Missions watch: Zack Brown

Zack Brown of the 2019 San Antonio Missions pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers in a 2020 spring training game on Feb. 24 at American Family Fields of Phoenix. - photo by Joe Alexander
Zack Brown of the 2019 San Antonio Missions pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers in a 2020 spring training game on Feb. 24 at American Family Fields of Phoenix.
One in a series of brief looks at players with ties to the San Antonio Missions as we get ready for the 2020 baseball season.

Zack Brown led the 2019 San Antonio Missions in games started on the mound.

The 6-foot-1 right-hander pitched in 25 games – 23 of them starts. He had mixed results and some tough nights and finished the season with a 3-7 record and 5.79 EAR.

Brown was second on the team in innings pitched with 116 2/3 and recorded 98 strikeouts and 64 walks.

Brown dominated in Double-A in 2018. He had a 9-1 record and 2.44 ERA in 22 games at Biloxi. He pitched 125 2/3 innings with 116 strikeouts and 36 walks.

The 25-year-old is currently with the big league Milwaukee Brewers in spring training. He was a fifth-round draft pick of the Brewers in 2016 out of Kentucky.

Brown has pitched 4.0 innings in three Cactus League games so far this spring and has a 6.75 ERA. He pitched two scoreless innings against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday and struck out four batters with no hits.

MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy on Twitter reported the following quote from Brewers manager Craig Counsell on Brown after Tuesday’s game:

“It’s a name we don’t talk about a lot, but a name who can help us this year,” Counsell said. “One of those we’re maybe not counting on on Opening Day, but one of those guys who can impact us during the season.”

Missions watch: Angel Perdomo

The Brewers' Angel Perdomo, who pitched for the San Antonio Missions in 2019, on the mound for a spring training game on Feb. 24 at American Family Fields of Phoenix. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Brewers’ Angel Perdomo on the mound for a spring training game on Feb. 24 at American Family Fields of Phoenix.
One in a series of brief looks at players with ties to the San Antonio Missions as we get ready for the 2020 baseball season.

Angel Perdomo enters his second season pitching in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

The 6-foot-6 left-hander spent most of last season with the Triple-A San Antonio Missions. He was third on the team in appearances with 40, all in relief, and compiled a 3-2 record and 5.17 ERA. He recorded 38 strikeouts in 54.0 innings.

Perdomo started the 2019 season with the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers. He dominated in five games and put together a 2-0 record with a 1.17 ERA and 21 strikeouts and 5 1/3 innings before being called up to the Missions.

The 25-year-old from the Dominican Republic was added to the Brewers’ 40-man roster on Nov. 4, 2019. He is with the big club for spring training. In his first two appearances in the Cactus League this spring, he pitched scoreless innings with four strikeouts, one hit and one walk.

Update: Angel Perdomo pitched one inning Wednesday afternoon in the Brewers’ 5-1 loss to the White Sox in a spring training game in Phoenix. Perdomo struck out all three batters he faced.

Missions watch: Corey Ray

The Brewers' Corey Ray in right field in a spring training game Feb. 26 at Scottsdale Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Brewers’ Corey Ray in right field in a spring training game Feb. 26 at Scottsdale Stadium.
One in a series on players with ties to the San Antonio Missions as we get ready for the 2020 baseball season.

One thing we know Corey Ray can do is chase down fly balls.

Ray has been roaming center field and right field in the Milwaukee Brewers’ first Cactus League games of spring training.

The hope is he regains the form that made the 2016 first-round draft pick a rising star in the Brewers’ minor league system. In 2018, Ray hit .239 and showed his power with 27 home runs in 135 games with Double-A Biloxi.

As a San Antonio Missions center fielder in 2019, he was limited to 53 games due to injuries and had a tough time getting in a groove at the plate for most of the season. He was on the injured list from May 23 to July 3. From there he spent a week on a rehab assignment, then went to Double-A Biloxi.

