| April 14, 2006
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4551 UTSA takes a pair from Nicholls State, pushes win streak to seven Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
THIBODAUX, La. – Junior Stevi Simpson (right) had five hits and junior Ursula Mares became UTSA’s all-time strikeout leader as the UTSA softball team pushed its win streak to seven games with 6-5 and 8-1 victories over Nicholls State Friday afternoon at the Colonels Softball Diamond.
The Roadrunners improve to 23-11 overall and 15-5 in the Southland Conference, while the Colonels fall to 17-24 and 9-11. UTSA now has won six straight road contests dating back to an 8-0 victory at McNeese State on March 19 and have taken six consecutive meetings with Nicholls State dating back to the 2004 SLC Tournament.
Mares (left) became the school’s all-time strikeout leader with 10 punchouts in game one, a 6-5, extra-inning affair. She now has 95 strikeouts on the season and 480 for her career, moving past Paige Whitley (472) for first place.
Sophomore right-hander Amanda Nikolenko actually earned both victories on Friday, tossing two scoreless innings in the opener and allowing just one run on five hits in an 8-1 decision in game two to move her record to 14-5 on the season.
Offensively, UTSA slugged four more home runs to push its season total to 67 in 34 games (1.97 per game). Senior Amanda Horton had two of the four, both in game two, while senior Jessica Els and Simpson also went yard. Simpson went 5-for-6 with two doubles, a home run and four runs batted in on the afternoon, while Els and Horton collected four hits apiece. Horton now has 33 career home runs, tying former UTSA All-American Amanda Michalsky for fifth place on the career list.
The Roadrunners rallied from a 5-0 deficit with five runs in the top of the seventh inning to force the extra frame in game one. Freshman Leanne Risberg was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and senior Mel Torres reached on a fielding error to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Els then singled to right to load the bases, but Nicholls made things tough with a strikeout and a pop up. Freshman Brittany Cantu came through with a single to center field to plate Risberg and Torres and fellow freshman Rachel Rackley followed with a run-scoring single that chased starter Krystalin Ensminger. Cantu came home on a wild pitch from new pitcher Ally May and Simpson lined a two-run double to right field to knot the score at 5-all.
Els gave UTSA a 6-5 lead with a solo blast to right field in the top of the eighth and Nikolenko got through the bottom of the inning unscathed as the Roadrunners came from behind to steal game one.
The Roadrunners got right to the scoring in game two, taking a 6-0 lead after three innings and holding on for the 8-1 victory.
Simpson homered for the third time this year in the top of the first, plating Els, who doubled, and Horton, who singled. Torres gave UTSA a 4-0 lead with an RBI double in the second that scored Rackley, who had reached on an error.
Junior Aimee Murray led off the third with a single to right and Horton followed with her first long ball of the day to increase the lead to 6-0.
Nicholls scratched for a run in the sixth on an RBI double to right by Kodi Butler that pushed home Kathryn Harrell, who had her second double of the game.
Horton answered with a solo shot to left field to start the seventh, her conference-leading 12th home run of the season. Simpson followed with a double and came home on a Rackley two-bagger to right to make it 8-1.
Game three is set for noon Saturday.
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