Softball dominates UIW in cross-town showdown

By Haley Aguayo Staff Writer

Four home runs helped the UTSA softball team gain a dominant advantage over the University of the Incarnate Word during their Wednesday night game. The Roadrunners beat the Cardinals at H-E-B Field with a final score of 7-0. Camryn Robillard and Marena Estell hit a home run, and Taylor Jensen hit two.

“It’s kind of been a little uptight recently, losing by like one or two [points],” Robillard said of the win. “But we all just came out here carefree, loose and then we’ve been stepping up on the board. I think it’s our turnaround. We’ve kind of had a rough time. But I mean, at this point, we’ve all come together.”

Left-handed Estell hit a double into right field on her second at-bat to put the Roadrunners on the Cardinals field. Robillard stepped up to bat fourth, hitting a homerun on the second pitch. With Robillard’s homer, Estell ran past third base and all the way home to give the ‘Runners a two run advantage as they headed into the bottom of the first.

“I actually got one off the end of my bat, but I spent a couple hours in the cages last night, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna get this down,’” Robillard said. “I’ve been in kind of a slump. So I kind of just came out here carefree, and I just want to loosen up and have fun.”

Rylie Giddens was up to bat at the top of the fourth inning and got to walk to first base. When Kat Ibarra went up to bat next, she bunted the ball and it rolled past first base giving her time to run to first and Giddens time to run to claim second base.

Estell went up to bat, and on the third pitch, she managed to hit the ball out of the field. Giddens, Ibarra and Estell raced home after watching Estell’s ball drop over the fence. This brought the score to 5-0, and UIW subbed out their pitchers.

“It was a definite confidence booster,” Estell said. “Hitting it off the bat, I was like, ‘Oh, I feel like I missed that,’ but I swung hard enough and it went far enough. Sometimes it just depends on if I feel like I got all the barrel or like some of the barrel. I feel like I got all the barrel today on most of my at-bats. So I think that home run definitely helped us out today to get a win.”

The Roadrunners headed into the fifth inning, and Jensen was up to bat. After a few balls were thrown, she hit a ball over the middle of the field. It looked like the ball was curving downward into the field but went right over the fence, and Jensen happily ran through all the bases as her team welcomed her on home base.

During the top of the seventh inning, Jensen went up to bat again and hit her second homer of the evening. Her team started cheering for her before the ball even made it halfway across the field. The team ran to home base and was there to greet her when she ran through it and gave the ‘Runners their final point of the evening ending with 7-0.

“I struggled my first two at-bats, but I got back in there,” Jensen said. “I knew as

What is next for the San Antonio Spurs?

Commentary

By Logan Martinez Contributor

As they finish their season with the second-worst record in the NBA at 22-60, the San Antonio Spurs now look forward to their place in the 2023 NBA Draft. With hopes of winning the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, the Spurs find themselves in a threeway tie with Houston and Detroit for the best odds at the No. 1 pick.

Although the top pick is ideal, San Antonio has been guaranteed at least a 52 percent chance at a top-four pick in the 2023 Draft. While fan hopes of receiving the No. 1 pick have skyrocketed, the odds of the Spurs receiving the grand prize in the draft are not entirely the best.

Since the Spurs’ fate relies on the lucky bounce of a couple of pinballs, it is important to understand what the Spurs can do if they do not receive the number one pick. With 2023 being an extremely top-heavy draft class, it is not hard to see a future where San Antonio finds its franchise player outside of Wembanyama.

While the drafting of the 7-foot-2 Frenchman would serve as a franchise-altering pick, the Spurs’ odds are, again, simply not the best. However, due to a 52 percent chance at a top four pick, a multitude of other incoming players would definitely suffice for the storied organization. In a future where the Spurs fail to win the first pick in the draft, incoming rookies such as G-League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson and Alabama’s Brandon Miller could serve the organization just as well as Wembanyama.

Losing star guard Dejounte Murray last off-season, the Spurs find themselves desperate for a primary ball handler. Though attempts have been made to put two guards at the point, it is clear that San Antonio needs a star point guard to lead their offense. soon as they came off the bat. I kind of just started jogging; you kind of just know as soon as you hit them that they’re gone.”

G-League star Henderson can be just that, as well as more for the organization. Averaging a solid 17 points, five rebounds and six assists in the G-League, the guard is more than capable of playing at the NBA level. A big name that is simply overshadowed by the elite seven-footer, Henderson possesses the capability to be a franchise-altering point guard for the San Antonio Spurs.

The same can be said about Alabama star forward Brandon Miller. Averaging 18 points a game with a 3-point percentage of 38, the 6-foot-9 power forward would fit perfectly alongside the Spurs’ stellar small forward, Keldon Johnson. His three-point shooting, along with his outstanding athletic capability, make him an elite prospect in this year’s draft. Although he has had his troubles off the court, it is nothing the San Antonio organization cannot fix.

As Spurs fans around the city of San Antonio hope to win the Wembanyama sweepstakes, it is important to know that the franchise has multiple options if they fail to land the number one pick. Though a future with the seven-footer in San Antonio is ultimately ideal, it is not the franchise’s only option. Whether it be the drafting of star guard Scoot Henderson or elite forward Brandon Miller, the future of the San Antonio Spurs definitely looks bright.

