SAN ANTONIO — UTSA dropped a 5-3 decision to Oklahoma State before a slim 3-2 defeat in 10 innings at the hands of Wichita State in its first two games at the UTSA Classic on Friday night at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners (4-2) totaled 10 hits in the games, with home runs from Siera Sproul and Randee Crawford, but they were unable to extend one of the best starts in school history.
The Birds will continue play on Saturday against Rutgers (1-1) at 4:30 p.m. before a 7 p.m. later in the evening contest against Colorado State (5-2).
Game 1: Oklahoma State 5, UTSA 3
Oklahoma State scored four runs in the top of the sixth to rally for a 5-3 win over UTSA in the Roadrunners’ opening game of the day.
Siera Sproul went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Roadrunners, including her first home run of the season. Kacy Freeze took the loss after allowing five runs and nine hits in 5.1 innings of work.
Meanwhile, Shelby Davis paced the Cowgirls (4-3) with three hits and an RBI to back starter Whitney Whitehorn, who allowed just one earned run in five frames for the win.
Oklahoma State grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Davis’ bases-loaded infield single plated a run.
However, UTSA would score the next three to claim a 3-1 advantage, beginning with a pair of runs in the fourth.
With one out, Jolene Graham reached base on an error and went all the way to third on a groundout. Pinch-hitter Jori Fox then walked before Randee Crawford delivered a pinch-hit RBI single through the left side. The Roadrunners then tacked on a run on another Cowgirls error before a fly ball ended the inning.
An inning later it was Sproul who pushed the lead to 3-1 with her home run to left center.
But that would be all the offense that UTSA could muster, and Oklahoma State came right back in the top of the sixth with its big inning. In all, the Cowgirls plated four runs on five hits to take the 5-3 lead.
UTSA had a chance to tie in the bottom of the frame when Courtney Buchman led off the inning with a double, but reliever Simone Freeman retired the next three batters. The Birds got another hit in the seventh only to see Freeman shut the door for her first save.
Game 2: Wichita State 3, UTSA 2 (10 innings)
Randee Crawford’s pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the seventh tied the score, 2-2, but Wichita State got a run in the top of the 10th to outlast UTSA 3-2 in the nightcap.
Nicole Merrill tossed all 10 frames for the Roadrunners and allowed just one unearned run on four hits and five walks to go along with a season-high seven strikeouts. Crawford’s blast was her second of the season and UTSA also got hits from Megan Low and Jori Fox.
The Roadrunners got on the board first in the opening inning on Fox’s two-out single through the left side. Alexis Ramirez opened the panel with a walk and moved to second on an illegal pitch. In the middle of Low’s at-bat, Wichita State (5-1) lifted starter Kaitlyn Malone in favor of Sloan Anderson, who walked the UTSA junior before notching a pair of strikeouts.
However, Fox worked the count full and came through with the run-scoring hit to give UTSA the early 1-0 lead.
The lead would not last, as the Shockers plated runs in the second and fourth for a 2-1 advantage.
The score remained the same until the bottom of the seventh, when Crawford tied the score with her two-out solo homer to left that sent the game to extra innings.
With the international tie-break rule in effect, neither team could muster a run in the eighth or ninth.
Wichita State finally broke the tie on Kelli Spring’s RBI single up the middle in the top of the 10th. UTSA had the winning run on first in the bottom half of the panel, but Anderson retired the side to secure the win.