Ray didn’t rejoin the Missions until Aug. 1, when the Pacific Coast League season was more than half over. He batted .188 for the year with seven home runs.

The 25-year-old from Chicago looks healthy enough to have a sunnier 2020 based on his showing in early Cactus League games. Ray was a late-inning sub in the Brewers first spring training game of 2020, taking over in center field on Feb. 23 at American Family Fields of Phoenix.

He was in the starting lineup the next day. He started in right field on Feb. 26 when the Brewers played at the San Francisco Giants’ home field at Scottsdale Stadium. He has gone 1-for-10 to start the spring, but the one hit was a home run.

Adam McCalvy of MLB.com projects Ryan Braun, Avisail García, Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich and Ben Gamel as locks to be outfielders on the Brewers’ opening day roster. That might leave room for a spot for Ray, who is currently on Milwaukee’s 40-man roster.

If not, the 25-year-old from Chicago would probably start the season tracking down fly balls at Wolff Stadium for the second year in a row.

Corey Ray on Twitter

Missions watch: Jacob Nottingham

Jacob Nottingham was hit on the right hand during the Milwaukee Brewers' first spring training game of 2020 at American Family Fields of Phoenix. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jacob Nottingham was hit on the right hand during the Milwaukee Brewers’ first spring training game of 2020 at American Family Fields of Phoenix.
First in a series of brief looks at players with ties to the San Antonio Missions as we get ready for the 2020 baseball season.

As if playing catcher isn’t tough enough.

During the Milwaukee Brewers’ first spring training game in the Cactus League on Feb. 23, Jacob Nottingham was hit on the right hand while batting and had to leave the game.

The Brewers reported that Nottingham wasn’t seriously injured. He returned to action as Milwaukee’s starting catcher three days later.

Jacob Nottingham was in the Milwaukee Brewers' starting lineup on Feb. 26 against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Field, three days after being hit on the right hand in the Brewers' first spring training game of 2020. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jacob Nottingham was in the Milwaukee Brewers’ starting lineup on Feb. 26 against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Field, three days after being hit on the right hand in the Brewers’ first spring training game of 2020. – photo by Joe Alexander

He has played in four of Milwaukee’s first eight Cactus League games.

The 6-foot-2 Nottingham, who turns 25 years old on April 3, started more games at catcher for the San Antonio Missions in 2019 than any other player. He played in 83 games as a catcher, first baseman and designated hitter. Nottingham batted .231 with five home runs and 40 RBIs.

Nottingham had limited action with the Brewers last summer. He played in nine games and had two hits in six at-bats including his first major league home run.

According to an MLB.com projection by Adam McCalvy, Nottingham has a possibility of making the Brewers 2020 opening day roster. David Freitas, who was a teammate of Nottingham on the 2019 Missions, is also listed as a possible at catcher.
Brewers’ projected 2020 roster on MLB.com

Jacob Nottingham on Twitter

Todd Rosiak of The Athletic tweeted an interview with Nottingham on Feb. 24:

UTSA pitching dominates Grambling

UTSA starter Slater Foust (3-0) pitched six scoreless innings in a 4-1 victory over Grambling on Friday. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA starter Slater Foust pitched six scoreless innings in a 4-1 victory over Grambling.
UTSA starter Slater Foust earned his third win of the season and Palmer Wenzel picked up his third save as the Roadrunners beat Grambling 4-1 on Friday at Roadrunner Field.

Foust (3-0) pitched six scoreless innings. He gave up three hits with three strikeouts and no walks.

Wenzel entered the game in the top of the ninth inning with two runners on and no outs. Wenzel shut Grambling down without allowing a run.

Jack Engelmann was the first pitcher out of the UTSA bullpen. He threw the seventh inning and allowed Grambling’s only run.

Cole McKay pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Luke Malone started the ninth inning and allowed two base runners on a hit and a walk.

