SAN ANTONIO – Breaking four program records, the UTSA baseball team secured the series win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a powerful way, defeating the Islanders by 31-6 on Saturday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
QUICK HITS
- Leyton Barry led the team and tied the school record for most hits in a game with five hits. This is the 16th time a Roadrunner has had five hits in program history.
- The Roadrunners' 31 runs scored set a new school record for most runs in a game. The previous record was 27 against Prairie View A&M on March 26, 2008.
- With 31 runs, the Roadrunners were just one run shy of the Conference USA record. The last time a C-USA team scored 30+ runs was East Carolina 13 years ago.
- UTSA also set a new program record with 29 runs batted in. The previous record was 26 RBI against Prairie View A&M on March 26, 2008.
- The third school record the Roadrunners broke was the total bases record (50 today). The previous record was 48 against Central Arkansas on May 15, 2009.
- The Roadrunners hit six home runs in the game, the most home runs since UTSA hit eight in 2009.
- Taylor Smith launched two jacks, while Barry, Dalton Porter, Garrett Poston and Sammy Diaz had one home run apiece.
- Antonio Valdez has reached base in all 16 games this season.
- Barry extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
- Ulises Quiroga earned his third win of the season (3-0).
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
For the first few innings, the lead bounced back and forth between the Roadrunners and Islanders. After Quiroga sat down the Islanders in order in the top of the first, the Roadrunners got on the board in the bottom of the frame. An RBI triple by Valdez and RBI groundout by King gave UTSA a 2-0 advantage. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi plated three runs in the top of the second, but a T. Smith single drove in a run for UTSA in the bottom of the frame to even the score at 3-3.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi brought another run across in the top of the third and kept UTSA off the board in the bottom of the frame to take a 4-3 lead. In the fourth frame, Quiroga once again forced a three up, three down inning so the Roadrunners could go to work in the bottom of the inning. UTSA exploded for 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a hefty 13-4 advantage, beginning with a solo home run by T. Smith and concluding with a two-run single by Barry. The Roadrunners added another pair of runs in the fifth inning with a couple of singles by Barry and Sirdashney.
Ryan Ward came in to relieve Quiroga in the sixth inning and sat down Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in order on a flyout, strikeout and groundout. In the bottom of the frame, back-to-back home runs by Diaz and T. Smith, as well as a single by King, extended UTSA's lead to 21-4. The Islanders scattered a couple of runs in the seventh and eighth frames as the Roadrunners replied with 10 more. After the stretch, Poston, Barry and Porter each sent one out of the ballpark for six more runs.
The Roadrunners added four more in the eighth as Diaz scored on a passed ball, Valdez doubled to drive in two and Porter grounded out to bring home another run. Drake Smith pitched the final two innings, sitting down the Islander on two strikeouts and a flyout to secure the win for the Roadrunners. UTSA didn't need the bottom of the ninth as the Roadrunners ran away with a 31-6 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Roadrunners improve to an 13-3 record, while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi falls to a 7-8 record.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and Islanders will conclude the series on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Roadrunner Field.
-UTSA-