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SAN ANTONIO — UTSA jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held off another late Northwestern State rally for a 6-4 triumph on Saturday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
The win not only gave the Roadrunners (13-18, 3-3 SLC) first Southland Conference series sweep of the season, but it also pushed their home winning streak to a dozen games. The Birds also have won the last six meetings against the Lady Demons (13-21, 2-6 SLC).
Senior Caitlyn Ivy led the offense with two hits and a pair of RBIs, while junior Haylee Staton and freshman Megan Low also contributed two hits apiece.
Meanwhile, Samantha Roberts was 2-for-3 with a pair of homers and three RBIs to lead Northwestern State.
The UTSA bats once again came alive in the opening stanza and the Roadrunners knocked out the Lady Demons’ starter before pitching a full frame. This time it was Brooke Boening, who allowed a pair of runs on three hits and got a strikeout before exiting the contest.
Senior Ashley Kappler led off the home half of the first with a single to center and she came around to score two batters later on Low’s two-bagger to the gap in left center. An Ivy single put runners at the corners and ended Boening’s day. Kylie Roos promptly issued a walk to senior Nikki Goff to load the bases and UTSA took a 2-0 advantage on Roos’ illegal pitch two batters later.
The Roadrunners tacked on a run in the second on a bases-loaded walk to Ivy and sophomore Siera Sproul’s solo home run to left an inning later gave UTSA a 4-0 cushion.
However, Roberts quickly cut the advantage in half with a two-run blast in the fourth that chased starter Haylee Staton.
The Roadrunners got that tally back in the bottom half of the frame thanks to an error at second base by Cali Burke that set up Ivy’s run-scoring single up the middle to make it 5-2.
Roberts opened the sixth inning with her second round-tripper of the day and third of the series off reliever Katy Akins and she was replaced in the circle by senior Morgan Luksa.
UTSA once again answered with a run on a sacrifice fly to center field by freshman Courtney Buchman and it took a 6-3 advantage into the final panel.
Northwestern State loaded the bases with one out with a pair of singles and a hit batter. Roos plated a run on a fielder’s choice to shortstop Molly Fichtner who, along with Kappler, nearly turned a game-ending double play. Luksa then intentionally walked Roberts to load the bases and she closed out the contest by striking out Burke.
Akins (1-2) picked up her first win of the season after allowing just a run on one hit in two innings, while Luksa earned her first save of the campaign with a run on a pair of hits and three strikeouts.
Boening (3-4) took the loss for the Lady Demons, who now have dropped six of their last eight games.
UTSA will return to the diamond on Wednesday for a doubleheader at Houston Baptist (11-18). First pitch from Husky Field is scheduled for 2 p.m.