DENTON — North Texas scored seven runs in the sixth inning, including a half dozen with two outs, to erase a three-run deficit and the Mean Green rallied for a 14-10 home victory against UTSA on Friday night.
North Texas (6-5) jumped ahead early on Lisa Johnson’s two-run homer in the first.
Sophomore pitcher Haylee Staton then helped her own cause in the second with an RBI double, which cut the lead in half.
The Roadrunners (2-9) produced three doubles in the fourth to tie the score at three.
Senior Kristin Kappler led off the frame with a double to right and scored on Staton’s double to center. Staton then crossed the dish when freshman Siera Sproul’s doubled to left with two down.
Brooke Foster’s two-out double in the bottom of the panel briefly gave the lead back to North Texas before UTSA made a charge with a five-run fifth.
Junior Ashley Kappler led off the inning with a walk and advanced to third on junior Caitlyn Ivy’s double to right center. Kappler then scored on freshman Molly Fichtner’s infield single to the pitcher while Ivy crossed the plate on a base hit from junior Nikki Goff.
Fichtner made it 7-3 when she raced home on a wild pitch by reliever Lauren Poole and Staton’s third double of the evening plated Goff, which forced another pitching change.
Ashley Kirk got the final two outs to momentarily stem the tide.
Maddelyn Fraley brought the Mean Green back with a three-run blast to center in the fifth, which chased Staton from the circle.
The Roadrunners offense continued to produce and built the lead back in the sixth thanks to Kristin Kappler’s second home run of the season. The two-run bomb to right plated her sister, Ashley, and made it 10-7.
However, that proved to be UTSA’s last advantage of the wild contest.
After a run-scoring double early in the bottom of the sixth, North Texas scored a half dozen more with two outs to take control.
Fraley’s second homer of the game gave the Mean Green the lead for good and Caitlin Grimes’ three-run shot gave Kirk the cushion she needed to close out UTSA in the seventh, which she promptly did with three consecutive strikeouts.
Kirk worked 2.2 innings of relief to earn her second win of the season, while junior Morgan Luksa dropped to 1-4 after allowing six runs in just 1.1 innings.
UTSA is back in action when it opens Southland Conference play from March 2-3 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (8-5).
