UT-SA Baseball Tid Bits (Wednesday's Game)
No rest for the weary. After pulling out a tense 2-1 10-inning victory over Stephen F. Austin last night, the Baseball Owls return to Reckling Park tonight to face a very good UT-SA (13-7, RPI ranking of #44, 3-4 vs. Top 50, including 3 wins against a Washington State team that just won a series against Arizona State last weekend)....and they'll be coming in well rested and with their entire bullpen and pitching staff available since they have not played since Sunday.
The UT-SA Roadrunners are an outstanding offensive club (even if their leading hitter, Daniel Rockett, continues to sit following his recent arrest), hitting .322/.397/.448 as a team, and averaging 3 extrabase hits and 7.0 runs per game. All but two starters are hitting above .300, led by RJ Perucki (.358/.407/.605, 5 HRs, 23 RBIs). They also have a couple guys who crowd the plate and have a penchant for being hit (Mike Warren has already collected 13 HBPs and John Welborn 7). UT-SA is another aggressive, free-swinging team, with batters looking to hack away early in the count. Only one everyday player (Welborn) has double digit walks, and he has just 10; whereas they have 6 players with 14+ strikeout totals. As was the case last night, it would behoove Chase McDaniel to lead with his off-speed and breaking pitches. Another note-- this is a very good two-out hitting team, as they've scored 50% of their runs this year with two outs.
Defensively, the Roadrunners are solid, posting a respectable .964 fielding percentage. They feature one of the very best defensive catchers in the nation (John Bormann), who has thrown out an eye-popping 74% of attempted basestealers (14-19 caught stealing), and has picked off at 1B an additional 6 baserunners. He's allowed only 1 SB in the last 11 games. I don't think you'll see us running tonight, and baserunners should stay alert out there and be aware that Bormann will not hesitate to snap a throw to 1B if he catches one of our baserunners napping. Having said that, the right side of UT-SA's infield has been vulnerable, committing 19 errors so far (SS Pernucki with 10, 3B Correa with 9). The bunt (for both sacrifices and hits) could be a very effective tool in this game.
Pitching has been a strength for the Roadrunners this year, particularly their weekend starters and their bullpen. The staff has pitched to a 3.60 ERA, .269 BAA, 3:1 strikeout:walk ratio. Their bullpen has posted a 9-0 record, with 3 saves, an ERA of 2.89, 70 Ks, only 16 BBs in 84.0 IP. Their closer, Jr RHP Matt Sims has been outstanding: 8 app, 2-0, 2 saves, 11.1 IP, 0.79 ERA, .158 BAA, 2 BBs, 17 Ks. Needless to say, it is important that we strike early and often tonight. Strangely, especially since this is UT-SA's only mid-week game this week, it appears the Roadrunners are going with "all staff" for tonight's game, and starting a guy who has seen very limitted action so far this season, and did not fare well in his lone outing...
So RHP Justin Anderson: 1 start, 0-0, 3.0 IP, 6.00 ERA, .400, 4 hits, 4 BBs, 1 K
This guy appears to have control issues, so let's be patient and not help him out. Sounds like they're preparing to go to their strong bullpen early, and ride it for the majority of the game.
Let's keep streaking by completing the sweep of the home stand, and head into conference play on a roll. Go Owls!
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