COLLEGE STATION — UTSA dropped a pair of games on Saturday at the Texas A&M Invitational. The Roadrunners (7-7) lost to Southeastern Louisiana, 4-0, to start the day before dropping a 6-4 decision to No. 10 Texas A&M in the evening.
UTSA will conclude tournament play at 10 a.m. on Sunday when it faces Purdue (6-8).
Southeastern Louisiana 4, UTSA 0
Rachael Hellyer limited UTSA to just four hits on Saturday in a complete-game performance to lead Southeastern Louisiana to a 3-2 victory to start the second day of action at the Texas A&M Invitational. The victory avenged the Lady Lions 4-0 setback to the Roadrunners on Friday afternoon.
Siera Sproul went 1-for-3 with her first home run of the season for UTSA (7-6), while Haylee Staton came out of the bullpen to toss three shutout innings, which extended her scoreless streak to 17 frames.
Katie Doyle put SLU (10-3) ahead for good with a two-run homer in the first and that also plated Jessie Browne, who kept the inning alive with a two-out walk.
Sproul got one of those runs back in the top of the second when she connected on her blast to left field. The Liberty Hill native took the first pitch that she saw from Hellyer (4-0) over the fence to slice the deficit in half.
However, Hellyer settled in and did not allow another hit until the top of the sixth. Following a walk to Vivian Tijerina in the third, she retired 10 consecutive batters until Alexis Ramirez broke the string with a bunt single.
In the meantime, Browne pushed the lead to 3-1 with an RBI ground out to first with the bases loaded in the bottom of the second. UTSA starter Jolene Graham avoided further damage in the frame after an interference call on Michelle Duhe running from third base.
That's where the score stayed until the seventh.
Megan Low led off the frame with a double to right center. Cosette Hernandez entered to pinch run and moved to third on a pair of grounders before pinch hitter Victoria Birdwell extended the game and drove in her fourth run of the season on an infield hit. However, Hellyer retired pinch hitter Samantha Beeson to end the contest.
Graham (2-3) surrendered all three runs on six hits and a walk.
#10 Texas A&M 6, UTSA 4
No. 10 Texas A&M hit a pair of two-run homers in the fourth inning to break a 2-2 tie and the host Aggies defeated UTSA, 6-4, on Saturday evening.
Birdwell went 2-for-3 and scored two runs, while Tijerina finished 1-for-3 with a two-run double in the fourth to lead the Roadrunners (7-7).
In the circle, Staton ran her scoreless innings streak to 19.2 with 2.2 spotless frames in relief.
Megan May and Mel Dumezich provided the big hits in the fourth to help lead A&M, which won its 16th consecutive game to open the season.
Starter Lauren Ainsley (6-0) lasted five innings and allowed four runs (two earned), while Dumezich tossed the last two panels for her second save of the spring.
UTSA starter Alyssa Vordenbaum ran into trouble in the third after retiring the first seven batters that she faced.
A one-out single by Taran Tyler and sacrifice bunt put a runner in scoring position. Emily Albus moved Tyler to third with an infield single and then stole second before both touched home on Brittany Clopton's single to second base and an error.
However, the Roadrunners tied the score in the top of the fourth on Tijerina's two-run double to right center. Low started the inning with a single through the left side and she moved to second on Birdwell's one-out infield hit. After Crystal Moreno pinch ran for Low, Graham singled up the middle to load the bases for Tijerina, who picked up her 11th and 12th RBIs of the season with her two-bagger.
However, the Aggies reclaimed the lead for good in the bottom of the frame on May and Dumezich's two-run homers that chased Vordenbaum from the contest.
That's where the score stood until the sixth when UTSA got back-to-back hits from Sproul and Birdwell. Clopton was unable to field Birdwell's hit and her error allowed Sproul to score, while Birdwell slid into third. She then touched home two batters later on a wild pitch by Dumezich, who relieved Ainsley earlier in the stanza.
However, that was it for UTSA, which was retired in order in the seventh for its third consecutive defeat.
Vordenbaum (1-3) surrendered all six runs off on seven hits.