| March 19, 2005 Roadrunners upend Louisiana-Monroe 9-7 for first Southland Conference win Box Score UTSA improved to 5-16 overall and 1-1 in the league, while Louisiana-Monroe fell to 13-6 and 1-1 in the conference. With the game tied at seven in the bottom of the sixth inning, it was an out-of-the-ordinary double play which eventually allowed the winning run to score for the Roadrunners. Sophomore Michael McKennon singled to lead off the frame and moved to second when junior Ryan Crew walked. Senior right fielder Stephen Holdren then advanced the pair to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Senior Eric Moreno then hit a chopper to shortstop that Indian fielder Julian Tafoya threw to first for the second out of the inning. Waiting for the throw, McKennon darted for the plate and crossed the dish before Crew was tagged out trying to take third base. The Roadrunners added an insurance run in the seventh, and junior pitcher Jason Vecchio slammed the door on the Indians in the last two innings for his second save of the year. Vecchio faced the minimum six batters and needed only ten pitches for the save. UTSA starter Josh Ruffin (2-3) recorded his second win of the year in throwing the first seven innings. He allowed all seven Indian runs but was aided by the Roadrunner batsmen, who produced 12 hits and rallied from a 4-1 deficit after four innings. The Roadrunners plated three runs in the fourth to knot the game at four. Voyles provided an RBI single, while sophomore Ryan Saltzgaber and Sean Danielson aided in the small-ball effort with a fielder's choice RBI and a sacrifice fly, respectively. UTSA pushed ahead 7-4 in the fifth inning as Lewis' single produced the lone RBI. Lewis later scored on an errant pickoff attempt by ULM reliever Steve Lawler, who took the loss to fall to 1-1 on the year. Junior Lee Todesco recorded the seventh run scoring on a wild pitch. The Indians rallied to tie the game at seven in the sixth. Dexter Fontenot's two-run dinger to left field knotted the score after the Indians plated their fifth run on a sacrifice fly. McKennon and Todesco also provided two hits each for the Roadrunners with Todesco scoring two runs. Daniel Raymond, who hit a grand slam in game one of the series, led ULM with a 3-for-4 day on offense. The teams will conclude the three-game set tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Roadrunner Field. |