· Game 1 box score
· Game 2 box score
by John Torstrick
Sophomore Caitlyn Ivy went 6-for-6 at the plate on Friday night.
SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA softball team picked up a pair of Southland Conference wins (10-6, 9-6 SLC) against Southeastern Louisiana in doubleheader action on Friday night at Roadrunner Field.
With the wins, the Roadrunners improved to 12-23 and 8-9 in conference, while the Lady Lions fell to 5-21 with a 1-11 conference mark.
Both teams brought their bats to Roadrunner Field as the two teams combined for 43 hits, including nine home runs. For the Lions it was a rare display of power, as they hit four homeruns despite entering tonight’s action with only nine in their first 24 games.
The Runners were led by in the first game by junior Danye Holmes, who went 2-for-2, including the go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to give UTSA a 7-4 lead.
UTSA would tack on three more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth off junior Kristin Kappler’s three-run shot to right field to move the final score to 10-6.
The two teams again traded offensive punches in the second tilt as they combined to score five runs in the first two-and-a-half innings.
UTSA took its first lead of the game, 5-3, in the bottom of the third as Kappler picked up a sac fly RBI and junior Emily Humpal knocked in a two-run homer to center.
The Lions would surge back from down three in the top of the fifth with one swing of the bat as outfielder Katelyn Thomason connected on a three-run home run to left center to tie the game up at 6-6.
However, UTSA responded in the bottom half of the frame as senior Kelly Cato notched an RBI single, and sophomore Caitlyn Ivy smashed a two-run shot over the wall in left center to push the lead to the final score of 9-6.
Ivy continued her brilliant season at the plate going a combined 6-for-6 with six runs scored and two runs driven in, as her batting average improved to a team-high .404.
Holmes picked up the decision in game one, moving her season record to 5-7, as she pitched five innings with two strikeouts.
In the second game, Humpal snared the victory to improve her mark to 6-11 in six innings of work, while helping her own cause with 2-for-3 performance at the plate with three RBIs and a run scored.
Sophomore Morgan Luksa picked up saves in both matchups - her first and second of the season - as she pitched a combined three scoreless innings.
For SLU, Katelyn Thomason recorded the loss in 3.1 innings, giving up seven runs and nine hits to fall to 3-7 on the year. Vicki Honeycutt picked up the loss in game two in relief, surrendering three runs in 3.2 innings of work to fall to 1-2.
Both squads will finish out the three-game set on Saturday at Roadrunner Field with a noon start time.