DALLAS BAPTIST @ UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SAN ANTONIO
Feb. 25 | San Antonio, Texas | Roadrunner Field
 
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
Video/Audio: Patriot Broadcasting Network
Livestats: UTSA Livestats
Facebook: DBU Athletics
 
SERIES INFORMATION
Dates: February 25, 2014
Time: 3:00 PM
Stadium: Roadrunner Field (800)
Broadcast: Patriot Broadcasting Network
Talent: Reagan Ratcliff, Brendan Smith, and Nate Frieling
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Tuesday, Feb. 25
                      
DBU – Cory Taylor [2014 stats (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 4 SO, 2 BB)]
Vs.
UTSA – Michael Kraft [2014 stats (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.0 IP, 0 SO, 0 BB)]
 
FIRST PITCH – The Dallas Baptist Baseball Team continues its four-game road trip with a Tuesday contest at the University of Texas San Antonio. First pitch is set for 3 PM in the mid-week affair.
 
The Patriots (5-2) reached a historical start, rattling off five consecutive victories for the first time since 2003, before dropping their last two. DBU opened its previous series against an undefeated Sam Houston State squad with an impressive win, but couldn't capture its first series win and suffered the first pair of setbacks on the campaign.
 
PREVIOUS SERIES REVIEW – With both squads entering Friday night unblemished on the year, DBU cruised to a 5-1 victory to open its best start in nearly a decade and best one since joining the NCAA Division I ranks.
 
Junior, Paul Voelker, performed excellently in a seven inning start, in which the right hander allowed just one run while spreading out nine hits in his second win of the season. The native of Plymouth, Minnesota, came up one strikeout shy of his season-best, blowing away six Bearkat hitters.
 
The offense got the road team on the board in the third inning, with sophomore, Daniel Salters, providing an RBI ground out to short. Senior, KJ Alexander, ripped a single to center field on the next at bat, and drove in sophomore, Austin Listi, lifting the Patriots to a 2-0 lead.
 
In the fourth, the Patriots added another run when senior, Mike Wesolowski, smacked a single to left, and scored redshirt sophomore, Justin Wall on the play. DBU never trailed in this one, and would eventually tally an insurance run in the top of the 7^th to build a 5-1 edge. Once again, the Patriots manufactured another scoring opportunity on a Wall double play with the bases juiced.
 
On Saturday, DBU took its first loss on the campaign in a 12-2 final. Sophomore, Drew Smith, was saddled with the loss, going 1.2 innings and allowed four runs on two hits while walking five.

The Patriots did hold an early 1-0 advantage in the second inning, after freshman, Dan Duzenack, tattooed a single down the right field line to score redshirt sophomore, Trevin Sonnier.
 
The second baseman recorded the only multi-hit day for the Patriots, and Listi also tallied an RBI off his first long ball of the year.
 
In the rubber match, the first four innings were completely even for both squads. DBU struck first again in the fifth inning off a sacrifice bunt by Duzenack, plating Wall who reached on a lead-off single.
 
SHSU responded with a run in the bottom half of the frame, when Corey Toups led off with a double and touched home eventually on a sacrifice fly by Colt Atwood.
 
Still tied an inning later, the Bearkats scratched across the go-ahead run, as Carter Burgess came in to score on a walk with the bases loaded by redshirt senior, Josh Urban.
 
The reliever had just replaced DBU starter, Cy Sneed, who went 5.2 innings on the afternoon. The junior would be charged with two runs on six hits, and walked two while striking out three. Urban escaped without allowing further damage, when he fanned Ryan Farney swinging on a 3-2 count. 
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH – Duznack continues to be the team-leader in batting average amongst starters on the Patriot roster. The second baseman carries a .542 clip at the plate and has tallied a team-best: 13 hits, seven doubles, and 15 RBI through seven games.
 
The National Player of the Week and Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, totaled two hits over the weekend, but had a pair of RBI, each coming in the games his team fell in.
 
In his collegiate debut series, Duznack hit an astounding .786 (11-for-14); collected 13 RBI, and delivered seven doubles. Over the three-game span, the freshman totaled an .824 on-base percentage, racked up 18 total bases, and compiled a 1.286 slugging percentage. 
 
Salters has been productive in the middle of the order for the Dallas Baptist lineup. Splitting time so far at both catcher and designated hitter, the slugger boasts the second highest average at .333 and leads the squad with two home runs.
 
The Eufaula, Oklahoma, native produced a four-game hitting streak to start the year, and also walked three of his five times in the past pair of contests. Salters also sits third on the team with seven RBI.
 
Junior, Nash Knight, has hovered around the .300 mark, going six-for-20 on the season, but he does have one of the Patriots' six homers and has driven three runners in. The astonishing note for the third baseman is his team-leading eight free passes.   
 
Alexander ranks second in RBI on the club with eight and is third among starters with a steady .320 hitting average. The native of Denton, Texas, also has racked up seven walks to sit second on the club behind Nash.
 
