SAN ANTONIO – On Saturday, UTSA Baseball wrapped up the regular season with its third and final matchup against UAB. The Roadrunners fell by a final score of 23-11 in eight innings, dropping to 36-19 overall with a 17-10 record in American Conference play. With Saturday’s results, Pat Hallmark’s squad secured the league’s No. 1 seed and a regular season co-championship alongside East Carolina (33-21-1, 17-10).
FIRST INNING
True freshman Ryan Self earned the nod on Saturday, making his seventh pitching start of the season. On just seven pitches, he retired the Blazers in order, sending out the home bats for the first time. A pair of two-out base runners were not capitalized on as a groundout ended the first frame still scoreless.
SECOND INNING
Two 0-1 home runs were each of the solo variety for UAB in the top half, pushing the visitors ahead by a pair. Brandon Bishop’s first single of the day brought Jordan Ballin up to bat with one away. The sophomore lifted one to the opposite field, driving it into the netting and over the wall for his first collegiate home run. Aidan Eshelman followed up with a single before stealing his way to second and making his way to third on a groundout. Drew Detlefsen then came through with a double over the center fielder’s head, bringing in his shortstop for the go-ahead run at 3-2.
THIRD INNING
Five walks and a hit scored a quartet of UAB runs, handing the Blazers a 6-3 advantage as Mike DeBattista eventually exited the inning. In the home half, Lane Haworth got aboard before Diego Diaz’s fourth home run of the weekend. The blast brought his side back within one at 6-5, but no further damage came to bear.
FOURTH INNING
Three pitchers were utilized by UTSA across a two-walk, two-hit frame as the visitors swelled the lead to four. Haworth did his best to cut into the deficit, mashing his squad’s 11th home run of the weekend. The solo blast was the junior’s ninth four-bagger of the campaign and left the Navy & Orange down by three.
FIFTH INNING
A trio of hits was supplemented by four free passes and two errors as UAB plated nine runs in its most productive frame of the weekend. In the home half, Aidan Eshelman’s third hit went for two bases ahead of an RBI single from Detlefsen that cut the deficit to 18-7.
SIXTH INNING
Blayne Lyne came out of the bullpen and allowed just one run on a sacrifice fly before his teammates headed back to the plate. Haworth and Ballin singled on either side of Christian Hallmark’s walk, setting up a bases-clearing double from Caden Miller. Just two pitches later, Detlefsen came through once more, sending a single back where it came from as the Navy & Orange tallied their only four-run inning of the day. The hosts still trailed 19-11 heading into the seventh.
EIGHTH INNING
UAB’s final four hits were aided by another ‘Runner miscue as the Blazers sent four more baserunners around to score. The hosts went down in order, unable to avoid their first run-rule defeat of the season, suffering a 23-11 loss in eight innings.
UP NEXT
UTSA will open play at the American Conference Championship on Friday, May 22. Eight teams punched their ticket to Clearwater, Fla., for a shot at the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals. The ‘Runners are set take the field at approximately 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT), with their opponent to be determined across Wednesday and Thursday’s matchups. All the action from BayCare Ballpark will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available via utsa.statbroadcast.com ahead of the title bout on ESPNEWS.
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