SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will look to continue its best start since 1995 when it hosts Houston Baptist at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners (12-4) are coming off a 4-1 mark last weekend at the UTSA Classic that included a pair of wins each over Incarnate Word and Southeastern Louisiana. Senior Megan Low earned Conference USA Co-Player of the Week honors after she hit .545 (6-for-11) during the event with a double, triple, three home runs and seven RBIs. The Spring native walked seven times en route to a .722 on-base percentage to go along with a 1.636 slugging percentage.
The big weekend pushed her batting average to .378 and she is one of six Roadrunners to bat at least .320. Junior Jade Smith leads the team with a .477 batting average and the New Braunfels native batted .625 (10-for-16) last weekend. She had at least one hit in all five contests and capped the event with a pair of three-hit games.
The UTSA pitching staff enjoyed a successful weekend as well, as junior Kacy Freeze set a career high with 11 strikeouts in last Saturday’s win over the Lady Lions. Nicole Merrill nearly tossed a no-hitter on Saturday against Incarnate Word and she earned three of the four wins during the event to improve to 4-1.
Meanwhile, the Huskies (6-8) have rebounded after a slow start and have won five of their last six games. The squad opened the season with six consecutive losses, but won three of its four games at the Samford Tournament in Birmingham, Ala., last weekend. Cecilia Bauer leads Houston Baptist, which is hitting .290 as a team, with a .387 batting average to go along with a pair of doubles, a triple and 11 runs scored. Alyssa Burnett’s 12 RBIs pace the offense, while Laci Belovsky leads the team in every pitching category with a 4-3 mark and 4.40 ERA.
UTSA leads the all-time series against Houston Baptist, 19-4, including a 10-2 mark in San Antonio. The Roadrunners have won five of the last six meetings, including a doubleheader sweep of the Huskies on March 26, 2014 at Roadrunner Field.