WACO — UTSA held on for a 4-2 victory at No. 19 Baylor on Tuesday night in front of 2,126 fans at Baylor Ballpark. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Roadrunners (8-18), who beat a nationally-ranked for the first time since May 1, 2009.
The Bears (16-9) left the bases loaded in the final frame after senior reliever Kevin Clarke struck out Chris Slater to end the contest.
Clarke picked up his first save of the year after striking out three (one reached via wild pitch) over the final two-thirds of inning. Junior Jordan Langley (2-2) earned the win after scattering eight hits and allowing two runs over 8.1 frames of work. He struck out five.
UTSA took a 4-1 advantage into the ninth, but Baylor loaded the bases with one out. After throwing three consecutive balls to pinch hitter Wes Mercurio, Clarke came all the way back to strike him out looking. The Huntsville native then fanned pinch hitter Brooks Pinckard, but a wild pitch allowed him to reach first base and that brought home Cal Towey, which cut UTSA's lead in half. Chris Slater then worked the count full, but Clarke struck him out swinging to give the Birds their first win against a ranked foe since defeating Texas State two seasons ago. It also marked the second time in four years that UTSA has left Waco victorious.
An error by Baylor second baseman Lawton Langford allowed the Roadrunners to score three unearned runs in the fifth.
Freshman Riley Good singled on a chopper behind the mound that was fielded by Langford. As sophomore Daniel Rockett rounded third base, he scored the game's first run when Langford threw wildly to the plate. Freshman Mike Warren followed with a walk and senior Tyler Carpenter lined a triple to right center, which cleared the bases and gave UTSA a 3-0 lead.
The Roadrunners tacked on an insurance run one panel later when junior Jason Mohn produced a pinch-hit RBI single to center, which plated junior Matthew James.
Baylor picked up its first run in the bottom half of the frame when Muncy homered to right.
Carpenter was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, while Mohn came off the bench to collect two hits and an RBI.
Muncy and Towey each went 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Bears.
Tyler Bremer (2-2) took the loss after allowing four runs (one earned) on a half dozen hits and two walks to go along with three strikeouts in five innings.
UTSA returns to the friendly confines of Roadrunner Field this weekend when it begins a three-game Southland Conference series with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (20-8, 6-3 SLC). First pitch in Friday's opener is scheduled for 6 p.m.
