By Kevin McDonald:
UTSA baseball drops their second series in a row, this time to #25 Ranked Florida Atlantic. UTSA is now sitting at a 15-13 mark and 5-4 in CUSA play.
Game 1: Game of the series will always be critical for UTSA. This is the game UTSA should win especially with Brock Hartson pitching and ample run support. Unfortunately, the late innings proved to be disastrous for UTSA. Hartson was fantastic through his first 4 innings of play vs a very skilled hitting team in FAU. UTSA struck first in the B2 when CJ Pickering grounded out to score Tyler Straub from 3rd (1-0). FAU tied up the game in the 4th on a solo HR off Brock Hartson (1-1) but UTSA took back the lead in the B4 on a RBI single from Horacio Correa III (2-1) Brock got into his first big jam in the 5th and gave up 2 runs but recovered nicely to end the inning (2-3) UTSA knotted the score once more in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a RBI single by Jesse Baker (3-3). In the 7th, Hartson was pulled after giving a lead off hit. Filipek struggled and Chance Kirby came in the game to shut down the inning but not before FAU plated 3 runs (3-6). We finally got to see Nolan Savage in the 8th, but his struggles continued. After giving up a hit and several walks, Nolan was pulled for Rosipal and Sefcik but was credited with 3 earned runs. UTSA drops the first game in the series in late innings
Final score: UTSA 4, FAU 10
Brock Hartson L (1-2)
Notable Stats:
Hartson: 6 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Baker: 2-4, 2 RBIs, 1 HR
Pickering: 2-4, 1 RBI
Correa: 2-3, 1 RBI
Straub: 2-4
Game 2: Aaron Burns got the nod on Saturday and had another amazing pitching effort to earn back to back complete games. UTSA's bats were also on fire which helped the Roadrunners achieve a 7 run 6th inning. UTSA got off to early (3-0) lead after a RBI double from Jesse Baker, a RBI single by Correa and a throwing error by FAU which scored Geonte Jackson. The monster 7th inning was kicked off by a 2-run homerun by Matt Hilston. UTSA also plated 5 more runs via a single from Kevin Markham, a fielder choice RBI from Tyler Straub, a Bormann double, a RBI triple from JT Gilmore and a throwing error by FAU (10-3). While Aaron Burns found his second wind and shutdown the FAU batters in the last 3 innings, UTSA added 4 more runs in the bottom of the 8th. Tyler Straub smacked a 3-run HR and CJ Pickering added a RBI double (14-3)
Final Score: UTSA 14, FAU 3
Aaron Burns W (5-1) CG (2)
Notable Stats:
Burns: 9 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Straub: 2-5, 4 RBIs, 1 HR
Hilston: 1-4, 2 RBIs, 1 HR
Correa: 2-3, 1 RBI
Markham: 2-4, 1 RBI
Game 3: Another disastrous inning dooms UTSA and the series. Nolan Trabanino was looking to get back on track after being moved to the Sunday starter. This time we actually saw some improvement from Nolan as he pitched 5 pretty respectable innings and only gave up 5 hits, 1 walk and recorded 5 Ks. Two of three of Nolan's earned runs came off solo homeruns in the 3rd and 4th innings (0-2). UTSA took the lead in the 6th inning thanks to a 2-run homerun by CJ Pickering (3-2), in which he had 2 in one game. The top of the 7th was rough for UTSA relief pitching. After one run scored (3-3) Cody Brannon was brought into the game and recorded a K and had a home assist to earn the 2nd out of the inning. Brannon was pulled for a better pitching matchup and UTSA relief pitching gave up 4 more runs with 2 outs. FAU took a commanding lead and although UTSA battled back they were unable to make up the deficit.
Final score: UTSA 5, FAU 9
Logan Onda L (2-1)
Notable Stats:
Trabanino: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Pickering: 3-5, 3 RBIs, 2 HRs
Jackson: 2-4
Backer: 1-5, 1 RBI
Markham: 1-4
Analysis: As mentioned in the preview article, FAU is a dangerous hitting team and in retrospect, taking one of the games in the series was still considered an achievement vs a top 25 team. Having said that, this series really came down to the pitching staff for the Roadrunners since the hitting was there all series long. Aaron Burns performance in his second complete game was brilliant. Burns is quickly becoming the best pitcher on the staff and has not had a misstep since his first start vs Texas on February 17th. Burns is really an enigma. He doesn't have an absurd amount of strikeouts but he is just able to retire batters with precision pitches that force pop ups or ground balls. More importantly, Burns does not struggle with accuracy and rarely walks batters (only has 9 on the year) Even a polished ace like Brock Hartson has 20+ walks. Burns will likely have a bad game or two before the season concludes if the baseball law of averages is correct but UTSA fans can always expect reliable, solid pitching from Burns going forward, something UTSA desperately needs.
