Baseball

Late rally sends Roadrunners to 10-5 loss to Lamar

 

May 14, 2005
Contact: Matt Schabert (210) 458-4930

Late rally sends Roadrunners to 10-5 loss to Lamar

Box Score

SAN ANTONIO - The visiting Lamar Cardinals scored six runs in the final two innings Saturday to hand the host University of Texas at San Antonio baseball team a 10-5 defeat at Roadrunner Field. The loss drops the Roadrunners into a fourth-place tie with Lamar as both teams are now 13-10 in the Southland Conference.

In a back-and-forth game that saw two ties and three lead changes, the Roadrunners held a 5-4 lead heading into the top of the eighth, but the Cardinals notched five runs off UTSA reliever Josh Ruffin to take a 9-5 lead. The visitors tacked on another tally in the ninth, and William Delage tossed the final 2.1 scoreless innings to improve to 5-4 on the season.

Ruffin was tagged with the loss to dip his record to 4-7. UTSA righthander Steven Vasquez made his first conference start and got a no-decision in five innings of work.

Both teams tallied a run in the first inning as Lamar's Matt Lambeth led off the game with a solo home run to left field before the Roadrunners countered with a Stephen Holdren RBI single in the bottom of the frame.

The Roadrunners took a 3-1 lead in the second inning. Michael McKennon lifted the lid on the inning with a single and moved to second when senior Eric Moreno was hit by a pitch. The pair advanced a base on a wild pitch, and McKennon trotted home on sophomore Ryan Saltzgaber's infield singe to the right side. Senior Sean Danielson then plated Moreno with an RBI one-sacker to left field.

The Cardinals rallied in the fifth with a pair of runs too knot the game at three. Will Henderson led off with a solo home run off Vasquez, and Jeremy Gray later scored on a Colin Delome single.

Lamar edged ahead 4-3 in the sixth, but the Roadrunners scored twice in the seventh to surge ahead 5-4. UTSA notched the pair of runs with just one hit in the inning. Danielson led off with a single and stole second and third. Chris Lewis then walked before Delage replaced starter Steve McFarland. On the second pitch, Delage's pitch clipped McKennon on the wrist, plating Danielson with the tying run. Moreno proceeded to then draw a walk to score Holdren, who had walked earlier in the inning, to make it 5-4.

In the eighth, Adrian Cantu and Henderson provided the big blows with two-RBI hits each. Michael Ambort also had an RBI single, and the Cardinals led 9-5.

The Roadrunners had men in scoring position in the final two innings but could not produce as they let 10 men on base for the day.

The final game of the series, which will be Senior Day, is set for tomorrow at 1 p.m. Aaron Rodriguez, Moreno, Danielson, Lewis and Holdren will be playing in their final home game as UTSA Roadrunnners and will be honored with a pre-game ceremony at approximately 12:50 p.m.

 

-UTSA-