Dylan Rock, Bryan Sturges, Joshua Lamb and Chase Hacker had two hits each for UTSA. Sturgis had two RBIs. The top six batters in the Roadrunners’ order combined to draw five walks.


Fourth quarter foils UTSA women against UTEP

Evelyn Omemmah led UTSA with a career-high 17 points in Thursday's loss to UTEP. - photo by Joe Alexander
Evelyn Omemmah led UTSA with a career-high 17 points in Thursday’s loss to UTEP.
UTEP outscored UTSA 29-7 in the fourth quarter to beat the Roadrunners 85-59 in women’s basketball on Thursday at the UTSA Convocation Center.

UTEP led 56-52 at the end of the third quarter. UTSA, which has typically had only seven to nine players in uniform most of the season due to injuries, wore down over the final 10 minutes.

Avery Crouse led UTEP with 21 points and Ariona Gill and Katia Gallegos had 17 each.

Senior forward Evelyn Omemmah led the Roadrunners with a career-high 17 points and 8 rebounds. Freshman forward Adryuana Quezada had 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Freshman guard Mikayla Woods, who leads UTSA in scoring this season, was not in uniform.

UTSA is 2-12 in Conference USA and 6-19 on the season. UTEP is 7-7 and 14-11.

Pat Hallmark, UTSA baseball earn sweep to open season

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark and the Roadrunners opened the 2020 season with a 2-0 victory over Quinnipiac on Friday. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA coach Pat Hallmark and the Roadrunners opened the 2020 season with a victory over Quinnipiac on Friday.
New UTSA head baseball coach Pat Hallmark is off to a fast start.

The Roadrunners swept a weekend series against Quinnipiac 2-0 on Friday, 5-1 on Saturday and 13-3 on Sunday to open the 2020 season.

Hallmark spent the previous two seasons as the head coach across town at University of the Incarnate Word.

UTSA opening-day starter Slater Foust earns win

UTSA starter Slater Foust throws the Roadrunners' first pitch of the season. Foust got the win as UTSA beat Quinnipiac 2-0 on Friday. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA starter Slater Foust throws the Roadrunners’ first pitch of the season.
UTSA veteran pitcher Slater Foust was the Roadrunners’ opening-day starter on Friday.

The 6-foot-2 right-hander threw 6 2/3 shutout innings and got the win as UTSA beat Quinnipiac 2-0 at Roadrunner Field.

Foust allowed one hit with six strikeouts and three walks.

The junior from Georgetown, Texas, and Liberty Hill High School had an 8-2 record with a 2.96 ERA last season for UTSA.

Dylan Rock scores Roadrunners’ first run of 2020

Dylan Rock beats the throw home to score UTSA's first run of the season. - photo by Joe Alexander
Dylan Rock beats the throw home to score UTSA’s first run of the season.
UTSA’s Dylan Rock scored the Roadrunners’ first run of the season in the bottom of the first inning of Friday’s season opener.

The Roadrunners beat Quinnipiac 2-0 at Roadrunner field.

Rock singled with one out in the first and stole second. He scored on Griffin Paxton’s single.

Rock is a junior outfielder from Sugar Land, Texas. – photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Keaton Wallace slam dunk

UTSA's Keaton Wallace throws down a dunk at the UTSA Convocation Center on Feb. 1, 2020, against Middle Tennessee. - photo by Joe Alexander
UTSA’s Keaton Wallace throws down a dunk at the UTSA Convocation Center on Feb. 1, 2020, against Middle Tennessee.
Keaton Wallace is the UTSA men’s basketball team’s No. 2 scorer with 19.0 points per game.

In addition to his talent for impressive dunks, the 6-foot-3 junior guard from Dallas is also second on the team in 3-pointers made (70).

The Roadrunners’ next game is at home on Thursday at 8 p.m. against Marshall.

More on Keaton Wallace and Jhivvan Jackson at www.theJBreplay.com:
UTSA standouts set for NBA Draft process