SAN ANTONIO – The American Conference’s top two preseason favorites square off this weekend at Roadrunner Field. UTSA (18-7) is set to host East Carolina (15-10-1) for a three-game set featuring two of the league’s premier programs. The Pirates, winners of the 2025 American Championship, hope to take a road series from the league’s reigning regular-season titleholders. The Navy & Orange look to improve on their 9-2 home record and secure their 13th straight conference series victory.
WHAT TO KNOW
Who: East Carolina (15-10-1, 2-1 AMER) at UTSA (18-7, 2-1 AMER)
When: Friday, March 27 (6 p.m.) | Saturday, March 28 (2 p.m.) | Sunday, March 29 (1 p.m.)
Where: Roadrunner Field – San Antonio, Texas
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Stream: ESPN+
Broadcast Crew: Jordy Fee-Platt & Mike Capps
LAST TIME OUT
On Tuesday, the ‘Runners needed just three hits to take down A&M-Corpus Christi in a 3-1 victory headlined by two key defensive highlights. Josh Arquette and Drew Detlefsen each made a clutch play in the field to keep the Islanders off the board, setting up a game-sealing two-run bottom of the eighth. Caden Miller notched two of his team’s three hits, including the late, go-ahead RBI double. For the second time in four games, UTSA nearly posted a shutout, allowing just one score via a solo home run.
THE BATS ARE HOT
UTSA ranks inside the nation’s top 25 with a .326 batting average (12th), 283 hits (13th), 240 runs (ninth), 9.6 runs scored per game (11th), 20 sacrifice flies (fifth), a .439 on-base percentage (16th) and a .527 slugging percentage (20th).
In 14 of 25 games this season, UTSA has scored at least 10 runs. The group is averaging more than 1.1 scores per frame, plating 240 runners in 211 innings of work. The Roadrunners have hit multiple home runs in nearly half of their outings, doing so 11 times this spring.
MORE HARDWARE FOR 12
Drew Detlefsen was named American Conference Player of the Week on Monday. The senior racked up 12 hits, batting .750 with an OPS of 1.925 over four games. The left fielder notched three doubles and a home run to drive in five RBIs and score seven runs himself.
Last Tuesday at Houston Christian, he became the first Roadrunner with five hits in a single game this season, going 5-for-5. Then, he followed that performance up with a 3-for-3 outing in his side’s weekend-opening triumph at FAU. To close out the series win on Sunday, he went deep for the ninth time this season to expand his team lead in home runs.
This season, Detlefsen ranks fourth among all of Division I individuals in hits (43), 10th in runs scored per game (1.46), 11th in total bases (78), 12th in total runs scored (35), 19th in batting average (.426), 35th in slugging percentage (.772) and 48th in RBIs (31).
THE SLIM REAPER
One Roadrunner has stood above the rest out of the bullpen in the early stages of 2026. Sam Simmons, nicknamed ‘Slim’ by his teammates, has made 10 appearances, tossing 27.2 innings to lead the squad. His 19:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio has helped bolster a 1.63 ERA as opponents have batted just .219 against the senior.
Simmons is one of just four Division I pitchers with six victories this season, sitting tied for the nation’s lead. On Tuesday, he tossed the final two frames of a 3-1 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, allowing just two hits in another scoreless showing. The second-year Roadrunner also has two saves, most recently notching one with 3.1 scoreless innings to close out Friday’s win at FAU.
MILLER TIME
First baseman Caden Miller has excelled at the plate this spring, boasting a .395 batting average. The sophomore is second in the American Conference with a .539 on-base percentage and fourth in OPS (1.190). He enters the weekend on a 13-game hitting streak, which is the longest by any Roadrunner this season. Miller has notched exactly two hits in each of the last four outings, including Tuesday’s win in which UTSA tallied just three as a team.
ABOUT THE PIRATES
East Carolina is under the direction of 12th-year Head Coach Cliff Godwin, who holds a 447-224-2 record in his time with the program. The Pirates are 15-10-1 this season, holding a 2-1 conference record. The reigning American Conference tournament champions have qualified for NCAA Regional competition in 21 of the past 26 seasons, including each of the past seven. Last weekend, ECU took two of three from UAB at home, including an 18-1 drubbing on Saturday.
UP NEXT
After its series with ECU, UTSA gears up for four road games in five days next week. The ‘Runners will visit Incarnate Word on Tuesday before heading to Rice for a Thursday-Saturday series in Houston. UIW will host the midweek afternoon affair at 2 p.m. from Sullivan Field. All the action will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via utsa.statbroadcast.com
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