Freshman Ryan Dalton has hit a UTSA single-season freshman record 12 home runs this spring.
BEAUMONT — UTSA exploded for 10 runs in the first three innings and the Roadrunners ended a season-long six-game losing streak with a 14-4 rout at Lamar on Sunday.
UTSA (14-23, 5-16 SLC), which tied a season-high with 20 hits and posted its highest-scoring game in more than three weeks, jumped all over Cardinals starter Jonathan Dziedzic for five runs in the first and they tacked on four more in the following frame to chase the southpaw from the contest after he recorded just four outs.
The Birds went on to score single runs in the third and fifth and three more in the ninth to polish off the victory.
Leading the early offensive onslaught was freshman Ryan Dalton, who added to his team-leading home run total with a two-run shot in the opening stanza and a three-run bomb in the second. Dalton drove home a career-best six on the day and now has 12 homers this spring, which are the most in the country by a freshman (tied with Florida's Austin Maddox) in addition to being a new UTSA frosh single-season record. The Sugar Land native finished the weekend series 7-for-12 (.583) with a triple, three long balls and eight RBIs.
Meanwhile, junior Tyler Carpenter took care of extending his hitting streak to a career-long 18 games early, as he lined an 0-2 pitch from Harrington up the middle to lead off the contest. Carpenter finished the day 3-for-6, which was his 10th multi-hit game during the streak (fifth three-hit performance), and he is hitting .407 (33-for-81) since it began on March 26.
Junior righty Taylor Walton (4-1) gave UTSA a gutsy performance in just his second start of the season.
The Midland native allowed three runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out a pair in his six-plus innings of work. Coming back on only one day of rest after throwing 36 pitches in 1.2 relief panels during Friday's 4-2 setback, he retired 12 of 15 batters during one stretch that spanned the third through sixth stanzas.
Junior right-handed closer Kevin Clarke, who allowed a run on two hits in the ninth, retired the first seven hitters he faced and nine of 11 overall over the final three innings for his fourth save of the season (first since March 17), as the Cardinals (26-16, 11-10 SLC) saw their winning streak come to an end at seven games.
Dziedzic (2-3) was charged with the loss after giving up the Birds' first eight runs on a half dozen hits and two walks in 1.1 panels.
Senior Lance Brown and junior Ryan Hutson both tied their career highs with four hits apiece, as the first six hitters in the UTSA lineup recorded multiple hits for the second consecutive day. The Roadrunners also tied their season high with five round-trippers for the second game in a row, as Hutson, senior Ryan Rummel and freshman Daniel Rockett joined Dalton in the home run derby. UTSA leads the Southland Conference with 57 taters this spring.
Pablo Salinas went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Wade Mathis added two hits, including a lead-off homer in the second, to lead Lamar at the plate.
The Birds continues their season-long nine-game road trip on Tuesday night when they travel to Austin to face top-ranked Texas (34-7), which has won 16 consecutive games (longest winning streak since 2005). First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at UFCU Disch-Falk Field and the two teams, who did not meet for the first time in 17 years last spring, have split their last four meetings. The Longhorns hold a 20-5 edge in the all-time series that spans the 1993-2008 campaigns.