| May 1, 2005
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4907 UTSA captures second straight Southland Conference regular season title with 2-1 victory over Sam Houston State Sunday Box Score | 2005 SLC Tournament Bracket
SAN ANTONIO – Freshman pitcher Amanda Nikolenko tossed her second complete-game gem of the weekend and sophomore Aimee Murray hit UTSA’s 100th home run of the season as the softball team completed a sweep of Sam Houston State, 2-1, and captured its second straight Southland Conference regular season crown Sunday afternoon before 235 fans at Roadrunner Field.
UTSA improves to 40-16 overall, setting a school record for victories, and concludes the league slate at 21-5 to win the title outright. The Bearkats fall to 26-23 and 19-7. The Roadrunners will enter the SLC Tournament next weekend in Hammond, La., as the No. 1 seed and will play McNeese State, who swept Southeastern Louisiana this weekend to sneak into the tournament, on Friday at 11 a.m.
Nikolenko, who tossed an eight-strikeout shutout in game two on Saturday, fanned six batters and walked just one, while allowing one run on eight hits Sunday. She ran her record to 17-8 overall and 7-2 in the SLC as combined she gave up just one run on 13 hits and struck out 14 in 14 innings of work against the Bearkats.
Murray staked the Roadrunners to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, lining her 11th home run of the season, second of the series, into the trees beyond the right field fence. That pulled UTSA to within one long ball of the SLC record of 101 set last season and gives the Roadrunners an amazing 281 round-trippers over the past three seasons.
Senior Jennifer Davis drove in the second run of the game on a two-out single to left center that scored junior Mel Torres after she jarred the ball loose from the catcher on a close play at the plate. Davis and junior Jessica Rogers had two hits apiece to lead the six-hit attack for the Roadrunners.
Nikolenko worked out of tough jams in the third and fourth innings, stranding runners at first and third with groundouts both times, and she wasted a leadoff double by Erin Lindsey in the sixth with two strikeouts and a pop-up.
In the seventh, Sam Houston put together a rally as Sarah Sweaney singled and Lauren Boone walked to put runners at first and second with one out. Stephanie Mosley then lined a hard double just inside the third base bag that plated Sweaney to make it 2-1. Chrissy Dileo then pounded a hard ground ball at the shortstop Murray, who fired home to gun out Boone and leave runners at first and second with two outs. Murray then made a fabulous play in the hole on a ground ball and threw out a sliding Lindsey at first to end the threat and the game.
Shalayne Blythe (12-9) allowed two runs on six hits and struck out six against zero walks in the loss.
All of UTSA's SLC Tournament games will have live stats and audio available through goUTSA.com.
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