COLLEGE STATION — Jolene Graham’s two-out RBI single to left field broke a 1-1 tie and lifted UTSA to a 2-1 victory against Purdue on Sunday in the Roadrunners' final game at this weekend's Texas A&M Invitational.
Haylee Staton earned her third win of the week for UTSA (8-7) after allowing just one run in the first, which ended her scoreless innings streak at 20. The Austin native gave up five hits and walked four, while striking out four to improve to 5-1 on the campaign.
Meanwhile, Danielle Fletcher went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Lilly Fecho (3-4) was charged with the loss after surrendering both runs in five innings of work for the Boilermakers (6-9).
Purdue got on the board in the opening inning on Fletcher’s one-out single to left. Ashley Burkhardt led off the game with a single and moved to scoring position on a ground out before the hit.
However, UTSA responded in the top of the second when Megan Low led off the frame with a solo home run to left. The sophomore from Spring worked the count full before taking the seventh pitch of the at-bat over the fence to tie the score. It was her fourth round-tripper of the season.
That is where the score stood until the bottom of the sixth, when the Roadrunners grabbed the lead for good.
Darian Blake started the stanza with a single up the middle to end Fecho’s outing. Reliever Alex Whittemore threw a wild pitch before walking Courtney Buchman. After a fielder’s choice, Whittemore hit Siera Sproul to load the bases and she exited in favor of Lexy Moore. After another fielder’s choice resulted in an out at home, Graham stepped to the plate and lined a single to left for her fifth RBI of the spring.
The Boilermakers did not go quietly in the seventh, as pinch hitter Kristin Morgan opened the frame with a double to left field. A sacrifice bunt moved pinch runner MaryBeth Pavlick to third, but Staton then got an fly out before a walk to Paris Andrew and an intentional pass to Burkhardt loaded the bases. With the go-ahead run at second, Staton needed just two pitches to retire Lindsey Rains, who flied out to center, to end the game.
UTSA will continue its six-game road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 27, with a 5:30 p.m. tilt at Houston (7-4).