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EL PASO — UTSA scored eight runs in the first inning and junior Haylee Staton picked up her third win of the weekend in an 11-2, five-inning victory at UTEP in the final game of this weekend's UTEP Invitational on Sunday at Helen of Troy Field.
The top of the Roadrunners lineup— senior Ashley Kappler, sophomore Molly Fichtner and freshman Megan Low— combined to go 8-for-12 at the plate with six RBIs and five runs scored, as UTSA (8-10) finished the event with three wins in five outings.
UTSA’s big inning started with back-to-back one-out singles followed by a walk to senior Caitlyn Ivy, which loaded the bases. Senior Alaina Byars and Staton followed with walks of their own for easy RBIs, as the Birds took a 2-0 lead.
Freshman Courtney Buchman then brought home Ivy with a base hit, while Byars came scored when the ball was misplayed in the outfield. After a pop up, freshman Geena Garcia delivered a run-scoring single before Kappler extended her hitting streak to seven games with a double to right-center that plated two more Roadrunners for a 7-0 lead. Fichtner capped the inning with a single up the middle that allowed Kappler to come across the dish with the frame's eighth and final run.
The advantage swelled to 10 in the third when Low drove home a pair with a double to the gap in left-center.
UTSA’s final tally came in the fifth when sophomore Siera Sproul scored from third when the defense threw to second in an attempt to catch Fichtner stealing.
The ample run support helped Staton (5-1) cruise to her third victory in as many appearances. She allowed two runs in the fourth and five hits overall to go along with a strikeout in her sixth consecutive complete game.
Meanwhile, Cynthia Villastrigo fell to 4-5 for the Miners (7-13) after giving up four runs on two hits and a pair of walks in just one-third of an inning.
Fichtner led the Roadrunners’ offense with four hits, while Buchman had three in as many plate appearances.
UTSA finished the weekend with a .442 team batting average and seven players hit at least .400, led by Buchman, who went 11-for-15 (.733).
The Roadrunners return to the diamond on Wednesday, March 7, when they travel down IH-37 to play at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (4-10). The Southland Conference-opening doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Chapman Field.