I've been praising the relief staff all year long and in this series they really struggled. It's difficult to beat around the bush on this topic but UTSA relief pitching cost UTSA the series. I'm sure they know that. In game 1, Hartson was less crisp than previous outing but that game was winnable. The 7 run 7th-9th inning falls largely in the hands of the relief corps. Nolan Savage really got the worst of it recording 0.0 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 2 BB. With Savage's 16.62 ERA in 4.1 IP, I doubt we will see much of him for the remainder of the year. In the rubber match, UTSA had the lead before the 5 run inning by FAU. Again this was on the relief staff that struggled to close out the inning with 2 outs. Onda, Herbelin, Filipek and Shrewcraft all uncharacteristically struggled as UTSA made 5 pitching changes in 1 inning (only 1 of them being strategic). There were a few bright spots from the relief staff. Freshmen Chance Kirby, coming off a brilliant performance vs #1 Texas A&M where he shut them down for 3 innings, pitched well on Friday. Douglas Sefcik III pitched on Friday and Sunday and looked strong in game 3 after the myriad of pitching changes. UTSA will likely not face such a strong hitting team like FAU for the remainder of the year, but this is a series that the relief corps really want back.
UTSA fans should be excited about the prolific offense from this Roadrunners club. As good as FAU is offensively, their pitching has also been remarkable. Despite that, UTSA batters were able to touch up aces like Kyle Miller and Drew Jackson who came into the game with a sub 0.50 ERA. Strong hitters such as Tyler Straub, Jesse Baker, CJ Pickering and Kevin Markham continue to shine. Horacio Correa III leaves the series on a hitting streak and new faces emerge like JT Gilmore who has 2 triples in only 14 at bats. When Trent Bowles returns from his concussion, UTSA will be even more dangerous. Currently, 6 UTSA hitters are batting over .300 (Straub, Baker, Pickering, Markham, Gilmore and Jackson) while several players hover just below.
Team Leaders:
Batting Average - Tyler Straub (.354), Jesse Baker (.346), Pickering (.333)
Hits - Straub (35), Pickering (34), Markham (33)
RBIs - Baker (19), Hilston/Pickering (18), Straub/Bormann (16)
Homeruns - Baker (5), Hilston (4), Pickering/Markham (3)
ERA (min 10 IP) - Burns (1.39), Onda (2.60), Filipek (2.84)
RPI watch: As of Sunday night, UTSA has moved to 106 in RPI with a 75 SOS
Next up is Texas State at the Bird Bath on Tuesday March 31st (2nd game). UTSA follows with an away series vs FIU
UTSA baseball drops their second series in a row, this time to #25 Ranked Florida Atlantic. UTSA is now sitting at a 15-13 mark and 5-4 in CUSA play.
Game 1: Game of the series will always be critical for UTSA. This is the game UTSA should win especially with Brock Hartson pitching and ample run support. Unfortunately, the late innings proved to be disastrous for UTSA. Hartson was fantastic through his first 4 innings of play vs a very skilled hitting team in FAU. UTSA struck first in the B2 when CJ Pickering grounded out to score Tyler Straub from 3rd (1-0). FAU tied up the game in the 4th on a solo HR off Brock Hartson (1-1) but UTSA took back the lead in the B4 on a RBI single from Horacio Correa III (2-1) Brock got into his first big jam in the 5th and gave up 2 runs but recovered nicely to end the inning (2-3) UTSA knotted the score once more in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a RBI single by Jesse Baker (3-3). In the 7th, Hartson was pulled after giving a lead off hit. Filipek struggled and Chance Kirby came in the game to shut down the inning but not before FAU plated 3 runs (3-6). We finally got to see Nolan Savage in the 8th, but his struggles continued. After giving up a hit and several walks, Nolan was pulled for Rosipal and Sefcik but was credited with 3 earned runs. UTSA drops the first game in the series in late innings
Final score: UTSA 4, FAU 10
Brock Hartson L (1-2)
Notable Stats:
Hartson: 6 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Baker: 2-4, 2 RBIs, 1 HR
Pickering: 2-4, 1 RBI
Correa: 2-3, 1 RBI
Straub: 2-4
Game 2: Aaron Burns got the nod on Saturday and had another amazing pitching effort to earn back to back complete games. UTSA's bats were also on fire which helped the Roadrunners achieve a 7 run 6th inning. UTSA got off to early (3-0) lead after a RBI double from Jesse Baker, a RBI single by Correa and a throwing error by FAU which scored Geonte Jackson. The monster 7th inning was kicked off by a 2-run homerun by Matt Hilston. UTSA also plated 5 more runs via a single from Kevin Markham, a fielder choice RBI from Tyler Straub, a Bormann double, a RBI triple from JT Gilmore and a throwing error by FAU (10-3). While Aaron Burns found his second wind and shutdown the FAU batters in the last 3 innings, UTSA added 4 more runs in the bottom of the 8th. Tyler Straub smacked a 3-run HR and CJ Pickering added a RBI double (14-3)
Final Score: UTSA 14, FAU 3
Aaron Burns W (5-1) CG (2)
Notable Stats:
Burns: 9 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Straub: 2-5, 4 RBIs, 1 HR
Hilston: 1-4, 2 RBIs, 1 HR
Correa: 2-3, 1 RBI
Markham: 2-4, 1 RBI
Game 3: Another disastrous inning dooms UTSA and the series. Nolan Trabanino was looking to get back on track after being moved to the Sunday starter. This time we actually saw some improvement from Nolan as he pitched 5 pretty respectable innings and only gave up 5 hits, 1 walk and recorded 5 Ks. Two of three of Nolan's earned runs came off solo homeruns in the 3rd and 4th innings (0-2). UTSA took the lead in the 6th inning thanks to a 2-run homerun by CJ Pickering (3-2), in which he had 2 in one game. The top of the 7th was rough for UTSA relief pitching. After one run scored (3-3) Cody Brannon was brought into the game and recorded a K and had a home assist to earn the 2nd out of the inning. Brannon was pulled for a better pitching matchup and UTSA relief pitching gave up 4 more runs with 2 outs. FAU took a commanding lead and although UTSA battled back they were unable to make up the deficit.
