SAN ANTONIO — UTSA closed play at this weekend's UTSA Classic with a 9-1 run-rule victory against Southeastern Louisiana in five innings before edging Incarnate Word, 7-6, in the event’s finale on Sunday at Roadrunner Field.
Jade Smith picked up six hits, including a triple, in her seven at-bats and scored two runs on the day to lead the Roadrunners (12-4), who now are off to their best start since the 1995 squad went 12-3-1 through 16 games. Megan Low recorded the first triple of her career to go along with a homer and two RBIs, while Randee Crawford, Madison Kinley and Tess Soefje also homered.
Nicole Merrill earned both victories in the circle for UTSA to improve to 4-1 and she allowed just one run on five hits with six strikeouts in eight innings.
The sophomore drew the start against Southeastern Louisiana in the opener and the Lady Lions (4-7) hit the scoreboard early with a run on two hits and an error in the top of the first.
However, Merrill allowed just two hits the rest of the way and the offense did the rest to help UTSA to another five-inning contest.
Kinley evened the score in the bottom of the second with a two-out, solo homer left field. The blast was her first of the season and the Roadrunners used the long-ball again to extend the lead in the third.
This time, it was Soefje who came up with the two-out shot and her second homer of the season plated Courtney Buchman and Low to push the lead to 4-1.
UTSA tacked on three more runs in the fourth on sacrifice flies from Buchman and Crawford, which were sandwiched around a bases-loaded walk to Vivian Tijerina. The squad needed two runs in the fifth to end the game and got them with a two-out single through the left side from Buchman to plate Smith and Kinley for the win.
In the event’s finale, the Roadrunners jumped out to a 6-0 lead before the Cardinals (1-12) forced extra innings with a six-run fifth inning.
Kendall Burton and Buchman registered back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the first and Crawford staked UTSA to an early lead with a two-out, three-run homer to left-center field.
The Roadrunners stretched the lead to 6-0 with a run in the second, third and fourth innings. Low tripled home Buchman in the second, while Angelica Niño scored on an error in the third and Low hit a solo homer in the fourth to build the cushion.
However, Incarnate Word knotted the score with a six-run outburst in the top of the fifth, which was highlighted by a three-run homer from Natalie Duron.
Neither team scored in the sixth or seventh and UTSA was forced into extra innings for the first time this season.
Using the international tiebreaker, the Cardinals were unable to score and the Roadrunners started their half of the eighth inning with Burton on second base. It did not take long for her to touch home as Buchman laid down a sacrifice bunt and Tijerina pushed the winning-run across with a sacrifice fly to center field for the win.
The Roadrunners used four pitchers in the contest as Lizzy Fox worked 3.1 scoreless innings in her first start and Merrill allowed a hit and a walk with two strikeouts over the final three innings in the winning effort.
UTSA will conclude its seven-game home stand at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25, when it hosts Houston Baptist (6-8) at Roadrunner Field.