UTSA Outscores Tulane 41-17 to Win 4th Straight AAC Series

It was another successful weekend for the Roadrunners as they won their fourth consecutive conference series of 2025, taking two out of three games from the Tulane Green Wave. UTSA scored in the double digits in both wins, while taking the series rubber match in a 25-7 slugfest. 

With the win, UTSA improved to 30-10 overall. The win also guarantees a fourth consecutive season notching at least thirty wins. This is the second time in program history that UTSA has accomplished this. 

STRIKES…

Home Runs…

Following a top of the 2^nd that saw Tulane score three runs and take a 4-1 lead in somewhat of a must win game on Saturday, the Roadrunner bats responded in a big way. Using free passes, the conditions, and power, UTSA hit for the Home Run Cycle… In a single inning!

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that occur. It came at a critical point in the series finale. Tulane had the momentum, had hit Conor Myles hard while also taking full advantage of some lucky baseball bounces. The home run cycle not only depleted the Green Wave bullpen but completely took all the wind out of their sails. 

It was kickstarted with Norris McClure’s three run home run. McClure would also be responsible for the two-run home run, hitting two home runs in one inning. Perhaps the biggest of the four was Diego Diaz’s grand slam. Not only breaking the tie but representing the 5^th – 8^th runs of the inning. Mason Lytle hit the solo shot off the Roadrunner scoreboard to complete the cycle. 

Just yesterday I was listening to a baseball podcast where they were saying some people describe home runs as rally killers. In this case, that was anything but a rally killer. The fact that it happened at home, in front of the UTSA fans is an added fun measure. 

With McClure’s home run on Thursday evening, Ty Hodge’s on Thursday, and Broc Parmer hitting his first of the season on Friday, the Roadrunners notched seven homers across the weekend. 

Depth shines again… 

In a long season there are going to be points where you need quality depth players to contribute. UTSA has seen this time and again this season. 

By wins and losses, this season is the second-best start in program history at this point. The previous season was 2023. It was at this point in 2023 that UTSA took a big hit to their depth with three crucial players going down with critical injuries. I don’t know if the team ever fully recovered from those missing pieces. 

Fast forward two years and UTSA successfully navigated this weekend with a big series win. Teams are now past the halfway point for regular season conference games and UTSA isn’t showing signs of slowing down. 

Despite the loss on Friday, they had key contributions from Diego Diaz and Broc Parmer. For different factors, those two have been somewhat limited this season. They are also two guys who take the opportunities when given to them, do what is asked of them, and give more options when someone needs a day off or is a little banged up. 

Pitching wise, the depth isn’t as strong. There are however options outside of the go-to relief arm that can still enter and keep things mostly at bay. 

Bullpen and defense…

Continuing off the last bullet point, the bullpen had a great weekend. Tulane scored seventeen runs this weekend. Only four of those runs were allowed by the bullpen. 

The starters still helped by putting in some innings, with two of the three going at least five. With some dangerous pieces and the threat of extra base hits, there were some loud innings for the UTSA starters. 

Even in Friday’s loss, Orloski tossed 4.2 good innings that kept UTSA within reach of a potential comeback. 

The bullpen used solid offense for security with no relievers allowing more than one run and combining to strikeout eleven while only walking five. 

Saturday’s win got out of hand quickly. Thursday’s win could have been much closer had the bullpen not helped. 

The other phase that showed up was the defense. Across the weekend UTSA had no errors go down in the box score. There were some moments the defense couldn’t make the play or turn the double play. Those weren’t even box score breaks but rather just not enough time with a slow developing play or unable to complete what would have been a web-gem.

There were though still plenty of web-gem plays this weekend.

Nate Hodge made perhaps one of the best plays this season. Snagging a hard-hit ball on the corner, he threw a laser over to first, with Norris McClure making just as impressive of a scoop. 

It was Déjà vu of an almost identical play that Norris McClure made, but that time McClure was the one at third. The grit and hustle this team have shown from the plate translates to their play in the field. They have helped themselves out on more than one occasion with this type of effort. 

BALLS…

Giving Up XBH… 

We saw on Thursday and Saturday how much extra base hits can hurt a team. Not only does it build momentum, but it also often shows a team is starting to see a pitcher’s stuff well. It also makes it that much easier to produce runs. With a double you don’t have to worry about a traditional ground ball out, you also don’t need to string together three or four hits to bring in one run. 

Tulane had ten extra base hits this weekend. The most damage was their lone series win on Friday where they had three doubles and a triple. To give them credit, they took advantage of the friendly hitters park the Bird Bath is. 

The difference maker in the series outcome was UTSA still managing to outhit them in the XBH category, 14-10. 

Bringing in ‘Runners…

This may seem obvious but look at the advanced stats of Friday’s and Saturday’s box scores to see how much of a difference timely and productive hitting can make. 

In the twenty-five-run hammering on Saturday, UTSA at one point was 2-5 from the leadoff, 13-22 with runners on, 11-20 with RISP, and 8-13 with two outs. 

In Friday’s loss, UTSA went 0-5 with two outs to start the game, left eight runners on, and only scored three runs. 

It probably seems nitpicky to have this comparison. The game of baseball is like this and hitting is incredibly difficult. UTSA also this season has had more games where they eventually find a way instead of the opposite that occurred on Friday. 

It also became apparent on Friday that Tulane was going to do whatever they needed to secure a win, bringing in both of their best bullpen options for multi-innings of relief. 

What UTSA could work on in this category is continuing to find ways to benefit from those free passes or baseball breaks. It is of course easier said than done when the opposing team has the pitchers Tulane threw on Friday and how well their stuff looked. 

THE PAY OFF PITCH

UTSA will turn what was supposed to be a home game into a road game this Tuesday. If you remember, they were scheduled to play the Islanders two weeks ago in Corpus Christi. Conference schedule logistics on the Islanders side resulted in that game being canceled. 

The Islanders were originally supposed to return the favor and play at the Bird Bath on Tuesday. Instead of trying to fit another midweek game in at this point in the season, they agreed to just play this week’s game in Corpus. 

I initially laid out some of the advantages and disadvantages of facing Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the First Pitch Recap following the series win against UAB. 

The Islanders have struggled since that scheduled midweek two weeks ago, losing five of their last six games. 

I also mentioned how UTSA has struggled when playing in Corpus Christi. The all-time series record favors UTSA 45-28. 

Since Coach Hallmark has been at UTSA, the Roadrunners are 8-4, with three of the four losses being away. There are different factors and situations for each of those series’, but it is important for UTSA to take care of business in this one. 

The Islanders RPI coming into this one is 186. With UTSA’s being 29, even a win for the Roadrunners likely hurts them, but a loss could be a big drop. It will be interesting to see how A&M-CC approaches this one as they don’t have a chance at an at-large bid, and they are still on the outside looking in for their own conference tournament. 

The important key for UTSA is just keep doing what they are doing. Play good baseball. Churn out good outings from each phase of the game. Those factors are what you need consistency in if you want to make a big tournament run and still be playing in June. 

Make sure to tune in Tuesday evening at 6:00 PM to continue to watch this team play ball. 

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