Tech is in for a tall task this weekend in San Antonio. The Roadrunners are on fire, winners of eight of their last nine games.
UTSA is 15-11 overall and 5-3 in conference play, two games behind Tech. Tech has a half-game lead in the conference standings over Southern Miss.
UTSA swept McNeese, and have beaten a real quality Texas State team twice in three tries. They were swept at Southern Miss in a two game series, swept Marshall, and took two of three from a decent Western Kentucky team.
The Tech loss to Little Rock last night was bad. No other way to put it. Leal pitched his tail off and all he has is a loss to show for it. Disappointing, but the good thing is that if Tech can go win two of three in San Antonio they will still find themselves in a good spot in the conference standings.
I’m still not completely sold on this club. Burroughs is doing a good job, no doubt about it, but it’s difficult to understand why this team comes out flat some nights and shows very little energy.
Tech’s RPI is at 68 this morning. It is going to be extremely difficult to get into the at-large discussion. It’s easy to say just win. My thing is this, just win doesn’t mean just win series, it is going to take maybe 3 or 4 sweeps on the weekend which is very difficult, plus winning at LSU, both games with ULL, and winning the Southern Miss series in Hattiesburg. The conference being down this season is not helping things, but who know what will happen, baseball is a crazy sport.
UTSA’s RPI sits at 79 this morning. The Roadrunners were picked 8th in the CUSA preseason poll.
Let’s look at UTSA on the mound first.
They have a 3.39 team era which is really good. In 228 innings pitched, they have only allowed 184 hits, while walking 110 and striking out 212. Opponents are hitting only .220.
Karan Patel, Steven Dressler, and Chance Kirby will likely make up their weekend rotation in that order.
Patel is a thick right-hander that has a 2.76 era in 32.2 innings pitched. He has allowed only 21 hits, walked 9, and struck out 35. Opponents are hitting only .178 off of him. He’ll be tough on Friday night.
Dressler will likely get the start on Saturday afternoon. He is a crafty left-hander that has really come into his own as a senior. He has a 2.56 era in 45.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 37 hits, walked 16, and struck out 34. Tech will have an opportunity to do some damage, his stuff is not overpowering, but can’t get pull happy.
Chance Kirby will likely get the start in the series finale. The senior right-hander has had some issues with consistency, but has a 4.01 era in 24.2 innings pitched. He is averaging about 4 innings per start. In his 24.2 innings, he has allowed 23 hits, walked 11, and struck out 27.
Derek Craft is their best reliever. He is a 6’8 right-hander that has a 1.69 era in 11 appearances. In 26.2 innings pitched, he has allowed only 16 hits, walked 5, and struck out 29.
Arkansas transfer, Jordan Rodriguez is another name to watch out of the bullpen. He has thrown 11.2 innings and struck out 14 while having a 2.31 era.
Traditionally, UTSA has a very good offense but this year they are down some. They are hitting .253 as a team and averaging 5.5 runs per game.
Bryan Arias is their best hitter and was ranked as the #27 prospect in Conference USA in the preseason by D1Baseball.com. Arias is hitting .290 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI. He has also stolen 8 bases to lead the team.
Trent Bowles is a senior that is swinging it very well this year. Bowles is hitting .313 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI. He also has 12 doubles.
Ben Brookover is hitting .276 with 4 home runs and 20 RBI. He’ll play first base.
Arias, Bowles, and Brookover are their three best hitters. Tech must keep these guys under control in order to find success on the mound.
Joshua Lamb is a freshman, playing shortstop. Impressive. He is hitting .306 at the plate with 8 RBI. He doesn’t have any power at all with only 4 extra base hits.
UTSA doesn’t have a ton of team speed, but they have stolen 30 bases in 39 attempts.
They play in a pitchers park, but that may not mean a whole lot. It didn’t mean much at UAB. They are 8-6 at home, 7-5 on the road.
UTSA is 15-11 overall and 5-3 in conference play, two games behind Tech. Tech has a half-game lead in the conference standings over Southern Miss.
UTSA swept McNeese, and have beaten a real quality Texas State team twice in three tries. They were swept at Southern Miss in a two game series, swept Marshall, and took two of three from a decent Western Kentucky team.
The Tech loss to Little Rock last night was bad. No other way to put it. Leal pitched his tail off and all he has is a loss to show for it. Disappointing, but the good thing is that if Tech can go win two of three in San Antonio they will still find themselves in a good spot in the conference standings.
I’m still not completely sold on this club. Burroughs is doing a good job, no doubt about it, but it’s difficult to understand why this team comes out flat some nights and shows very little energy.
Tech’s RPI is at 68 this morning. It is going to be extremely difficult to get into the at-large discussion. It’s easy to say just win. My thing is this, just win doesn’t mean just win series, it is going to take maybe 3 or 4 sweeps on the weekend which is very difficult, plus winning at LSU, both games with ULL, and winning the Southern Miss series in Hattiesburg. The conference being down this season is not helping things, but who know what will happen, baseball is a crazy sport.
UTSA’s RPI sits at 79 this morning. The Roadrunners were picked 8th in the CUSA preseason poll.
Let’s look at UTSA on the mound first.
They have a 3.39 team era which is really good. In 228 innings pitched, they have only allowed 184 hits, while walking 110 and striking out 212. Opponents are hitting only .220.
Karan Patel, Steven Dressler, and Chance Kirby will likely make up their weekend rotation in that order.
Patel is a thick right-hander that has a 2.76 era in 32.2 innings pitched. He has allowed only 21 hits, walked 9, and struck out 35. Opponents are hitting only .178 off of him. He’ll be tough on Friday night.
Dressler will likely get the start on Saturday afternoon. He is a crafty left-hander that has really come into his own as a senior. He has a 2.56 era in 45.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 37 hits, walked 16, and struck out 34. Tech will have an opportunity to do some damage, his stuff is not overpowering, but can’t get pull happy.
Chance Kirby will likely get the start in the series finale. The senior right-hander has had some issues with consistency, but has a 4.01 era in 24.2 innings pitched. He is averaging about 4 innings per start. In his 24.2 innings, he has allowed 23 hits, walked 11, and struck out 27.
Derek Craft is their best reliever. He is a 6’8 right-hander that has a 1.69 era in 11 appearances. In 26.2 innings pitched, he has allowed only 16 hits, walked 5, and struck out 29.
Arkansas transfer, Jordan Rodriguez is another name to watch out of the bullpen. He has thrown 11.2 innings and struck out 14 while having a 2.31 era.
Traditionally, UTSA has a very good offense but this year they are down some. They are hitting .253 as a team and averaging 5.5 runs per game.
Bryan Arias is their best hitter and was ranked as the #27 prospect in Conference USA in the preseason by D1Baseball.com. Arias is hitting .290 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI. He has also stolen 8 bases to lead the team.
Trent Bowles is a senior that is swinging it very well this year. Bowles is hitting .313 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI. He also has 12 doubles.
Ben Brookover is hitting .276 with 4 home runs and 20 RBI. He’ll play first base.
Arias, Bowles, and Brookover are their three best hitters. Tech must keep these guys under control in order to find success on the mound.
Joshua Lamb is a freshman, playing shortstop. Impressive. He is hitting .306 at the plate with 8 RBI. He doesn’t have any power at all with only 4 extra base hits.
UTSA doesn’t have a ton of team speed, but they have stolen 30 bases in 39 attempts.
They play in a pitchers park, but that may not mean a whole lot. It didn’t mean much at UAB. They are 8-6 at home, 7-5 on the road.
