| Junior Lance Brown went 3-for-5 on Saturday. |
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA plated two runs in the ninth to send Saturday's rubber game with Northwestern State to extra innings, but the Demons responded with a five-run 10th and they posted a 9-4 victory at Roadrunner Field.
Trailing 4-2 heading into their final at bat, the Birds got a leadoff single from sophomore pinch hitter Brett Aguilar and a run-scoring base hit by senior Marshal Davis two batters later to pull within one. Senior Jose Hernandez then swung and missed on a slider from Northwestern State closer Chad Sheppard but the wide offering got away from catcher Miles Parsons and that allowed Davis, who had stole second right after his single, to move up to third. Senior All-American Michael Rockett followed with a sacrifice fly to center, which tied the contest at four.
The Demons (16-15, 10-7 SLC) responded with five runs on three hits and a critical error by Aguilar on a sacrifice bunt attempt in their half of the 10th and they sent the Roadrunners (18-17, 9-9) to their third loss in four games this week and ninth in the last dozen contests overall.
Trent Grondin led off the stanza with an infield single off UTSA left-handed reliever Kris Ruepke, who came into the inning having allowed just a pair of hits in the previous 5.2 frames. Jordan Nipp then dropped a bunt down the first-base line that was fielded cleanly by Aguilar, but Nipp was able to knock the ball out of the first baseman's glove for an error. Justin O'Neal followed with a single to left center to load the bases and head coach Sherman Corbett called in senior righty J.T. Mackey from the bullpen. Five consecutive balls by Mackey put the Demons back in front and another pitching change, this time to senior southpaw Andy Benedict, was made. Joe Urtuzuastegui greeted Benedict with a two-run double off the left-field wall and consecutive sacrifice flies to center by Beau Snodgrass and Tyler Baisley finished off the big inning.
That made a winner of Sheppard (4-0) for the second game in a row, despite the blown save. He finished the game with three strikeouts in his two innings of work.
Ruepke (0-4) was the hard-luck loser after giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits in 5.2 frames.
The Demons got on the board in the first on Urtuzuastegui's three-run home run down the left-field line, but Hernandez' RBI double in the bottom of the inning cut the lead to a pair.
The two squads exchanged runs in the third and the score remained 4-2 until the Roadrunners' ninth-inning rally.
Urtuzuastegui finished the day with six RBIs, while O'Neal and Parsons both had three hits.
Junior Lance Brown went 3-for-5 to lead the Birds at the plate and Hernandez added a pair of hits, including his team-leading 10th homer of the season, and two RBIs.
Ryan Zimmerman was solid in his third start of the season for Northwestern State, scattering 10 hits over his eight innings, while allowing just a pair of runs with seven strikeouts.
UTSA is back in action on Monday when it hosts Dallas Baptist (22-10) at 3 p.m.