WACO — Baylor scored five unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings to erase a 3-0 UTSA lead and take a 5-3 decision in the final non-conference tilt of the season for both teams Tuesday at Baylor Ballpark.
Grayson Porter sent a game-tying three-run home run out to left in the bottom of the fifth inning and Hayden Ross gave Baylor (23-27) the lead in the sixth with a two-run single through the right side of the infield.
UTSA (31-22) scored in the opening frame with John Welborn tagging from third on a fly ball into shallow centerfield off the bat of RJ Perucki. Baylor second baseman Lawton Langford ranged back to make the catch but Welborn beat the throw to the plate to give the Roadrunners a 1-0 edge.
After Horacio Correa lined a one-out double into the right field corner in the third inning, Mike Warren followed two batters later with a double to left center to score Correa and add another tally for UTSA.
Perucki and Welborn teamed up for the Roadrunners for the second time in the fifth inning as Perucki laced a single into centerfield to score Welborn from second and give UTSA a 3-0 lead. Perucki finished the game 1-for-3 with two RBIs while Welborn went 1-for-3 with two runs scored.
Back-to-back singles by Langford and Ross in the bottom half of the fifth brought Porter to the plate with one out. The cleanup man in the order then lifted a 1-1 pitch out to left to even the game, 3-3.
Ross gave the Bears the lead for good in the next inning with a one-out single through the right side of the infield with the bases loaded. Darryn Sheppard and Logan Brown scored the go-ahead runs on the play.
The Baylor bullpen stymied any hope of a UTSA comeback after that retiring the final 13 batters in order. Josh Michalec retired the final three batters to earn his 19th save of the spring.
UTSA begins its final three-game series of the regular season on Thursday night at East Carolina (30-23, 14-13 C-USA). First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. (CT).