NEW ORLEANS – On the national airwaves of ESPNU, UTSA Baseball (28-13) picked up a series-opening win at Tulane on Friday night. The Roadrunners utilized a five-run third inning to build a quick lead and coast to an eventual four-run victory in the Big Easy. Gunnar Brown and Connor Kelley excelled on the mound before Christopher Gutierrez recorded the final out, bumping his team to 11-5 in American play with a 7-3 road triumph.
FIRST INNING
Drew Detlefsen got things going with a double as the designated hitter for the day. With one away, Lane Haworth then ripped a towering shot off the football indoor practice facility in right field, pulling ahead 2-0 early on. In the bottom half, Gunnar Brown made his sixth start of the season and his third in a weekend affair. Despite a pair of singles, Brown escaped the frame courtesy of a double play capped off by first baseman Cade Sadler.
THIRD INNING
Following a 1-2-3 second inning with two strikeouts from Brown, the visitors got right back to work at the plate. Back-to-back doubles from Lane Haworth and Andrew Stucky plated a run before Christian Hallmark’s single placed runners at the corners. Sadler then brought his catcher home on a sacrifice fly to pull ahead 4-0. An ensuing groundout marked the second out of the stanza, but the ‘Runners were far from done.
Jordan Ballin sent a single back off the mound before fellow middle infielder Aidan Eshelman tallied an RBI with his side’s third double of the inning. Then, Caden Miller’s walk signaled the end of the night for Tulane’s starting pitcher. Detlefsen earned a walk of his own to load the bases ahead of Haworth’s second at-bat of the third. The left fielder drew a third straight base on balls, bringing in Eshelman for the fifth and final score, ballooning the edge to 7-0.
FOURTH INNING
With another quiet inning in the books, Brown returned to the mound for the fourth. His night came to a close after a walk and two hits, making way for Connor Kelley. The junior punched out one batter before his defense produced its second 4-6-3 double play of the evening. The hosts did manage to put two on the board, however, trailing 7-2 heading into the game’s middle stages.
SIXTH INNING
Kelley allowed a pair of walks before striking out two consecutive batters. The junior sat down three straight hosts as part of another scoreless frame, escaping the jam with a groundout up the middle.
EIGHTH INNING
Another pitching change for the Green Wave kept the ‘Runners off the board again as the home side had just six outs to play with. Both squads remained quiet offensively as Kelley continued his six-strikeout day on the mound through the entirety of the eighth. Yet another 1-2-3 frame prompted the final inning of the night with a 7-2 margin still holding.
NINTH INNING
A seven-pitch top half brought Tulane out for one final trip to the plate. A leadoff triple followed up by a single scored a quick run, forcing a mound visit early on. Then, a key double play made an ensuing two-bagger easier to stomach for the visitors. Christopher Gutierrez trotted out of the bullpen, getting the last batter of the night to ground out, sealing a 7-3 win.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- UTSA jumped to 9-6 all-time against Tulane, climbing to 7-3 on the road.
- For the 10th consecutive contest, Jordan Ballin drew a walk, doing so in the top of the second inning.
- The Navy & Orange have left seven or more runners on base in 17 of their past 21 outings.
- Lane Haworth was the lone Roadrunner with multiple RBIs on Friday, tallying three.
- The outfielder jumped into second place among all Roadrunners with 37 RBIs on the campaign.
- Christian Hallmark joined Haworth atop the team leaderboard with two hits in the win.
- For the third straight weekend, UTSA came away victorious in its series opener by at least four runs.
- The ‘Runners head into Saturday still atop the American standings, tied with UAB at 11-5.
- With seven walks, the visitors improved to 24-9 when tallying at least four this season.
- Jordan Ballin matched his season high with seven assists on Friday.
- Cade Sadler tied his previous 2026 high with eight putouts in his start at first base.
- UTSA posted at least four doubles for the seventh time this season, falling one shy of its 2026 high (five on April 17).
- Connor Kelley picked up his fourth win on the campaign (4-1), posting six strikeouts and allowing five hits over 5.2 innings of work.
- The junior’s streak without allowing an earned run came to an end on Friday, capping the stretch at 25.1 straight innings and nine games across 42 days.
UP NEXT
On Saturday, UTSA and Tulane will meet once again from Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. The visitors eye their 17th straight conference series victory while the Green Wave hope to force a rubber match on Sunday. First pitch in the midpoint of the three-game set is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT. All the action the rest of this weekend will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via utsa.statbroadcast.com.
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