RENO, Nev. — Siera Sproul hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs to help UTSA defeat Northern Colorado, 7-1, before the Roadrunners dropped a 6-2 decision to Nevada on Saturday at the Nevada Classic.
The Liberty Hill native went 2-for-3 in the opener, while Megan Low added a pair of hits and an RBI for the Roadrunners (15-11). Alyssa Vordenbaum got the start in both contests and moved to 6-5 with the split, including a two-hit outing against Northern Colorado.
Playing as the home team in the first game of the day, UTSA opened the scoring with a run in the first.
The Roadrunners put their first two batters on base before a double play left Alexis Ramirez on second with two outs. Sproul then connected on a double to left center off Bears starter Meagan Wilkinson.
Vordenbaum breezed through the Northern Colorado lineup and yielded just a walk through three innings.
The Bears (8-16-1) tied the score in the fourth with an unearned run, before the Roadrunners broke the game open with a six-run fifth.
UTSA's rally started with Vivian Tijerina’s double to left center that was followed by a bunt single by Paige Hamilton. Pinch runner Cosette Hernandez moved to third on the play and crossed home on a Ramirez single through the left side.
The hit chased Wilkinson in favor of reliever Mikayla Duffy, who walked Buchman and then gave up a run-scoring single to Low for a 3-1 lead. Sproul then came to the plate and took the third pitch of the at-bat over the fence in center for her first collegiate grand slam.
That proved to be more than enough for Vordenbaum, who retired the final eight batters of the contest. The Pasadena native struck out four and walked a pair.
In the second game of the day, the Wolf Pack (16-12) jumped ahead with a run in the first before the Roadrunners tied it an inning later.
With one out, Tijerina took Megan Dortch’s fourth pitch out to left for her team-leading fifth homer of the season.
However, Lauren Lastrapes broke the tie in the fourth with a solo shot to center before Jolene Graham again tied it with an RBI single in the fifth.
The tournament hosts tallied a pair of runs in each of the last two innings for the final four-run margin.
Dortch (4-6) allowed both runs in five innings, while Vordenbaum took the loss after giving up four runs on eight hits in 4.1 frames.
UTSA will conclude play with a noon (CT) matchup against Northern Colorado on Sunday.