| April 9, 2005 Five-run ninth inning lifts Roadrunners past Nicholls State, 9-8 Box Score The Roadrunners rallied for five runs in the ninth inning - the big hit being a three-run game-tying double off the bat of senior Stephen Holdren - and junior Jason Vecchio closed the door in the ninth as UTSA defeated the Colonels 9-8. The come-from-behind win pushed UTSA's record to 13-20 overall and 7-4 in the Southland Conference, while NSU fell to 14-18 and 2-9 in the league with its seventh consecutive loss. In the ninth, the Roadrunners accounted for almost half of their total hits for the game with six, plated five runs and batted around against NSU relievers Chris Greer and Aaron George. UTSA touched up Greer, who entered in the sixth for starter Marcus Markrey, for six runs as he was tagged with the loss. Junior Noah Tritz was credited with the win as he pitched the eighth inning, allowing a run that put Nicholls up 8-4. Tritz improved to 2-1 on the year. Sophomore starter Josh Ruffin was roughed up for seven runs on the day, but he retired 11 consecutive Colonel batters during the middle innings as UTSA chipped away at a 6-1 disadvantage after three. The Roadrunners scored twice in the sixth and added another in the seventh to trail 6-4. Sophomore Ryan Saltzgaber led off the ninth with a single to center field, while Senior Sean Danielson, who recorded three hits on the day, followed suit with a one-bagger to right. Junior J.R. Voyles' double to center plated Saltzgaber to make it an 8-5 Colonel lead. After junior Ryan Crew walked to load the bases, Holdren drove a Chris Greer offering deep into the left field corner to clear the bases and tie the game at eight. Phillip Allen pinch ran for Holdren and scooted to third on a wild pitch by George. He scored on junior Lee Todesco's game-winning RBI sacrifice fly to right field. Vecchio, who recorded his fifth save of the year, struck out two in the Colonel ninth to shut the door on the Roadrunner win. Danielson went 3-for-5, while Voyles and Saltzgaber each went 2-for-5 at the plate for UTSA, which smacked 13 hits. Voyles had two RBIs, and Crew scored three runs. Bubba Bell went 2-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs to pace the Colonels, who had nine hits. The Roadrunners will attempt to sweep the Colonels for the second straight year when the teams meet at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Didier Field. |