SAN ANTONIO – On Saturday, UTSA Baseball hosted Wichita State for a doubleheader after Friday’s affair was postponed due to weather. The Roadrunners cruised to a pair of comfortable triumphs over the Shockers, securing their 18th straight series victory in American Conference play. With the wins, the hosts improved to 32-14 with a 14-6 mark in conference play. Meanwhile, the visitors fell to 26-22 and 10-10 in league action.
GAME ONE – UTSA wins 13-7
FIRST INNING
Senior right-handed pitcher Gunnar Brown earned his fourth straight series-opening start on the mound. A pair of Roadrunner errors proved costly as the visitors pulled ahead 3-0 on a trio of unearned runs in the first.
When the hosts came to the plate, Caden Miller led things off with a double. WSU’s first error of the night came before back-to-back RBI singles from Lane Haworth and Andrew Stucky. Down one, Christian Hallmark’s groundout brought in Haworth, knotting things up at 3-3. Another fielding error preluded Diego Diaz’s right-center RBI double before Jordan Ballin sent his two fellow infielders home on a shot to the opposite field for a 6-3 edge.
THIRD INNING
After the Shockers added one in the second, they got back to work in inning three. A pair of singles were aided by a walk, plating two runs to tie the game. In the home half, two free bases were not enough to get a run across, holding a six all tie through the game’s first third.
FOURTH INNING
A leadoff double marked the end of the road for Brown as junior Connor Kelley trotted out of the bullpen. The runner eventually came around after a walk and a single, granting WSU its second lead of the afternoon at 7-6.
SIXTH INNING
Following a quick top half, UTSA headed back to the plate down one. Caden Miller got the inning started with a base on balls before a pitching change and Drew Detlefsen’s first hit of the day. Andrew Stucky then loaded the bases with another walk ahead of two straight RBI ground balls, aided by another Shocker miscue. With runners at the corners, Diego Diaz ripped a triple to score both and pull ahead by four. The next at-bat culminated in a fielder’s choice to score the third baseman and cap a six-run frame at 12-7.
SEVENTH INNING
Another efficient inning from Kelley brought his offense back out up five. Detlefsen’s second base knock of the afternoon set the stage for consecutive walks to Haworth and Stucky. A pinch-hitting Brandon Bishop came up with the RBI, accounting for Detlefsen’s final 90 feet that swelled the hosts’ lead to 13-7.
NINTH INNING
With the visitors down to three outs, Kelley took over looking to cap off his fifth victory of the season. A two-out single went unsupported as the Shockers went down quietly, securing a six-run win for the ‘Runners in the doubleheader opener.
GAME TWO – UTSA wins 8-1
FIRST INNING
Conor Myles settled in for his masterpiece on the mound, making his standard game two start. Of the first 11 batters he faced, just one reached safely, doing so with a double on the 10th pitch of an at-bat. The Australian struck out five Shockers during the stretch, including the final two batters of both the first and second frames.
THIRD INNING
While the visitors remained cold at the plate, Caden Miller walked to lead off the third. The next pitch was a hard line drive that made its way into the left-field corner, ricocheting off the wall for a Drew Detlefsen triple. The ‘Runners tallied the game’s first run and pulled ahead 1-0 through three.
FOURTH INNING
A one-out, first-pitch home run tied things up, but Myles quickly retired the remainder of the side. While a hit and a walk came to bear in the home half, the Navy & Orange failed to respond, retaining a 1-1 tie into the affair’s second half.
SIXTH INNING
Stucky and Diaz led off with two straight singles before a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout left a pair in scoring position with two away. Ballin then came up with a clutch two-strike hit, pulling back in front with a two-RBI knock. The next offering went to Aidan Eshelman, who lined one to center field to score Ballin and cap a three-run stanza that pushed his side back in front 4-1.
EIGHTH INNING
After retiring the final two batters of the seventh, Myles’ night was done, making way for Sam Simmons on the mound. The senior picked up right where the starter left off, sitting WSU down in order after a leadoff walk. When his offense came back out, a pair of walks sparked the momentum early. Eshelman came up with his second consecutive RBI single before Miller did the same, opening up a sizable lead. Detlefsen then sent the first pitch he saw to left-center for another extra-base hit, prompting a final pitching change. One of the nation’s top five producing teams in sacrifice flies added another courtesy of Lane Haworth before WSU stopped the bleeding down 8-1.
NINTH INNING
Mike DeBattista came out of the bullpen with two outs remaining, sending Simmons to left field for the final moments. DeBattista quickly escaped the inning, putting the finishing touches on a seven-run victory to secure UTSA’s 18th straight American series win at 8-1.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- UTSA improved to 6-2 all-time against Wichita State, jumping to 3-2 at home.
- In 21 of their past 26 outings, the ‘Runners have stranded seven or more men on base.
- Saturday’s opener marked the fifth straight game in which UTSA posted an inning with at least five runs, notching six in the sixth.
- That streak came to an end later in the day, peaking at a four-run inning in the eighth.
- Pat Hallmark’s bunch improved to 27-10 when drawing at least four walks this season.
- The Roadrunners posted two wins without recording a home run in either contest.
- Drew Detlefsen and Diego Diaz each notched triples on the day, tying him alongside Christian Hallmark for the team lead with three.
- Left-handed pitcher Conor Myles improved to 8-1 on the season with yet another gem on the mound.
- The graduate tossed a 2026-high 7.0 innings while matching his season-best eight punchouts.
- Myles allowed just four hits and one run without a single walk, dropping his season ERA to 2.43.
- Two walks and three hits were all Connor Kelley allowed across six shutout innings in Saturday’s opener.
- The junior matched starter Gunnar Brown with five strikeouts, climbing to 5-1with a 3.00 ERA.
- Sam Simmons made his first appearance on defense, taking to left field after Mike DeBattista relieved him on the mound with two outs remaining in the nightcap.
- Jordan Ballin led all student-athletes with five RBIs across the two games.
- The Roadrunners jumped back into sole possession of first place with a 14-6 record in American play. UAB fell to 12-8 while ECU sits at 13-7, all with seven games remaining.
UP NEXT
On Sunday, the two sides will meet once again for the series finale, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. UTSA eyes its first sweep in league play while WSU looks to finish the weekend above .500 in American action. All the action from Roadrunner Field will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via utsa.statbroadcast.com.
-UTSA-