WACO — Freshman Molly Fichtner went a combined 4-for-7 with five RBIs, including a grand slam, and junior Morgan Luksa picked up a win and a save, as the UTSA softball team opened the 2011 campaign with a pair of one-run victories against No. 24 Illinois (11-10) and McNeese State (3-2) on Friday at the Getterman Classic.
The Roadrunners twice fought back from four-run deficits to defeat the Fighting Illini (0-1) and pick up their first win over a ranked squad since 2008.
The initial comeback started in the third when, following a single by sophomore Haylee Staton, Illinois pitcher Pepper Gay walked senior Carrie Monroe and junior Ashley Kappler. Junior Catilyn Ivy put UTSA on the board with an RBI single to left and Fichtner followed with her bases-clearing long home run for a 5-4 lead. Her blast chased Gay from the game and reliever Jackie Guy ran into trouble in the fourth when the Birds tacked on an unearned run.
However, the Fighting Illini reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the frame on a three-run homer by Ashley Conrad off Staton, who relieved starter Emily Humpal with one down in the fourth. Illinois pushed the lead to 10-6 with three runs an inning later.
Down to its final six outs, UTSA began to chip away at the deficit thanks to another Fighing Illini error.
Staton reached on a miscue to lead off the frame and scored on a single by Monroe. Fichtner later picked up her fifth RBI of the high-scoring affair with a single that plated Monroe.
The Roadrunners completed the comeback in the seventh with clutch hitting.
Sophomore Samantha Beeson opened the panel with a single and scored on freshman Siera Sproul's first collegiate hit. With two outs and runners at second and third, Kappler plated the tying and go-ahead runs with a single down the left-field line.
Kappler provided the defensive play of the game to preserve the victory when she threw out pinch runner Nikki Simpson at the plate with one out. Luksa then got Kelley Wedel to ground out for the third save of her career.
Staton notched the win in relief after allowing three earned runs in 2.2 innings of work.
UTSA fell behind early in the second game of the day when McNeese State's Clair Terracina led off the tilt with a triple and she later scored on a base hit by Molly Guidry.
However, that would be the final deficit the Roadrunners would face the rest of the afternoon, as senior Danyé Holmes tied the score in the second with a long ball down the right field line.
An inning later, her leadoff walk helped UTSA produce the go-ahead run.
Beeson replaced Holmes as a pinch runner and moved to second on a single from junior Laura Little. She came around on Sproul's single to right center. Two batters later, Little crossed the plate on a ground out to second, which gave the Roadrunners a 3-1 lead.
That was enough for Luksa, who started the game and allowed a run in the sixth before recording a perfect seventh for the victory.
In all, the right-hander tossed eight innings on the day, allowing just two runs on seven hits to go along with a half dozen strikeouts.
UTSA will face tournament host Baylor (1-0) at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday followed by the start of bracket play at either 3 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.
