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The senior from West, Texas is batting .375, slugging .594 and has an on-base percentage of .487 and is one of only three Roadrunners to play in every game so far this season. He also has four home runs.
The 6-foot-2 first baseman had a hit and scored a run in all four games of last weekend’s series against Middle Tennesse, as UTSA won three out of four games.
UTSA won three times in a four-game Conference USA series against Middle Tennessee, taking the final game 15-1 in seven innings on Sunday at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners had 12 hits Sunday including home runs from Ian Bailey, Dylan Rock and Nick Thornquist. UTSA broke the game open with four runs in the fourth inning and eight runs in the fifth.
UTSA pitchers Pepper Jones, Luke Malone and Arturo Guajardo combined to hold Middle Tennessee to hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Malone (2-1) entered the game in the fourth inning and pitched 2 2/3 innings for the win.
UTSA scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to tie it and produced a walk-off bunt in the eighth of a scheduled seven-inning game to win 3-2 in the second game of a doubleheader with Middle Tennessee at Roadrunner field.
Middle Tennessee won the first game 5-3 after UTSA took a 2-0 lead in the second inning.
Roadrunners reliever Hunter Mason entered the second game with one out in the sixth inning. He held Middle Tennessee scoreless over the final 2 2/3 innings, on one hit with two strikeouts and no walks.
UTSA put the second game in the books in the bottom of the eighth when Leyton Barry bunted with one out and Joshua Lamb scored from third. Lamb led off the inning with a single and went to third on Kyle Bergeron’s single to right center.
UTSA was scoreless the first six innings and Middle Tennessee took a 2-0 lead into the seventh.
The Roadrunners got things going in the bottom of the seventh after their first two batters, Ryan Hunt and Griffin Paxton, both singled. Hunt advanced from first to third on Paxton’s hit, then scored on a ground-out by Dylan Rock, cutting the lead to 2-1.
Paxton went to second on Rock’s grounder and to third when Chase Keng grounded out to short. Paxton scored on a wild pitch, tying it 2-2 and sending it to extra innings.
Hunt, by the way, was making his first UTSA start. The junior outfielder is a transfer from Midland Community College.
UTSA starting pitcher Reece Easterling pitched 5 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs, only one earned, on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
The four-game series concludes Sunday with one game at 11 a.m. – an earlier start than on the original schedule.
The game was the first of four in a weekend series. UTSA and Middle Tennessee meet again on Saturday for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.
UTSA scored all its runs in its final three innings after Middle Tennessee took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth. The Roadrunners collected 10 hits on the day including home runs by Nick Thornquist and Chase Keng and a game-winning hit by Joshua Lamb.
UTSA’s first runs came on a two-out, two run single by Dylan Rock in the bottom of the sixth. UTSA took a 5-2 lead in the seventh when Thornquist and Keng hit back-to-back solo home runs and Ian Bailey’s sacrifice fly scored Lamb.
Middle Tennessee scored four times in the top of the eighth to take a 6-5 lead.
UTSA put together four hits to score two runs in the bottom of the eight and take the lead for good. Rock led off the inning with a hit and scored on a single by Thornquist. Keng doubled and then Lamb drove in Thornquist with the go-ahead run.
UTSA starting pitcher John Chomko dominated early, shutting out middle Tennessee through four innings. Chomko completed six innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits, five strikeouts and no walks.
UTSA reliever Luke Malone entered the game in the top of the seventh and pitched 1 1/3 innings.
Arturo Guajardo finished the game on the mound for the Roadrunners and got his first win of the season. He pitched the final two outs of the eighth inning and retired Western Kentucky in the ninth.
Henson was introduced as the new head coach at UTSA five years ago today, April 9, 2016.
UTSA records under Steve Henson the past five seasons:
Year...........Season Conference 2020-21........15-11 9-7 2019-20........13-9 7-11 2018-19........17-15 11-7 2017-18........20-15 11-7 2016-17........14-19 8-10
The 6-foot junior shortstop from Nederland, Texas, earned Conference USA all-freshman honors in 2018, when he batted .289 and led the team in triples with five. His sophomore season in 2019 was cut short by an injury and UTSA’s 2020 season was shortened due to covid.
The 5-foot-8 catcher has hit four home runs and has a team-high 24 RBIs in 21 games this season and is batting .305.
As a junior in 2019, Thornquist batted .315 with six homers in 50 games.
Photos from the UTSA vs. UT-Arlington series in March at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners center fielder is second on the team in batting at .318. He has three home runs and 16 RBIs in 22 games.
The 6-foot-1 junior from Sugar Land earned Conference USA all-freshman honors in 2018 and batted .287 with six home runs. In 2019 he had a 24-game hitting streak and batted .327 with three home runs and was second in CUSA in doubles with 20.
In the covid-shortened 2020 season, Rock led UTSA in batting at .365 with one home run and 10 RBIs in 17 games.
Photos from the UTSA vs. UT-Arlington series in March at Roadrunner Field.
The UTSA outfielder hit three home runs in one game as the Roadrunners overpowered Rice 16-4 in Houston. On the day, Keng had four hits and five RBIs. That game helped Keng earn national player of the week honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Keng’s most recent homer came Friday night at Roadrunner Field in the second game of a Conference USA doubleheader against Southern Miss.
The junior from Deer Park is batting .333 on the season with 11 RBIs in 10 games.
Southern Miss has won the first three of the four-game Conference USA series. The series concludes with a single game Saturday at 10 a.m. at UTSA.
Southern Miss won Friday’s early game 13-9 in 10 innings in a game scheduled for seven innings. UTSA rallied back after trailing 8-4 to send the game to extra innings. Southern Miss had 19 hits including a three-run homer by Will McGillis in the top of the 10th inning.
UTSA took a 2-0 lead in the second game after Chase Keng hit his fourth home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning. Southern Miss scored eight runs over the next two innings on the way to winning 11-5. The Golden Eagles had nine hits including two third-inning home runs.
