feat.
“We go out there, we play good ball and we have a phenomenal fan base behind us,” McClure said. “There were times where they were drowning out some of the Texas fans. I can’t even imagine the ratio between which was which. Just like we all fight for each other and play for each other, the fans are out there doing their work too. It’s awesome.”
As it prepares to face UCLA in this weekend’s NCAA Super Regional in Los Angeles, Hallmark’s message to the Roadrunner faithful is a simple one, filled with appreciation.
“I’m just blessed and grateful,” Hallmark said. “Thank you and keep coming.”