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| Senior Jose Hernandez tied UTSA's single-game record with three home runs on Friday night and pushed his season total to seven in just 10 games. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Senior left fielder Jose Hernandez tied a UTSA single-game record with three home runs, including a walk-off two-run shot with two down in the ninth, and the Roadrunners rallied for their fifth comeback win of the year in a thrilling 11-10 victory against Southeastern Louisiana on Friday night at Roadrunner Field. The contest was the Southland Conference opener for both teams.
Hernandez' historic night began with a three-run blast in the first, which gave UTSA a 4-2 lead. The Anaheim Hills, Calif., native then hit a solo shot with two outs in the third to pull the Birds within one at 6-5. He joined Trent Lockwood (March 26, 2008) and Ryan Smith (April 28, 200) as the only players in school history to launch three bombs in a single contest. Hernandez, who is hitting .429 (15-for-35), now has seven homers in just 10 games of action this spring and his career-high six-RBI performance pushed his season total to 17.
"What a great way to end a game," Hernandez said following the victory. "We struggled in the early going against a quality pitcher, but this team has a lot of fight. I got a hanging slider and was just trying to put the bat on the ball to get Michael (Rockett) home with the tying run. Getting out of here with a win tonight was important because we need to protect our home turf and win as many games as we can."
UTSA (7-3) won its third game in a row (six of eight overall) and third consecutive SLC opener. The Roadrunners now have won 18 of their last 21 contests at the Bird Bath and Sherman Corbett's crew has scored in double figures the last three times out and a total of five times this season (all wins). The Birds, who scored a school-record 467 runs a year ago (8.1 per game), are averaging 8.8 so far this season.
The Lions (6-4) saw their three-game winning streak come to an end in losing for sixth time in the last seven matchups with UTSA (11 of 14 dating back to 2005).
It was a wild contest that featured a 30-mile-per-hour breeze blowing out to left field and the two squads combined for 28 hits but the game's four pitchers held their own, striking out a total of 23 hitters, 14 of which were recorded by Lions right-handed starter Ryan Boudreaux, which shattered his previous career-best of four.
Freshman southpaw Casey Selsor (3-0) picked up his second win out of the bullpen in the last three days with four solid innings in relief of starter Red Patterson. Selsor scattered seven hits but allowed just a pair of runs in the 54-pitch performance.
Ryan Collins (1-1) was tagged with the loss after surrendering four runs on four hits in recording just two outs in the ninth. His outing ruined a dominant performance by Boudreaux, who allowed just one of 15 batters, Hernandez on catcher's interference with one out in the fifth, to reach base from innings three through eight. He gave up seven runs (six earned) on eight hits and walked just one.
The ninth-inning rally began with consecutive singles from freshman second baseman Matthew James and senior shortstop Marshal Davis. After Collins fanned sophomore right fielder Tyler Carpenter, sophomore first baseman Brett Aguilar laced a run-scoring base hit up the middle. Senior All-America center fielder Michael Rockett then hit a double down the left-field line to plate Davis and freshman Clay Schrader followed with a sacrifice fly to left to set the stage for Hernandez' heroics.
Rockett, who moved into sole possession of second place on UTSA's career doubles chart (50), went 2-for-5 with two RBIs to stretch his hitting streak dating back to May 16, 2008, to 15 games, which matches the longest of his illustrious career. Carpenter singled in the fourth to extend his streak to a career-high-tying 11 contests, while Davis and James finished the night two hits apiece.
Patterson struck out seven in five frames but surrendered eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits and three walks.
Justin Boudeaux was 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs and Joe Sparacino had three hits and a double to lead Southeastern Louisiana at the plate.
The series continues at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Senior left-hander Kris Ruepke (0-2, 13.50 ERA) will square off against righty Brandon Efferson (1-1, 6.23).