Wesolowski, who finished fifth on last year's squad with a .281 average, enters batting with a .318 average having compiled seven hits in 22 at bats. The Meza, Arizona, product has contributed five RBI, two doubles, scored four times, and boasts a three-game hitting streak after notching a team-high of four this past weekend.    
 
ON THE BUMP – The Patriots sent 11 arms to the rubber over the three-game series at Huntsville, Texas. Voelker threw the most effective, limiting SHSU to just the lone run in seven innings of work. He leads the staff in innings pitched with 12, strikeouts with 13 and is 2-0 after back-to-back solid appearances on the mound.
 
Out of the pen, sophomore, Brandon Koch, is tied for the most appearances with three. The Plano, Texas, native tossed three innings of relief work at Sam Houston State, including gathering the last six outs in a two inning in Friday's noteworthy win. He leads all relievers with a staggering eight strikeout amount.
 
Urban also has matched a total of three outings in relief situations. The right hander has settled into the middle relief role nicely, compiling a team-best 4.1 innings and has fanned six opposing hitters so far.
 
Sophomore, Joseph Shaw, has made three appearances, including the squad's only save opportunity. The right handed hurler converted a tight, 2-1, decision at Horner Ballpark last week, escaping with the tying run in scoring position.
 
As a team, DBU pitchers have struck out 61 batters while walking 28 through 61 innings. The group of arms have garnered a 2.51 ERA for third in the MVC.
 
Sophomore, Cory Taylor, appeared in last week's mid-week affair opposing Grambling State. DBU will send him to the bump Tuesday after the Owasso, Oklahoma, native was stellar in his season debut. The righty went six innings of shutout ball, giving up only three hits while walking two and sitting four down via strikeout.
 
SCOUTING UT-SAN ANTONIO – The Roadrunners (5-2) are coming off an exciting weekend slate that featured them in the Kleberg Bank College Classic at Corpus Christi, Texas. UTSA was successful claiming two of three in the weekend tournament.
 
The Roadrunners opened with an 8-3 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and then defeated BYU on Saturday by a 7-1 final. UTSA's lone setback came on Sunday to a ranked No.19 TCU team that breezed past the Roadrunners in a 5-1 score.
 
Pacing the offense is John Welborn with a .462 average thanks to a team-high 12 hits in 26 at bats. He also has matched a club-best eight runs scored, sits as the team-leader in extra base hits with four doubles and a pair of triples en route to 20 total bases, and has chipped in five RBI.
 
Mitchell Matulia enters second on the club batting .381 and is one of five players from UTSA hitting over .300 on the early campaign. Horacio Correa III, RJ Perucki, and Mike Warren all are above the mark with .333, .323, and .310 clips, respectively.
 
The Roadrunners have smacked four homers total and are led by Tony Ramirez with two , and he also has posted seven RBI to rank in a tie for third. Warren and Jesse Baker have blasted the other long balls on the team, and lead in the top two spots for RBI with 10 and eight, respectively.
 
On the mound, UTSA pitchers are holding opponents to a .221 batting average and have displayed a 2.08 ERA. As a staff, the team has matched the Patriots with 61 strikeouts, but has limited foes to just 17 walks.
 
SERIES HISTORY – DBU trails in the all-time series 8-7, but did get a lot of looks at the Roadrunners team last season. Both programs were members of the Western Athletic Conference and met in the WAC Tournament Championship Game at Quicktrip Park in Grand Prairie, Texas last season. UTSA won the contest 11-4.
 
The Patriots hosted the former WAC opponent at Horner Ballpark for a three-game series and dropped it 2-1. In the lone victory, Sneed got the winning decision, tossing six innings of two-run ball while allowing five hits, three walks, and striking out two. Shaw picked up his first save with a three inning effort and tallied a pair of hits allowed and batters fanned.
 
Listi was one of the returners to this year's squad to drive in two runs on his only hit of the affair. The batted ball counted for a triple and was one of two extra base hits on the victorious afternoon for the Patriots.
 
Taylor saw action in a 7-2 setback, coming in for two innings out of the bullpen. He fanned four Roadrunner hitters and allowed a hit.
 
The last time DBU traveled to San Antonio for a game was April 13, 2009. The Patriots fell in a close, 4-3 affair. A four-run second was enough to lift the Roadrunners, despite DBU's rally including a run in the seventh and eighth innings.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE – Dallas Baptist wraps-up its road trip and will be back in the friendly confines of Horner Ballpark for its first four-game series this weekend. The Patriots welcome University of Pennsylvania Feb. 28 through March 2.
 
On Friday, DBU will open the series with a 6:30 PM start time. Saturday marks the first doubleheader on the campaign for the Patriots, with first pitch slated at 2 PM of game one. The nightcap will begin at 6 PM. The series concludes on Sunday with a 1 PM first pitch.  
 
The Patriots will be on the road for a quick trip up the highway to Fort Worth, Texas with a 6:30 contest against Texas Christian University.