| April 30, 2006
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4551 Els, Rackley lead home run barrage as UTSA pounds UTA, 10-2 Box Score | Photo Gallery
SAN ANTONIO – Senior Jessica Els and freshman Rachel Rackley (right) blasted two home runs apiece as the UTSA softball team hit seven total in a 10-2 pounding of Texas-Arlington Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
The win gives the Roadrunners, winners of 17 of their last 18, the series sweep of the Mavericks and improves their season record to 33-12 overall and 22-5 (.815) in the Southland Conference. UTSA stands second in the league standings by winning percentage behind Texas State (18-3, .857), which plays a doubleheader at Louisiana-Monroe Sunday. The Roadrunners secured the second seed on Saturday but need the Bobcats to drop both games in order to catch them for first place. UTA falls to 29-19 and 16-9 in dropping its fifth straight contest to UTSA.
Els and Rackley led a barrage of long balls by the Roadrunners off of UTA starting pitcher Jill Garro. Senior Stacey Gillespie, junior Aimee Murray and freshman Leanne Risberg also went deep as UTSA pushed its season total to 89 in 45 games. That equates to an average of 1.98 per game, ahead of UTSA’s NCAA record pace of 1.87 set in 2004.
In the circle, sophomore Amanda Nikolenko (left) was strong in picking up her 21st victory of the season. She struck out six and allowed no runs on four hits in five innings of relief to move her mark to 21-5 overall and 14-2 in the SLC.
Back-to-back blasts from Els and Murray gave UTSA a 2-0 lead after one. Els sent a Garro offering deep over the center field fence, while Murray followed with a line drive shot to right. Senior Amanda Horton just missed making it three in a row with a long single off the top of the fence in left.
UTA answered with two runs on four hits in the top of the second. Jenna Fortune led off the frame with a home run to right and back-to-back singles by Autumn Petrino and April Clougherty put runners at first and second with no outs. Lacey Leadbetter followed with a double to left center that scored Petrino and knotted the score at 2-all. The Mavericks threatened to plate two more runs with a long fly ball to the fence off the bat of Katie Jones, but Risberg made a juggling catch after hitting the fence to end the inning.
Els gave UTSA a 4-2 lead in the third with her second long ball of the game, a two-run shot to left center that plated senior Mel Torres, who reached on a deep single to right center.
UTA loaded the bases with one out in the fourth thanks to two base hits and a walk, but Nikolenko induced a pop-up on the infield and a fly ball to left to get out of the jam.
UTSA went back-to-back again with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Rackley drilled a shot off the scoreboard in left center and Gillespie followed with a deep ball just to the right of straightaway center to push the lead to 6-2.
The Roadrunners opened the game up in the fifth, scoring three runs on four hits. Junior Catherine Garza lined a pinch-hit single to left center to plate Horton, who singled, and Rackley followed with her second straight shot off the scoreboard to push the lead to 9-2.
Risberg, who had two hits on the afternoon, launched a no-doubter to left field to lead off the sixth, putting the eight-run rule into effect.
Garro allowed 10 runs on 14 hits in falling to 16-12 on the year.
UTSA will play an opponent to be determined on Friday, May 5, in the first round of the SLC Tournament in Natchitoches, La.
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