SAN ANTONIO — Tess Soefje registered a career-high five RBIs to help UTSA run-rule Charlotte in six innings, 13-2, after the 49ers took the first game, 2-0, in Conference USA action on Saturday at Roadrunner Field.
Soefje went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer for the Roadrunners (18-8, 3-2 C-USA), who snapped a three-game skid with their win in game two. Kacy Freeze allowed just one earned run on two hits with three walks and five strikeouts as she improved to 5-2 on the campaign.
Meanwhile, Lexi Betancourt struck out 10 batters and Chelsea Lisikatos provided the offense with a two-run homer in the opener for the 49ers (12-9, 1-1 C-USA).
After going scoreless in the opener, UTSA finally broke through with three runs in the bottom of the third. Kendall Burton reached on an error before Courtney Buchman, who went 2-for-4 in the contest, blasted a two-run homer to center field for the team’s first lead of the day. Vivian Tijerina doubled and Soefje grounded an RBI single up the middle for the 3-0 lead.
The 49ers sliced the deficit to 3-2 with a pair of runs in the fifth, but UTSA put the game away with four runs in the bottom of the panel and six more in the sixth.
Crawford extended the advantage to 4-2 with a run-scoring single to shallow right-center field and Soefje followed with a three-run homer to left. Her fifth blast of the season pushed the lead to 7-2 and UTSA ended it with one more big inning.
Tijerina drove in a run with a single up the middle and Soefje was hit with the bases loaded to make it 9-2. Pinch hitter Alyssa Cummings then took reliever Bailey Rhoney’s 3-2 offering over the wall in left for a walk-off grand slam and 13-2 final margin.
In the opener, Betancourt allowed just three hits and struck out 10 as the Roadrunners were shut out for just the second time this season.
UTSA starter Nicole Merrill allowed just two hits through three scoreless innings before she ran into trouble in the fourth. A one-out single up the middle was followed by a two-run homer to left by Lisikatos, which proved to be the only runs of the game.
Reliever Chelsea Parker prevented further damage with a double play and she allowed just three hits in 3.2 frames of relief.
The Roadrunners put the tying runs on base in the sixth when Burton singled and Megan Low coaxed a walk, but Betancourt escaped the inning with a strikeout and retired the side in the seventh to end the game.
The series will conclude with a noon contest on Sunday.