UTSA Baseball on the road again

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After a week on the road UTSA returned home last weekend for a three-game series with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and then made the short-cross town trip to face the UIW Cardinals for the second time this season.

The Roadrunners will be on the road this weekend to face Charlotte and then travel to College Station on Tuesday to battle the Texas A&M Aggies at Blue Bell Park. More on those games below but first a look back at this past weekend sweep of Western Kentucky.

Runs were at a premium in the series opener last Friday night as UTSA's Luke Malone and WKU's Lane Diuguid went toe-to-toe in a pitchers duel that ended with UTSA winning 3-2. Both starters went seven innings. Malone was able to limit the Hilltoppers to two runs, all coming in the top of the fourth. The Roadrunners helped Malone earn his third win of the season by scoring three runs on Diuguid. Malone gave up six hits and struck out eight Hilltopper hitters. Simon Miller earned his fourth save of the season.

The Roadrunners were able to get their three runs on Friday night while only collecting four hits. UTSA scored a run in the first and second inning before WKU tied the score at 2-2 in the fourth inning. Sammy Diaz put UTSA back in front with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth.

On Saturday afternoon the Roadrunners were able to claim the series, their seventh series won in a row, with a 5-4 win over the Hilltoppers. Ruger Riojas earned the win for UTSA to improve his season mark to 3-0. Miller earned his second save of the weekend and fifth of the season.

The Roadrunners opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning when DIaz hit a solo home run. WKU tied the score in the top of the third inning and took a 2-1 lead with a run in the top of the fourth inning. It was a short lived lead as UTSA put four runs across in the bottom of the fourth inning to go up 5-2. WKU added a run in the top of the sixth and the top of the ninth but UTSA was able to close the game out with the 5-4 win.

UTSA earned its third weekend sweep of the season on Sunday by beating the Hilltoppers 7-2. Daniel Garza earned the win, his fourth of the season after throwing 4.2 innings and giving up just one run.

The Roadrunners got on the board with a two-run single from Leyton Barry in the bottom of the second. WKU tied the score at 2-2 with a pair of runs in the top of the third. UTSA retook the lead with a run in the bottom of the third inning and added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth and a run in the bottom of the sixth to go up 7-2.

The sweep over WKU is what finally allowed the Roadrunner baseball team to earn a top 25 ranking. UTSA came in at number 24 on the Baseball America top 25 released Monday. It is the first time in baseball program history that the Roadrunners are ranked nationally.

On Tuesday UTSA made the short trip across town to face the UIW Cardinals in the second game between the two schools this season. The Roadrunners won the first meeting at Roadrunner Field, 2-1, on March 1. The Roadrunners and Cardinals matched that run total in the third inning on Tuesday. UTSA put two runs on the board in the top of the third. UIW scored their first run in the bottom of the third inning.

The Roadrunners added four runs in the top of the fourth inning to go up 6-1 and appeared to be on their way to getting the mid-week win. UIW had other ideas. The Cardinals cut the deficit to 6-4 with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

UIW tied the score at 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth and then won the game with a three-run walk-off home run with two outs. It was the third straight midweek game the Roadrunners have dropped. UTSA has not won a mid-week game since beating SFA 9-3 on March 14.

UTSA won't have long to reflect on the shocking loss to UIW. The Roadrunners are headed to Charlotte this weekend. The series, originally scheduled for a Thursday-Friday-Saturday has been adjusted because of chance of weather in Charlotte.

The Roadrunners and 49ers will now play a doubleheader on Thursday and then close out the series on Friday.

UTSA heads to Charlotte with a 23-7 record overall and an 8-1 record in Conference USA, two games ahead of second place Dallas Baptist.

Charlotte enters the series with UTSA sporting a 14-14 overall record. The 49ers are locked in a four-way tie for third in the Conference USA standings with a 5-4 record.

Last weekend the 49ers won two of the three games in a series at UAB. On Tuesday night the 49ers won at home against Radford 10-0. On the season Charlotte is 10-8 at home and 4-6 on the road.

Charlotte has scored 200 runs this season and had 155 runs scored against. The 49ers have a team batting average of .261. Opponents are batting .247 against the 49ers. Charlotte's pitching staff has a combined ERA of 5.13.

UTSA has scored 229 runs and allowed 130 runs against. The Roadrunner team batting average is .317 and opponents have a .244 batting average against UTSA's pitching staff. The Roadrunners pitching staff also has a combined ERA of 3.41.

The Roadrunners lead the series with Charlotte 14-13. UTSA is 7-6 in games played in Charlotte. Last season UTSA swept a three-game home series against Charlotte. Including that sweep the Roadrunners have won four in a row against Charlotte.

On Tuesday the Roadrunners will travel to face Texas A&M. UTSA and Texas A&M have not met since the 2015 season. That year Texas A&M won 11-1. UTSA is 1-9 all-time against the Aggies. The Roadrunners lone win against the Aggies came in the first meeting between the two schools in 2006 at Wolff Stadium.

FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way