By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Coming off a school-record, 47 wins and a magical run to the NCAA Super Regional round of the playoffs, UTSA baseball is scheduled to open the new season with three home games from Friday through Sunday against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
Coach Pat Hallmark is 187-111 in six years at UTSA. Last summer, he signed a contract extension that carries through the 2029 season. – File photo by Joe Alexander
Asked how this year’s team could be different from last year, Coach Pat Hallmark said Monday that he hopes that the Roadrunners are better, but he acknowledged he doesn’t know if that is the case.
Not just yet.
Last year’s team soared to the American Conference regular-season title and to an epic NCAA Austin Regional playoff victory, which included two wins in two days over the second-ranked Texas Longhorns.
Players such as outfielders Mason Lytle and James Taussig and pitchers Zach Royse and Braylon Owens led that charge. This season, those players have moved on, chasing baseball dreams in the professional ranks.
At the same time, others are stepping into their shoes at UTSA, hoping to make names for themselves and create their own legacy.
“We’re not quite as athletic (as last year),” Hallmark said. “That’s the only … difference I can tell at this point.”
Hallmark offered a caveat, noting that some of the best baseball players aren’t always the best athletes.
“I do think we’re a good baseball team,” he said. “We got to grow, though. The most important thing right now is just that we continue to improve. That’s what I mean by grow.
“We got to have growth in lots of areas. So, we got some questions. Some of the pitching you’ll see early on will be some familiar faces. But they’re going to be in bigger roles … We’ll see how they do.”
Junior righthander Rob Orloski will start on the mound Friday afternoon, Hallmark said. Connor Kelley will start on Saturday and Kendall Dove will get the ball on Sunday.
Orloski emerged as a program mainstay and a first-team, all conference pitcher last season in the team’s “stopper” role. Coming out of the bullpen, he finished with an 8-0 record, a team-leading nine saves and a 3.36 earned run average.
The coach said his starting pitchers this weekend would be on a pitch count that he characterized as “more high than low, because they are ready for that.”
He said the team’s “stopper” role, which has been filled in the past with former standouts Simon Miller and Ruger Riojas and, last season, with Orloski, hasn’t been determined yet.
At least, not on a long-term basis. Hallmark said the role is “a little bit up in the air,” with coaches set to evaluate over several games who it might be.
“We really only have four set roles,” the coach said, “which would be three starters and this ‘stopper’ role, and everyone else pretty flexible. So, yeah, it could change on weekend (No.) 2, but that’s where we are right now.”
Coming up
South Dakota State at UTSA
Friday – 4 p.m.
Saturday – noon
Sunday – 1 p.m.
Notable
The coach said veteran standout catcher Andrew Stucky “looks great,” with Broc Parmer, Witt Joyce and Jacob Silva backing up.
With a solid freshman season under his belt, sophomore Caden Miller is playing first base. Another sophomore standout, Nathan Hodge is injured, and that has opened up playing time for others in the infield.
At second base, shortstop and third base, Hallmark mentioned veterans Jordan Ballin and Diego Diaz, plus freshman Aidan Eshelman and sophomore transfer Josh Arquette, as players who could play at any of those three spots.
Also, Josh Vaughn and Mason Jacob, the coach said.
“Second base, third base, shortstop, early in the year, you’ll see guys switching in and out of there,” Hallmark said. “Very versatile group, and we train ’em that way. All those guys I mentioned can play all three.”
In the outfield, Drew Detlefsen, who led the team in home runs last year, supplies the veteran leadership. He played mostly in left field last season but might play some in center this year, as well.
Others to watch in the outfield include freshman power hitter Nathan Johnson from Katy Seven Lakes, junior Lane Haworth, a transfer from Wichita State and University of Houston transfer Brandon Bishop.
Echoes from 2025
Hallmark said the energy around the program “has been great” and that “there’s been a lot of buzz. I think they sold out the chair-back seats (at Roadrunner Field), or real, real close.” The team’s annual golf tournament also did well.
Quotable
“People definitely took notice of what we did last year,” the coach said. “We need to really put that stuff to the side, for players and coaches, and really focus on what we can control.
“And that’s not as easily done as it is said, focusing on what you can control, like throwing strikes and hitting the ball and making the plays. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. It still gets down to what you do on the field.
“We’re trying to keep our minds on that and become better baseball players through some of the hoopla from last year.”