Final score: UTSA 5, FAU 9
Logan Onda L (2-1)
Notable Stats:
Trabanino: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Pickering: 3-5, 3 RBIs, 2 HRs
Jackson: 2-4
Backer: 1-5, 1 RBI
Markham: 1-4
Analysis: As mentioned in the preview article, FAU is a dangerous hitting team and in retrospect, taking one of the games in the series was still considered an achievement vs a top 25 team. Having said that, this series really came down to the pitching staff for the Roadrunners since the hitting was there all series long. Aaron Burns performance in his second complete game was brilliant. Burns is quickly becoming the best pitcher on the staff and has not had a misstep since his first start vs Texas on February 17th. Burns is really an enigma. He doesn't have an absurd amount of strikeouts but he is just able to retire batters with precision pitches that force pop ups or ground balls. More importantly, Burns does not struggle with accuracy and rarely walks batters (only has 9 on the year) Even a polished ace like Brock Hartson has 20+ walks. Burns will likely have a bad game or two before the season concludes if the baseball law of averages is correct but UTSA fans can always expect reliable, solid pitching from Burns going forward, something UTSA desperately needs.
I've been praising the relief staff all year long and in this series they really struggled. It's difficult to beat around the bush on this topic but UTSA relief pitching cost UTSA the series. I'm sure they know that. In game 1, Hartson was less crisp than previous outing but that game was winnable. The 7 run 7th-9th inning falls largely in the hands of the relief corps. Nolan Savage really got the worst of it recording 0.0 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 2 BB. With Savage's 16.62 ERA in 4.1 IP, I doubt we will see much of him for the remainder of the year. In the rubber match, UTSA had the lead before the 5 run inning by FAU. Again this was on the relief staff that struggled to close out the inning with 2 outs. Onda, Herbelin, Filipek and Shrewcraft all uncharacteristically struggled as UTSA made 5 pitching changes in 1 inning (only 1 of them being strategic). There were a few bright spots from the relief staff. Freshmen Chance Kirby, coming off a brilliant performance vs #1 Texas A&M where he shut them down for 3 innings, pitched well on Friday. Douglas Sefcik III pitched on Friday and Sunday and looked strong in game 3 after the myriad of pitching changes. UTSA will likely not face such a strong hitting team like FAU for the remainder of the year, but this is a series that the relief corps really want back.
UTSA fans should be excited about the prolific offense from this Roadrunners club. As good as FAU is offensively, their pitching has also been remarkable. Despite that, UTSA batters were able to touch up aces like Kyle Miller and Drew Jackson who came into the game with a sub 0.50 ERA. Strong hitters such as Tyler Straub, Jesse Baker, CJ Pickering and Kevin Markham continue to shine. Horacio Correa III leaves the series on a hitting streak and new faces emerge like JT Gilmore who has 2 triples in only 14 at bats. When Trent Bowles returns from his concussion, UTSA will be even more dangerous. Currently, 6 UTSA hitters are batting over .300 (Straub, Baker, Pickering, Markham, Gilmore and Jackson) while several players hover just below.
Team Leaders:
Batting Average - Tyler Straub (.354), Jesse Baker (.346), Pickering (.333)
Hits - Straub (35), Pickering (34), Markham (33)
RBIs - Baker (19), Hilston/Pickering (18), Straub/Bormann (16)
Homeruns - Baker (5), Hilston (4), Pickering/Markham (3)
ERA (min 10 IP) - Burns (1.39), Onda (2.60), Filipek (2.84)
RPI watch: As of Sunday night, UTSA has moved to 106 in RPI with a 75 SOS
Next up is Texas State at the Bird Bath on Tuesday March 31st (2nd game). UTSA follows with an away series vs FIU
