UTSA Sweeps Wichita State; Takes Sole Control of 1st Place in the AAC

It was another successful weekend for the UTSA Baseball team. They won another conference road series while also notching their second conference series sweep of the season. They also now stand atop the conference standings, holding a two-game lead over USF. It was series sweep that had a little bit of everything, once again winning by different means. UTSA will now have another midweek off, as they prepare to host the Tulane Green Wave in a Thursday – Saturday series. For now, let’s get into this week’s Full-Count Recap. 

STRIKES

XBH…

When previewing this series, extra-base-hits was an area I wanted to see UTSA take advantage of. They passed with flying colors. This was a weakness of the Shockers’ pitching staff coming into the weekend. 

The Roadrunners wasted no time hitting doubles and jacks across the three games. They would hit six doubles on Friday, seven doubles on Saturday while Andrew Stucky was responsible for almost half of those, and one double on Sunday. 

They also scored by way of the long ball this past weekend. Mason Lytle hit a rocket 427 feet and Norris McClure hit his first home run as a Roadrunner. It was also a big weekend for McClure. His three-run double on Friday kickstarted the UTSA offense and his double on Sunday ensured the Roadrunners had an extra base hit in each game. 

By the end of it, the final tally came out to 16 XBH. Pairing the doubles and Lytle’s home run with free passes from the Shocker pitching staff put pressure on Wichita State that they had a hard time escaping all weekend. 

The offense left Wichita State choosing to issue intentional walks than try and get Mason Lytle out. The senior center fielder was a triple shy of the cycle on Saturday, reaching base five times. 

Depth… 

It’s no secret that on the offensive side of things UTSA has plenty of depth. It can be extremely challenging in baseball to come off the bench or get a start and find consistency when you aren’t getting in-game at-bats every weekend. The Roadrunners showed off that depth this weekend. 

Norris McClure continued to show that his bat can carry the weight as it was a big weekend for him. Limited early, he has made the most of his opportunities as of late. McClure reached base safely 6-15 times, turning in a nice .400 OBP. 

When McClure had a quieter Sunday, it was Broc Parmer and Diego Diaz who stepped up. Parmer had a key at-bat where his patience at the plate resulted in a Roadrunner run from a wild pitch, and he would eventually draw a walk to continue the inning. He also had a base hit, brought in a run, and scored a run. 

Diaz only had one hit on the day, but it was like Parmer’s RBI in placement and method, scoring one. 

The ability for UTSA to rely on multiple pieces plays nicely with the approach they like to take in games and that is winning multiple ways. While all three games featured different means to the end, they all showed UTSA could just wear Wichita State down. 

They showed their depth on the mound as well. 

In the closest game of the series, it was Sunday starter Conor Myles who had the most impressive outing of the trio. Previous weeks showed Myles struggling more than Royse and Owens, but he tossed a gem to help get the sweep. 7 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 2 BB, 3 SO. 

Patience… 

Perhaps not on Saturday, as UTSA scored half their runs in the first three innings and never looked back, but Friday and Sunday were all about patience. Patience and that wearing down the Shockers I just mentioned. 

Although Friday’s final was 9-2, UTSA only had four runs through six innings. For most of the game it was much closer than the final box score shows. UTSA had opportunities early, however they could not produce on those opportunities. That was until Norris McClure’s already mentioned three-run double. 

Sunday was similar. The Roadrunners only scored in two innings and only had one run through five innings. The good news is that Wichita State only scored one run in one inning. 

You eventually saw the Shockers’ dam break on Friday, that carried into Saturday, so you felt it was only a matter of time until it broke again on Sunday. A four run sixth inning was the difference maker. 

It’s likely that Sunday’s top of the sixth took more wind out of Wichita’s sails than any other inning across the weekend. It was the closet they came to an upset, and the last opportunity to salvage a win. 

The Roadrunners used disciplined at-bats, timely hitting, and free opportunities to put the nail in the series coffin. 

Perhaps that is this team’s greatest strength right now.  They simply will not quit. Thirteen of their thirty runs came in the sixth inning or later. If you take away Saturday’s blowout, ten of their fourteen runs on Friday and Sunday came in the sixth or later. 

BALLS

Home Runs?…

At surface level, there isn’t too much to complain about from this weekend. No, they didn’t get the run-rule win on Saturday. They had one pitcher go six innings. They made more than one error on Saturday. 

Outside of those things, it was one of those weekends where if you are a UTSA fan, it was just fun baseball throughout. The pitching staff struck out more than they walked. The offense only struck out more than they walked in one game. 

There was one category (at least) that Wichita State outperformed them: home runs. 

Across the weekend, the Shockers hit four home runs, while UTSA only hit two. It is fair to say that both teams were very close to more. UTSA had some very near misses, and Wichita State had some very loud outs. 

Three of the four home runs for Wichita State came when Saturday’s 16-8 final was well out of reach. They trimmed UTSA’s 13-1 lead to 13-5, however, the ‘Runners responded each time Wichita State scored. 

Sunday’s solo home run gave the Shockers their first lead of the weekend, but that would be the only run they scored in a game that saw them only put six total runners on base, with four hits. 

The other interesting fact from Saturday was how much the broadcasters were talking about the conditions and themselves even giving the wind some credit for a few Shockers home runs. 

Two errors… 

Coach Hallmark has mentioned before that one of the goals for each game is to not have more than one error in a game. UTSA committed the only two errors in the box score on Saturday. 

Like the home runs, they came when the game was largely out of reach. They almost seemed like the types that come when you’re spending long extended breaks in the dugout from the offensive production. 

That isn’t me at all trying to write them off. We’ve seen a few times this season where the same aggressiveness this team has on the basepaths carries over to the field. 

A LOT of times it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. These were two of those times. 

Fans can also be encouraged by the clean box score UTSA book ended the weekend with, while several web-gem plays were made, including James Taussig’s impressive foul territory catch at the wall. Taussig’s catch has even been circling the College Baseball social media outlets. 

THE PAY OFF PITCH…

Well, for a second week in a row, UTSA does not have a midweek to get ready for. Unlike last weeks, which was canceled due to scheduling conflicts with Texas A&M Corpus conference weekend, this one is by design. 

Early in the season, UTSA played two midweeks against HCU and Oakland. This allows them to have a bye week of sorts, which is especially nice considering the quick turnaround before the next conference series. 

With next weekend being Easter, teams across the country have a Thursday – Saturday slate. That means Tulane will be arriving at San Antonio sometime late afternoon, early evening on Wednesday. 

My plan, content wise for this week is something like last week. Although, instead of two episodes it will be one longer episode. 

I plan on the first half of the episode being an AAC check in. Next weekend will officially put the AAC on the second half of conference play. With no midweek it is a good time to see how the conference is shaping up, who the team and individual leaders are, and how the conference and individual RPI looks. 

Does the conference have a chance to be a multi bid league? We’ll talk about that. 

The good news you can take into this week is that UTSA stands alone atop the standings. While unconfirmed, it seems likely the program has its highest RPI ever. 

They also will have everyone in the conference gunning for them. Both in upset wins and RPI boosts. 

It also seems like the team is on the cusp of another national ranking. At time of writing, I don’t believe they will make the cut this week. I do feel two spots are up for grabs, but I think those spots will go to TCU and UTSA’s old conference foe Western Kentucky. It will be exciting to see if and how the team continues these winning ways. As I like to say, buckle up. It’s an exciting time to be a Roadrunner Baseball fan.

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