· UC Riverside box score
· North Texas box score
· North Texas/UC Riverside box score
Junior Emily Humpal struck out seven in her shutout of UC Riverside on Saturday. |
SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA softball team split a pair of games on day two of the UTSA Invitational, defeating UC Riverside, 6-0, in the lid-lifter before dropping a 5-4 heartbreaker to North Texas Saturday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
With the split, the Roadrunners saw their record move to 3-10 on the season.
Sophomore Caitlyn Ivy went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while junior transfer Emily Blackburn was 2-for-2 with three RBIs and senior Rudi Cantu added a pair of base knocks to lead a UTSA offense that pounded out eight hits off a pair of Highlanders pitchers.
UTSA got off to a quick start against UCR by manufacturing two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Four consecutive walks with one out, the last to Blackburn, plated the first run of the game, while the second run came home on a passed ball.
After two and half scoreless innings, the Roadrunners would add two more runs to their lead when Blackburn hit a two-out, two-strike double down the left-field line to plate sophomore Ashley Kappler and Cantu in the fourth.
The Runners tacked on two more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth behind Ivy’s two-run homer over the center-field wall that scored Kappler, her fourth long ball of the season.
Junior right-hander Emily Humpal pitched a complete-game shutout, posting seven strikeouts against only two walks and four hits to improve her record to 2-3.
Casey Suda took the loss, giving up three earned runs and six walks in 3.1 innings.
In the second game, Ivy’s three-run blast down the left-field line in the fifth inning erased a 4-1 deficit, but North Texas sealed the 5-4 decision with a walk-off home run by outfielder Mariza Martinez in the bottom of the seventh.
Lisa Johnson staked the Mean Green to a 1-0 lead with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the second.
UTSA, designated the visiting team, got on the board in the top of the third when junior Danyé Holmes grounded out to first to score Cantu from third.
The Mean Green took a 2-1 advantage in the bottom of the frame after an RBI-single through the right side from Mallory Cantler plated Megan Rupp.
UNT would add two more runs to their lead in the bottom of the fourth, as pinch hitter Amber Miller walked with a full count and nine-hole hitter Renae Bromley slugged a two-run home run to center field to move the score to 4-1.
For the second straight start, Holmes recorded a no-decision after going four innings with five strikeouts and four earned runs. Sophomore righty Morgan Luksa picked up the loss for UTSA, after going 2.1 innings with one earned run.
Jennifer Smith collected the win for North Texas in relief of starting pitcher Ashley Lail to even her record at 1-1.
Both North Texas (4-5) and UC Riverside (4-8) earned a split on the day as UCR downed UNT 8-5 to conclude the second day of play at the UTSA Invite.
The UTSA Invitational concludes Sunday with UC Riverside taking on North Texas at 10 a.m., followed by a noon matchup between UTSA and the Mean Green (please note time changes).