CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – UTSA Baseball hit the road once again on Tuesday, visiting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for a midweek bout at Chapman Field. The Islanders (8-5) roared out to a strong start, but the Roadrunners clawed back for a 7-5 victory that bumped them to 11-1 on the campaign. The Navy & Orange improved to 1-1 in true road contests, extending their overall winning streak to four straight games.
Head Coach Pat Hallmark, on the win: “I thought we were tough. We didn’t play good and the defense was atrocious, but I did think we remained persistent. You’re not going to play great all the time and this is a tricky ballpark with the wind and the sun. I’m not making excuses at all. We have to play better defense, but it’s like this here. I don’t care what their record is, and it’s good now, but this is always a hard place to win. We played poorly on defense, but we were mentally tough.”
FIRST INNING
Ryan Self tallied his second start of 2026, taking to the mound after a quick 1-2-3 showing from his offense. The freshman picked up an out on the first pitch before a double found its way to the gap in left. An error allowed a run to score before a two-run shot just past the outstretched glove of Christian Hallmark sent A&M-Corpus Christi up 3-0.
THIRD INNING
With the visiting offense still quiet, the Islanders tallied a leadoff single that signaled the end of Self’s night. After a two-pitch, one-out showing from Christopher Gutierrez, Mike DeBattista stepped onto the bump. The senior notched a quick strikeout before exiting an eventual bases-loaded jam unscathed.
FIFTH INNING
Former Islander Garrett Gruell sent a ball off the right fielder’s glove for a one-out triple in his return to Chapman Field. A four-pitch walk to Aidan Eshelman preluded an RBI groundout from Caden Miller that got the ‘Runners on the board. Drew Detlefsen followed up with a walk of his own before Lane Haworth stayed hot with a double to right-center. The drive found the gap and sent both baserunners home, knotting the affair at 3-3. When DeBattista returned to the mound, he needed just nine pitches to sit the opposition down in order, capping off the frame with three straight swinging misses.
SIXTH INNING
A leadoff four-pitch walk to Jacob Silva set the stage for Christian Hallmark. The center fielder sent a 1-2 offering out to right and returned the favor from the first inning. His blast tailed past the leaping Islander and into the outfield parking lot, breaking the tie to put the visitors ahead 5-3. Meanwhile, DeBattista maintained a stretch of 11 straight batters that saw just one reaching via a walk.
SEVENTH INNING
In the home half, a leadoff single was followed up by a walk. With one away, a fielder’s choice turned costly for UTSA on a throwing error that allowed a run and extended the inning. With Sam Simmons taking over pitching duties, a pair of softly-hit, well-placed infield singles drove in the game-tying score (5-5).
NINTH INNING
Caden Miller and Lane Haworth each walked before a flyout sent Miller to third base. A Diego Diaz infield single off his counterpart at second base then brought home the go-ahead run at 6-5. Jacob Silva then went up the middle just two pitches later, brining Haworth home for the game’s final score. Simmons ended the affair on 12 pitches, slamming the door shut on a swinging strikeout to secure his squad’s first road win of 2026.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- UTSA is out to its best start to a season this millennium. The only other team in program history to start at least 11-1 was the 1994 squad, who opened up 13-1.
- Tuesday marked the fourth game this season that UTSA failed to eclipse a double-digit run total.
- Christian Hallmark and led the team with two RBIs apiece on Tuesday.
- Lane Haworth notched a hit for the seventh straight game, doing so for the 11th time in 12 contests this spring.
- Sam Simmons picked up the win on the mound, improving to 3-0 on the season while dropping his ERA to 0.69.
- In the win, the visitors drew seven walks, totaling at least four for the 11th game this spring.
- Christian Hallmark’s fifth-inning drive was his second home run of the season.
- Garrett Gruell’s third-inning triple was his first and the team’s fourth of 2026.
- Tuesday’s bout was UTSA’s second of the campaign without a run through three innings. The Roadrunners took their longest to score in their Feb. 24 loss at Texas State, failing to crack the scoreboard until the sixth frame.
- UTSA set a season high with three errors in the win.
Head Coach Pat Hallmark, on the difficulties of extended road trips: “I like to play on the road. I think the players are okay with it, and I want them to get where they like to play on the road. With the type of program we are, we have to enjoy it. When we go to the postseason, it’s probably going to be on the road. We don’t even talk about home-field advantage. We’ve been good at home the last few years, but we don’t talk that way. It’s about playing good baseball and controlling what you can control.”
UP NEXT
Following their bout with the Islanders, the Roadrunners will head to the Land of Enchantment for a three-game set with New Mexico State. The Aggies (6-6) will host the series from Presley Askew Field in Las Cruces, N.M., with first pitch set for 7 p.m. CT (6 p.m. MT) on Friday, March 6. The series at NM State will not be streamed, but live statistics will be available at utsa.statbroadcast.com.
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