HUNTSVILLE — Former Southland Conference foe Sam Houston State used late scoring to sweep a doubleheader against UTSA by scores of 7-3 and 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon at the Bearkat Softball Complex.
Megan Low had four hits on the day, including her Conference USA-leading 10th home run of the campaign, to pace the Roadrunners (11-14). Jade Smith produced a pair of hits in each game, while Jori Fox also homered for the visitors.
Meanwhile, Sarah Allison racked up four RBIs to help lead the Bearkats (10-10), who got wins in the circle from Tayler Atkinson and Haley Baros.
UTSA will face another former Southland mate on Thursday when it travels to Nacogdoches for a 3 p.m. matchup at Stephen F. Austin (11-12).
Game 1: Sam Houston State 7, UTSA 3
UTSA rallied from an early deficit only to see Sam Houston State score four runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull away for a 7-3 win in game one of the doubleheader.
Jori Fox led the Roadrunners by going 2-for-3 at the plate with a home run and a pair of RBIs, while Jade Smith also registered two hits. Kacy Freeze (6-6) took the loss with seven runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings to go along with six strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Sarah Allison and Tiffany Castillo each drove in a pair of runs for the Bearkats. Tayler Atkinson came on in relief and earned the victory by allowing just one hit in two-thirds of an inning.
After three scoreless frames, Sam Houston State got on the board first with three runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Hilary Adams, Tori Koerselman and Castillo each had run scoring hits during the rally, which was aided by a UTSA error.
But the Roadrunners came back and produced a three-spot of their own in the sixth, which was highlighted by Fox’s third home run of the season.
Megan Low started the rally with a double and after Bearkats starter Shelby Lancaster got a pop out, Fox unloaded her blast to left. Tess Soefje followed with a single before Sam Houston State went to the bullpen.
Pinch runner Angelica Niño stole second and then advanced to third on a wild pitch from Atkinson. She touched home two batters later when pinch hitter Randee Crawford came up with an infield hit to knot the score, 3-3.
However, the Bearkats got four consecutive hits after an out to start the bottom of the inning and they would score four runs on six hits in the frame to pull away for the 7-3 final margin.
Haley Baros came in and allowed a hit by Courtney Buchman before closing the door.
Game 2: Sam Houston State 4, UTSA 3
Hilary Adams’ bunt single in the bottom of the seventh plated a run to lift Sam Houston State to a 4-3 victory in game two of the doubleheader.
Megan Low went 3-for-4 and connected on her 10th home run of the season for the Roadrunners, while Adams and Sarah Allison drove in two runs apiece to lead the Bearkats.
Much like the first contest, Sam Houston State jumped out to an early lead as it scored two runs in the bottom of the first.
Low sliced the deficit in half with her solo blast to left center in the third inning, but the Bearkats pushed the advantage to 3-1 with an unearned run in the bottom of the panel.
Courtney Buchman’s two-out triple in the fourth pulled UTSA to within a run and Randee Crawford pulled the visitors even with another two-out RBI in the sixth.
However, Sam Houston State used an error and three bunts to push across the winning run in the seventh.
Alyssa Coggins reached base to start the frame on an error and moved to third on back-to-back sacrifice bunts. Adams then laid down her bunt, which was enough to get Coggins home and score a 4-3 victory.
Nicole Merrill (4-5) was saddled with the loss for the Roadrunners after allowing nine hits and just two earned runs with a pair of strikeouts.