| Sophomore Mercedes Hessel was 2-for-3 with a home run and career-high five RBIs on Sunday. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Sophomore Mercedes Hessel led a 14-hit barrage with a pair of hits, including a home run, and a career-high five RBIs and senior Amanda Nikolenko tossed a four-hitter, as UTSA completed a Southland Conference series sweep of McNeese State, 15-1, on Sunday at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners improved to 8-8 overall and 4-2 in league play with the win, while the Cowgirls fell to 7-16 and 2-4.
Sophomore Rudi Cantu was 3-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored and finished the weekend series 8-for-10 with a double, triple and eight runs scored. The Alvin native extended her hitting streak to a career-long nine games and is batting .625 during the stretch. Meanwhile, freshmen Whitney Balch and Danye Holmes collected two hits apiece. In all, nine different Roadrunners recorded a base hit, as UTSA pounded out 34 runs on 40 hits in sweeping McNeese for the first time since March 2005.
Nikolenko was brilliant in the circle, not allowing a base runner until the fourth inning, and she struck out three and allowed just one run on four hits in running her record to 3-3 on the season.
UTSA built a 10-0 lead through the first two innings and never looked back. The Roadrunners plated four runs on four hits in the first, highlighted by RBI singles from sophomore Krista Sitka and freshman Kristin Kappler. A 6-run second included a two-run single by Hessel and RBI hits from Holmes, Balch and sophomore Brittany Bell.
The Cowgirls broke through for a run in the top of the fourth, as Liz Morvant singled just inside the bag at third, stole second and scored on a double to left center by Michelle LaVoie.
The Roadrunners responded with five runs ? three unearned ? in the bottom of the frame. Kappler drew a leadoff walk and Hessel followed with her first homer of the year, a towering shot over the fence in left center. Back-to-back fielding errors put runners at first and second for Cantu, who singled to left center to drive in senior pinch runner Lindsay Perry. Holmes followed a walk to junior Leanne Risberg with a sharply-hit ground ball to the second baseman, who then threw home in time to tag the runner trying to score from third, but the catcher dropped the ball to make it 14-1. Balch plated the final run on a sacrifice fly to left to plate Cantu with the final run.
LaVoie allowed nine earned runs on 11 hits in two innings in falling to 5-7 on the season. Morvant, LaVoie and Katie Shumaker had the only hits for McNeese State.
The Roadrunners host nationally-ranked Baylor at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.