SAN ANTONIO — Graduate pitcher Conor Myles matched his career highs in innings pitched (7.0) and strikeouts (8), neutralizing Wichita State University in UTSA baseball’s 8-1 win over the Shockers on Saturday at Roadrunner Field.
A solo shot from Wichita State (26-22, 10-10 American) infielder Nolan Ganter in the fourth was the lone blemish on Myles’ standout night. The 6-foot-5 Aussie sat down eight batters while allowing just four hits in seven innings, keeping the Roadrunners (32-14, 14-6 American) alive until their sixth-inning breakthrough. With the score deadlocked at 1-1, sophomore infielder Jordan Ballin drove in the go-ahead score. Coach Pat Hallmark brought in senior stopper Sam Simmons and senior pitcher Mike DeBattista to seal the series win.
“I don’t ever want to take it for granted, and I’m not going to, but gosh, he makes throwing strikes look easy. I’m just proud of him,” Hallmark said of Myles. “From a technical standpoint, there’s no clear thing [that’s led to Myles’ improvement]. It’s just all about growing up.
“I can talk about it all day, but it’s about maturity and getting over insecurities. The reason most kids at this level throw balls is they’re insecure about getting hit. Nobody wants to get hit. They’re a little fearful of the embarrassment of getting hit. Myles is grown up. If you hit Myles, he doesn’t care. He’s going to keep throwing strikes.”
After two scoreless frames, UTSA picked up its first run of the night in the third inning. Wichita State pitcher Brady Hamilton walked sophomore utility Caden Miller, setting up senior outfielder Drew Detlefsen to drive Miller home with an RBI triple down the left field line.
The Shockers’ home run in the fourth evened the score.
With two on and two outs, Ballin sliced a bases-clearing RBI single into center field. Freshman infielder Aidan Eschelman picked up his first RBI of the night in the next at-bat with an RBI single into shallow center; he was caught stealing at second to end the inning.
In the eighth, UTSA lit up Wichita State pitcher Caleb Reed, tallying four insurance runs in succession.
Eschelman kicked things off with an RBI single into left field. Miller followed with an RBI single before Detlefsen knocked an RBI double into left-center field. Former Shocker junior outfielder Lane Haworth popped up a sacrifice fly for the Roadrunners’ final score of the game.
Simmons and DeBattista breezed through their time on the mound to secure the series win, tossing two scoreless with zero hits allowed and one strikeout.
UTSA will look for its first American Conference sweep of the season in its series finale against Wichita State at 1 p.m. Sunday at Roadrunner Field.
