SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team will open its 2021 season – a week later than anticipated – with a three-game series at Southland Conference powerhouse Sam Houston State with first pitch on Friday at The Don slated for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The series will resume on Saturday at 12 p.m. and conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m. The final two games of the series will be aired only on the radio, locally in Huntsville available on Friday on KSHU 90.5 FM and on Sunday on KSAM 101.7 FM.
Tickets are available only as presale options and walk-up sales will not be permitted. Each team will turn in their pass lists 48 hours in advance of Friday, allowing Sam Houston State to determine available ticket allotment due to COVID-19 protocols. Fans can only purchase tickets through GoBearkats.com or by calling the SHSU ticket office at 936-294-1729.
UTSA will turn to the season-opening rotation of redshirt sophomore right-hander Luke Malone on Friday and junior southpaw Grant Miller on Saturday, with Sunday's starter to be determined. Sam Houston State, who opened its season on Wednesday night in Arlington, will turn to righty Tyler Davis on Friday and a combination of lefty Matt Dillard and righty Coltin Atkinson on Saturday and Sunday.
Parking in Huntsville is also to be noted, as construction to the Mafrige Fieldhouse and around the football stadium, Bowers Stadium, will cause fans to part in the northwest corner of the North lot (beyond scoreboard at football stadium). Due to a home football game for SHSU on Saturday, parking will be limited in the North lot.
The Roadrunners were slated to open the second year of the Coach Pat Hallmark era last weekend, hosting Utah, but the unprecedented winter storm to hit Texas cancelled air travel and had colossal impacts on power and water infrastructures, forcing the cancelation of the series.
UTSA is coming off an abbreviated season that saw the Roadrunners go 10-7 in their first 17 games. UTSA had hit .273/.365/.396 as a team through the opening of the season, sporting a 4.25 team ERA with 124 strikeouts and 76 walks in 144 innings.
Outfielder Dylan Rock leads the way for the Roadrunners after hitting .365 with six doubles, one homer and 10 RBI in 17 games, stealing 10 bases. He was named the 68th best outfielder in the nation entering the season by D1baseball.com. Lefty swinging infielder Leyton Barry hit .353 in 2020, with Griffin Paxton hitting .327 and Joshua Lamb batting .302. During the 2019 season, Rock hit .327 with 20 doubles, two triples, three homers and 40 RBI. Paxton hit .280 as a junior with 33 RBI, while catcher Nick Thornquist slugged six homers and hit .315 with 37 RBI in 2019.
On the mound, Slater Foust and Shane Daughety each return after making four of UTSA's 17 starts last year. Foust went 3-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 23 innings, fanning 19. Daughety had a 3-1 mark with a 3.92 ERA in 20.2 frames, fanning 17 with just four walks. Hunter Mason picked up a pair of saves in 16.2 innings over seven relief outings.
In 2019, Sam Houston State went 31-26 and 20-10 in the strong Southland Conference, winning the league. The Bearkats were under first-year head coach Jay Sirianni last season, going 7-7 and 1- in Southland play before the season was called. Junior southpaw two-way standout Jack Rogers was leading the Kats early in 2020, with 14 RBI, seven doubles, three triples and one homer in 14 games last year.
The Bearkats opened their 2021 season with a midweek loss at Globe Life Field in Arlington, falling 5-4 vs. Texas State after the Cats used a four-run seventh to rally from behind for the win.
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