| March 4, 2005 Roadrunners pick up first win of the year, beat Illinois 8-4 EDINBURG, Texas – The University of Texas at San Antonio baseball team took out its season-opening frustrations Friday afternoon in the opening round of the Al Ogletree Classic at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium. The Roadrunners got a complete game effort from senior righthander Aaron Rodriguez and scored five runs in the last two innings to hand Big Ten opponent Illinois an 8-4 loss. It was the Roadrunners first win of the 2005 season after opening the year 0-11. Rodriguez tossed the full nine innings and struck out four to improve to 1-3 on the year, while junior Ryan Crew went 3-for-5 with a double and a triple. Junior Lee Todesco went 2-for-5, while senior Eric Moreno provided three RBIs. Senior Chris Lewis slugged his first home run of the year and the 17th of his career. Ryan Saltzgaber also notched two hits. In the eighth inning, with the game tied 3-3, the Roadrunners scored twice to take a 5-3 lead they never relinquished. Todesco singled to lead off and moved to second on a sacrifice. After Saltzgaber singled to move Todesco to third, he stole second. The throw eluded the Fighting Illini shortstop, allowing Todesco to trot home with the go-ahead run. Saltzgaber then scored on Sean Danielson's sacrifice fly. In the ninth, Crew tripled to lead off, and then Stephen Holdren was hit to put two runners on. Moreno then executed a sacrifice bunt that scored Crew with UTSA's sixth run. Lewis then homered to score himself and pinch runner Brandon Koger for UTSA's seventh and eighth runs. Illinois added a run in the final inning for the eventual four-run margin. The Roadrunners will return to the field tomorrow in Edinburg to face Birmingham Southern. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. -UTSA- |