HOUSTON — Junior Caitlyn Ivy turned in a 5-for-8 performance with a home run and five RBIs to power UTSA to doubleheader sweep at Houston Baptist, 5-1 and 3-0, on Wednesday at Husky Field.
Senior Emily Humpal and sophomore Haylee Staton picked up wins for the Roadrunners (19-22), while junior Morgan Luksa recorded her fourth save of the season.
Meanwhile, senior Carrie Monroe collected a hit in both contests to extend her hitting streak to seven games.
The Huskies (25-20) took an early lead in the opener when Mollye Mlcak hit her sixth homer of the spring in the second. She drilled Humpal’s 2-1 pitch over the fence in left for a quick 1-0 lead.
That would be all for Houston Baptist on the day, as UTSA came back in the third with three runs to take the lead for good.
The first five hitters reached base in the inning, starting with junior Ashley Kappler’s double to center field. She scored on freshman Molly Fichtner’s single up the middle. Senior Kristin Kappler then reached after being hit by a pitch and freshman Jori Fox followed with a walk to load the bases. After a mound visit, Ivy lined the first pitch of the at-bat up the middle to plate Fichtner. Humpal’s sacrifice fly to left scored Kristin Kappler for a 3-1 advantage.
Humpal settled in the circle from there and freshman Katy Akins tossed a perfect sixth before Luksa came in to close out the four-run triumph.
Luksa inherited a 5-1 lead thanks to Ivy’s fourth long ball of the year that also brought junior Nikki Goff across the plate in the top of the frame. The blast into the 13 miles-per-hour wind cleared the 12-foot fence that sits 218 feet from home plate.
Humpal (8-4) allowed just one run on five hits in her five innings with three strikeouts.
Reigning Great West Conference Pitcher of the Week Jammie Weidert (10-7) surrendered three runs on six hits in three frames of work.
UTSA led from start to finish in the nightcap and took an early 1-0 lead in the first on a run-scoring single through the left side by Ivy. The Roadrunners threatened for more but left the bases loaded and stranded a total of 13 base runners in the game.
Staton pitched out of jams in the first two innings, as Houston Baptist left the bases full in both frames.
UTSA again struck in the third inning, this time for a pair of runs.
Fichtner led off the stanza with a double to right center and scored two batters later when Ivy lined a single off the first-base bag, which moved Kristin Kappler from first to third, who later scored on Goff’s single to right.
That was more than enough for Staton (4-6), who retired the final four batters she faced before being removed for Luksa. The junior from League City sat down all six batters she saw for her fourth save of the season. Staton scattered six hits in five innings with three walks and a pair of punchouts.
Kendall Stiefel (6-7) gave up 11 hits, walked three and fanned four.
The Roadrunners return home this weekend to face Central Arkansas (20-23, 7-11 SLC). The three-game series starts with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.
