| Junior Trent Lockwood tied the UTSA single-game record for hit on Saturday. |
THIBODAUX, La. ? Trailing 4-0 after three innings, UTSA junior first baseman Trent Lockwood had had enough. The Roadrunners had left 12 runners on base in the first 12 innings of this weekend’s three-game series and he wasn’t about to let the team lose its second game in a row.
Lockwood, the Roadrunners’ leading hitter at .387, went a perfect 5-for-5 to tie UTSA’s single-game record and led the Roadrunners to a come-from-behind 9-5 victory against Nicholls State on Saturday.
UTSA improved to 31-19 overall and 21-5 in Southland Conference play, while the Colonels (10-41, 6-20 SLC) saw their season-best four-game winning streak come to an end.
After Nicholls State scored four two-out runs in the third to take a 4-0 lead, Lockwood began a five-run Roadrunners rally with his team-leading 12th home run of the season to lead off the following frame.
A single by senior Ryan Saltzgaber, double by junior Zach Etheredge and walk to redshirt freshman Tim Palincsar loaded the bases. After a wild pitch brought Saltzgaber across the plate, junior Phillip Allen delivered a two-run double down the left-field line to tie the game at four. Sophomore James Keithley gave UTSA its first lead when he stroked a one-out base hit up the middle.
“After last night, I decided I needed to set a tone for the offense,” Lockwood said following the four-run victory. “I went up to the plate wanting to hit the ball hard and get something going. I knew we were better than what we had showed through the first 12 innings of the series. Hitting is contagious and that showed today.”
The Roadrunners went on to add four runs in the seventh to extend the advantage to 9-4 and put the game out of reach.
Allen was 2-for-4 with four RBIs, while Etheredge added a pair of doubles and an RBI. Saltzgaber ? who had five hits a week ago against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ? continued his strong play at the plate, recording his 19th multi-hit performance in his 30 starts. Lockwood’s lead-off double in the second was his 19th of the season and it moved him into a second-place tie on the school's single-season ledger.
UTSA starter Bradley Chovanec (3-4) won for the first time since March 31. The junior right-hander allowed four runs on seven hits and struck out a career-high seven in 6.1 innings. Junior J.T. Mackey got the final two outs for his fourth save of the season.
Nicholls State reliever Jacob Sullivan (0-3) was tagged with the loss after giving up six runs on six hits in 3.2 innings of work.
The rubber game of the series is slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday. Freshman right-hander Ryan Proudfoot (4-2, 3.07 ERA) will oppose righty Michael Bartek (2-9, 5.59 ERA).