SAN ANTONIO – It took mere minutes for UTSA to set the tone in its high-octane home series with Dallas Baptist (4-1) on Friday. In a blink, the Roadrunners had six runs on the board and stunned the visiting Patriots. DBU responded twice, though, pulling within one during the fifth inning. Sam Simmons came out of the bullpen and shut down any chance at a comeback, delivering his best performance with the program to earn his second individual win of the week. With the victory, UTSA (5-0) sits on the verge of history, needing one more to secure the best start in team history.
FIRST INNING
Junior Connor Kelley was first to take the mound on Friday, trotting out for his second start of the young season. The Spring, Texas, native sat down DBU in order, notching a pair of strikeouts to open the affair. When the Roadrunners grabbed their bats, they wasted no time landing the first punch of the game. Caden Miller drew a leadoff walk before making his way to second on a Drew Detlefsen single. Andrew Stucky’s walk two batters later left the bases juiced for Josh Arquette. The red-hot third baseman ripped a ball down the left-field line, bringing everyone home on a three-RBI triple. An ensuing walk and fielder’s choice then left a runner on for Diego Diaz, who capitalized on a 2-1 pitch and opened up the game to 6-0 with a two-RBI home run.
THIRD INNING
After going down quietly in each of the first two frames, DBU answered in the third. Three straight hits plated one run before a sacrifice fly made it 6-2. Chayton Krauss took his first pitch over the outfield wall and pulled his team within two on the Patriots’ first long ball of the night.
FOURTH INNING
After Kelley sat down DBU on three straight strikeouts, his offense got back to work. Garrett Gruell’s leadoff single was followed up by Diego Diaz’s second hit of the night. After both runners advanced to scoring position on an error, Jordan Ballin drove them home with a single up the middle and pulled back ahead 8-4.
FIFTH INNING
A single and a hit batter gave DBU a pair of runners with just one away. Ben Tyron’s right-field drive was deep enough to notch three runs, pulling the visitors within one at 8-7. Sam Simmons then entered the game with one away, escaping the inning without any further damage. In the home half, Lane Haworth battled for an eight-pitch walk to lead things off. Andrew Stucky rewarded his right fielder, sending a deep shot 382 feet and into the left-field netting for his second home run of 2026.
SIXTH INNING
Caden Miller was hit by the second pitch of the stanza before Drew Detlefsen stepped up to the plate. The left fielder honed in on a 1-0 pitch, sending it near Stucky’s home run ball from an inning prior. The second-year Roadrunner’s first four-bagger of 2026 scored UTSA’s final runs on the night to go up 12-7.
EIGHTH/NINTH INNING
Both sides struggled offensively the rest of the way, with the exception of a leadoff home run in the eighth for DBU. With two outs and two strikes in the final frame, Sam Simmons got the Roadrunner faithful to its feet. The sidearm specialist rung up the final Patriot with a strikeout looking, clinching the team’s first 5-0 start since 2013.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- Sam Simmons (2-0) notched his second win of the week, tossing 4.2 innings, allowing just one run and striking out four.
- The senior came in for the second half of the game, taking over for Connor Kelley, who fanned seven Patriots in his 4.1 innings of work.
- The Roadrunners’ 10 hits were their fewest in a game this season.
- UTSA has scored at least 10 runs in all five contests thus far, averaging 13.0 per night.
- Drew Detlefsen launched his first home run of 2026 in the sixth inning. The American Conference 2025 Newcomer of the Year blasted a team-high 13 a season ago.
- Diaz became the first Roadrunner with multiple home runs on the season, belting his second on a two-run shot in the first inning.
- Four frames later, Andrew Stucky joined Diaz with his second bomb of 2026, plating the ninth and 10th runs of the contest.
- Josh Arquette led the team with three RBIs on Friday, setting a personal season high.
- Jordan Ballin and Christian Hallmark recorded their fourth and sixth stolen bases of the campaign, respectively.
- Through five games of offensive production, UTSA has now amassed 69 hits (including 24 for extra bases), 65 runs, 31 walks drawn and a .383 batting average.
- UTSA sits one win away from setting a school record for most victories to open a season. In both 2013 and 2010, the Roadrunners jumped out to 5-0 records before suffering a loss.
UP NEXT
The two sides will meet again tomorrow at 2 p.m. from Roadrunner Field. UTSA looks to stay unbeaten and secure its best start to a season in program history. DBU (4-1) hopes to draw even on the weekend and force a rubber match on Sunday. All the action between the ‘Runners and Patriots will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via utsa.statbroadcast.com.
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