| Freshman Amber Anderson's run-scoring single on Sunday propelled UTSA to a weekend sweep. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Sophomore Kristin Kappler hit a grand slam and freshman Amber Anderson broke a six-all tie with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning, as UTSA rallied from a four-run deficit for an 8-6 victory over Northwestern State on Sunday at Roadrunner Field.
With the win, the Roadrunners completed the sweep of the Lady Demons, improved to 26-24 overall and remained in a tie with McNeese State for second place in the Southland Conference at 17-10. Northwestern State fell to 5-43 overall and 3-26 in league play.
Trailing 6-2 in the third, UTSA loaded the bases behind singles from senior Leanne Risberg and junior Kelly Cato and a walk to freshman Caitlyn Ivy. With one down and just after a visit to the circle by the Northwestern State pitching coach, Kappler sent the first pitch from right-hander Kelee Grimes deep over the left field fence to knot the score at 6-all. The grand slam was the Brazoswood High product’s team-leading fifth home run of the season.
After a pair of scoreless panels, the Roadrunners threatened again in the sixth. Junior Rudi Cantu reached on an infield single with one down and moved to second on a base hit to left by freshman Ashley Kappler. Anderson then drilled the first pitch from Grimes into center field to easily plate Cantu from second. The second run came home after the Lady Demons’ first baseman took the cutoff and threw the ball away at second trying to get Anderson out at the bag.
Meanwhile, sophomore left-hander Danye Holmes picked up the win in relief as the third UTSA pitcher of the day. The Sugar Land native fanned two batters in 1.1 scoreless and hitless frames to run her record to 11-10.
Ashley Kappler led the 10-hit attack by going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, while Cantu and Cato collected two hits apiece.
UTSA jumped on the board with a pair of runs in the first. Cantu reached on a fielding error by the second baseman and Ashley Kappler followed with a clean base hit to left field. Back-to-back wild pitches allowed Cantu to come home with the first run of the game and Anderson drove in Kappler with a sacrifice fly to left.
The Lady Demons answered, striking for six runs on five hits and an error in the second. Tiffany Ward reached on a fielding error and later scored on a wild pitch. Cassandra Poncik then executed the squeeze play to perfection with runners at the corners to knot the score at 2-all. Four more runs came in during the inning, the last on an RBI-single to left by Ward.
Seven different players had one hit each for the Lady Demons, while Grimes struck out five but allowed five earned runs on 10 hits in falling to 3-26 on the season.
The Roadrunners will conclude the regular season on the road next week, beginning with a non-conference doubleheader at Texas on Thursday, followed by a three-game SLC series at Stephen F. Austin next Saturday-Sunday. The SLC Tournament is slated for May 7-9 in Lake Charles, La.