| Junior Lance Brown went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI on Friday. |
NACOGDOCHES ? UTSA jumped out to a 6-0 lead after three innings and rolled to a 12-8 victory at Stephen F. Austin on Friday afternoon to end a four-game losing streak.
The Roadrunners (16-12, 8-5 SLC) ? who scored in double figures for the 13th time this spring ? rapped out 14 hits, drew six walks and were hit by five pitches in addition to taking advantage of five Lumberjacks errors.
"We really needed this win today," ninth-year head coach Sherman Corbett said. "Not only did we need it get a leg up in the series, but from a confidence standpoint, it allowed us to end our losing streak. We continued to swing it well on offense and I thought Red (Patterson) did a good job setting the tone on the mound early."
Senior Aaron Powell's two-run single with two down in the first brought home seniors Marshal Davis and Jose Hernandez with the game's first runs. Davis' RBI single to left a frame later pushed freshman Casey Selsor across the plate and the lead grew to three. The advantage swelled to a half dozen in the third when junior Lance Brown blooped a single to right and junior Ryan Rummel's launched a two-run homer off the scoreboard in right center two hitters later.
Justin Long's two-out, three-run bomb to center field in the fourth off UTSA right-handed starter Red Patterson cut the lead in half, but the Roadrunners responded with a pair of runs in the fifth and another a stanza later to stretch the edge back out to six.
The two teams exchanged tallies in the seventh and Stephen F. Austin (10-17, 3-9 SLC) added another run in the eighth and three more in the final frame, but UTSA's two insurance runs in the ninth proved to be too much to overcome.
Brown and sophomore Tyler Carpenter both went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI to lead the Roadrunners on offense and both added outstanding defensive plays in the field. The three-hit game was Carpenter's eighth of the year. Meanwhile, senior All-America center fielder Michael Rockett went 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, while Davis and Powell each added a pair of safeties.
Patterson (3-2) allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits and struck out seven in his eight innings of work.
Erik Gregerson (2-4) was tagged with the loss after surrendering six runs (five earned) on a half dozen hits, three walks and a pair of hit batters in three frames.
Long went 2-for-4 to lead Stephen F. Austin at the plate.
The series continues at 2 p.m. on Saturday when freshman lefty Casey Selsor (4-1, 7.52 ERA) goes up against right-hander Erich Lehmann (1-3, 5.72).