SAN ANTONIO – On Sunday, UTSA wrapped up a statement series with in-state foe Dallas Baptist. One of the nation’s historically elite mid-major programs had already fallen at the hands of the Roadrunners in the first two contests, allowing 22 runs. The finale proved to be lower-scoring, due in large part to five strong innings from starting pitcher Kendall Dove. The ‘Runners held on to their early lead, walking away with a 6-3 victory to sweep DBU and clinch their first-ever 7-0 start.
FIRST INNING
Junior Kendall Dove picked up his second consecutive Sunday start on the mound, quickly shutting down DBU early on. Drew Detlefsen continued his hot streak with a well-placed infield single before Lane Haworth drew a six-pitch walk. Andrew Stucky walked the bases full before Josh Arquette sent a pair of ‘Runners home on a single chopped up the middle. Two pitches later, Christian Hallmark found his groove once again with a well-hit ball through the right side. After one stanza, the hosts held a 3-0 edge.
THIRD INNING
Entering frame three, the Patriots swapped pitchers following a quiet second for both sides. Between the second and third innings, the two squads combined for seven strikeouts without a hit, including four total punchouts in the third.
FOURTH INNING
The ‘Runners got back to work offensively as Dove stayed steady on the mound with his fourth straight scoreless frame. Arquette drew a leadoff walk in the home half, advancing to third courtesy of a pair of ground balls. Jordan Ballin expanded the lead on an 0-2 count with two away, landing a single in right field to pull ahead 4-0.
FIFTH INNING
Following an RBI double in the top half for DBU, UTSA went back to work up by three. Three straight Roadrunners reached via two-out singles, with Arquette’s floater into shallow center field plating Lane Haworth from 180 feet away. UTSA headed to the sixth up 5-1 after the third baseman’s second hit of the afternoon.
SIXTH INNING
Senior Gunnar Brown came in following five solid frames from Kendall Dove. A pair of Patriot hits and a fielder’s choice drew the visitors closer, but the damage was held to one run in the inning. Following another DBU pitching change, two leadoff walks were advanced to scoring position on a Jordan Ballin sacrifice bunt. Caden Miller’s groundout brought the home advantage back up to four, heading to the game’s final third up 6-2.
EIGHTH/NINTH INNING
Down to their final six outs in the series, the Patriots led off with a solo home run and cut the deficit to three. Brown, though, quickly escaped the inning on just 10 pitches following the blast. His offense went down on three strikeouts in its final showing of the weekend, sending the reliever out for one final inning of work. The first four at-bats were drawn-out battles, totaling 26 pitches to culminate in two outs and a pair of walks. With the tying run at the plate, a deep fly made its way towards the right-field wall, but Lane Haworth secured the drive just shy of the warning track for the final out of the weekend.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- UTSA (7-0) extended its program record for most wins to open a season. On Saturday, the squad broke the record and became the first in club history to start a campaign 6-0.
- Over the series, 3,048 spectators made their way to see the ‘Runners host the Patriots, capped off by 1,049 on Sunday. Averaging 1,016 fans per contest, the three-game clash became the highest-attended series in Roadrunner Field history.
- The Patriots suffered their first sweep since dropping all three bouts at No. 22 Southern Mississippi from March 3-5, 2023.
- For the first time this season, UTSA failed to score 10 or more runs in the contest.
- Through seven games of offensive production, UTSA has now amassed 88 hits (including 23 for extra bases), 81 runs, 49 walks drawn and a .374 batting average.
- Diego Diaz led his team’s eight-walk showing with two on Sunday, increasing his season total to three.
- After an impressive three-hit outing on Saturday, Jacob Silva earned the start as designated hitter on Sunday, scoring a run while adding a hit and a walk.
- Gunnar Brown tossed 4.0 innings out of the bullpen, allowing just two runs and striking out a pair over 73 pitches to earn his first save of 2026.
- For the second straight day, UTSA managed to win despite not tallying a single extra-base hit.
UP NEXT
After wrapping up their weekend clash, the Roadrunners will head northeast up I-35 for a rivalry matchup at Texas State. The Bobcats (5-2) took two of three from Gonzaga this weekend and are set to host UTSA on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 6 p.m. from San Marcos. Pat Hallmark’s bunch will play its first road game of 2026 on ESPN+, with all the action also available to follow via StatBroadcast.
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