Coach prised by how well her team did, nor was she surprised that Jensen got in two homers. “Typically, anytime she puts a good piece of the bat on the ball, it’s gonna go,” Cheatham said. “She hits the ball re ally hard. And a lot of these kids, they’ve done it so many times over and over again at practice that they have a feeling. The girls know off the bat when it’s going out.” With their four game losing streak and will head into their next game with higher confi dence, though coach Cheatham will still make sure the girls practice so that they can continue to find success.

“We mentally sound defensively,” Cheatham said. “We’ve got to make the routine plays, and then offensively, we just have to adjust to whatever pitchers are throwing and how she’s trying to get us out there and get after them and get them out and get to the next game.”

Men’s tennis breaks school records

By Haley Aguayo Staff Writer

UTSA’s men’s tennis team has broken school records this past season. Some of their most notable accolades include continuously holding a spot in the top 50 best college tennis teams ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association since March.

“Honestly, the biggest thing that has changed this year is belief in ourselves,” head coach Sergey Avdeyev said. “We have done fairly well in the last several years as well. With every year, we want to step forward.”

“We’ve developed ground fundamentals the last couple of years, so now we just see the results, and honestly, it came with us just improving that 1%, which is belief. That really helped us get those big wins to become a ranked team. We have had tremendous success this [past] fall as well.”

As a team, the men won their H-E-B tournament last February, beating Texas A&M for the first time in school history, and they were named team of the month by the ITA in March for their 14-match win streak that spanned two months.

In February, the team was ranked at the 67th spot and moved up twenty places to the 47th spot within one week. They were ranked at the 37th spot in mid-March, the highest a UTSA men’s tennis team has ever been ranked.

The team just finished their regular season with a 6-1 win against The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

“Our doubles team won the regional championship in doubles, they made it to Nationals and they made quarterfinals, so that really gave our other guys a lot of belief and trust that we could beat anybody in the country,” Avdeyev said.

Alan Magadan and Sebastian Rodriguez became the doubles regional champions back in October and have been ranked as high as the sixth-best doubles team in the country by the ITA.

Rodriguez was named the C-USA athlete of the month back in October, while Magadan was named athlete of the week by C-USA in March.

“We match them for their style and for their skills, and also personality plays a big role,” Avdeyev said. “Like when we match them, we want to see who bonds together better and what energy they have. It’s important, and it’s very clear. When we see that the chemistry for two players is working well, then we keep them together.”

Danijal Muminovic and Miguel Alonso were also doubles draw champions this past fall, and Muminovic was just named a member of C-USA’s all-academic team.

“As a coach, the most rewarding thing to me is seeing results,” Avdeyev said. “We worked very hard the last three years to get here, and that really starts with practice. But seeing the guys bonding together, supporting each other, to a coach, that’s a big thing.”

Avdeyev said that he believes in this upcoming tournament that the team will have more of a challenge when they face FIU but do not count out Charlotte as an opponent as well. He also said that students could show their support by cheering for the team online.

“I think just sharing posts, liking them and leaving comments would be the best thing they can do. Just so at least we know that they’re aware they’re behind us and that they’re very excited that we’re trying to win,” Avdeyev said.

at UTSA baseball’s 2023 season and what it means going forward

Commentary

By Rylan Renteria Contributor

With the 2023 regular season ending, now is a great time to look back on all that the UTSA baseball squad has accomplished, as well as look ahead to what is coming. As of right now, the Roadrunners are 28-9 overall and 12-2 in conference play, good enough to put them atop the the season began, a lot of returning players had a chip on their shoulder from the previous season where despite going on an excellent run at the end of the season, they did not receive a bid for the NCAA tournament. talk about it all the time, we definitely have a chip on our shoulder, and we remember that feeling every game matters for us,” starting pitcher Luke Malone asked about what has led to the Roadrunners’ success this season, every player and coach echoed the same sentiment — improved pitching. “Our pitching this year has been fantastic,”

Leyton Barry said. “That’s the reason we are where we are.”

UTSA’s rotation consists of guys like Malone, Simon Miller, Ruger Riojas and Ulises Quiroga, who are all high-quality pitchers.

Miller, in particular, is the No. 9 ranked reliever in the country and boasts a 1.28 ERA. The strength of the UTSA pitchers is a key part of their success because, in games decided by two or fewer runs, the Roadrunners are 9-5. When UTSA takes the lead late in the game, they have a group of guys they can rely on to close the game out.

When it comes to being a complete team, you must be good at all aspects of the game.

UTSA’s hitting has been just as dominant as their pitching. The Roadrunners currently have eight players with a batting average of .300 or higher. While returning stars such as Barry and Shane Sirdashney have been great, UTSA has received a boost from newcomers like Antonio Valdez and Taylor Smith. Valdez is leading the team in every major batting category except home runs, which Smith leads. Both of them played under Pat Hallmark at UIW and jumped at the opportunity to play for him again when both entered the portal following the 2022 season.

As it currently stands, UTSA is ranked by four polls. No. 25 by D1 Baseball, No. 22 by Baseball America, No. 25 by CB Newspaper and No. 28 by National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. “There’s a lot of excitement in the locker room about it, but it’s not the end all be all,” Malone said. “We just got to keep winning.”