SAN ANTONIO — UTSA got a school-record eight RBIs from Randee Crawford to help the home squad take game one of Sunday’s doubleheader 11-5, but No. 25 UAB evened the set with a 3-2 victory in game two at Roadrunner Field.
The game-one victory was the first for the Roadrunners (21-9, 5-3 C-USA) against a ranked team since a 4-2 win on Feb. 12, 2014, at No. 15 Texas.
Crawford went 2-for-4 in the opener with a three-run homer and grand slam to extend her team-leading totals to 10 homers and 43 RBIs. Prior to Crawford’s effort, five players shared the program’s RBI record including teammate Megan Low, who drove in seven runs against Lamar on the opening day of the 2014 season.
Madison Kinley also homered for UTSA, while pitcher Kacy Freeze factored in the decision of both games to move her record to 6-3.
Meanwhile, Ashley Johnson and JoJo Fallen each hit a round-tripper for the Blazers (22-7, 7-1 C-USA), who dropped their first Conference USA contest. Megan Smith took the win in game two and she allowed two runs on five hits with seven walks and three strikeouts.
In the opener, UTSA jumped out to an 8-0 lead against UAB starter Cara Goodwin, who came into the game with just a 1.70 ERA.
The Roadrunners used an error, a pair of walks and a fielder’s choice from Crawford to drive in the game’s first run in the bottom of the first before they broke the contest open with a seven-run second inning.
The big inning started with another Blazers error before Jade Smith singled and Kendall Burton drove a run home with a double to deep center field. Low was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out and Vivian Tijerina coaxed a walk to extend the lead to 4-0. That’s when Crawford unloaded on her second grand slam of the season to double the score to 8-0.
UAB made a charge in the fifth when it put up five runs before recording an out and the frame was highlighted by Caitlin Attfield’s two-run single and Fallen’s three-run homer to left.
However, Crawford again used the long-ball to help UTSA pull away when she blasted a 1-1 pitch to left field for a three-run shot an inning later.
Nicole Merrill tossed the final three innings of the game to record her first save of the season. The sophomore gave up just one hit and one walk and struck out six batters in her three frames to help UTSA close out the 11-5 win.
In game two, the Roadrunners used a pair of hits and a walk to again jump ahead with a 1-0 lead in the first.
Burton walked before Low put a double in the right-center field gap to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Tijerina pushed a single up the middle to plate a run, but Smith got Crawford and Tess Soefje out to prevent further damage.
The Blazers went ahead in the top of the second, when Johnson took a full-count pitch from Kelsi Ott over the wall in left-center for a two-run homer. UTSA tied it up in the fourth inning as Burton singled home Kinley, who reached base with a one-out hit to left.
However, UAB loaded the bases in the fifth with two hits and a walk and scored what would prove to be the winning run on a wild pitch.
UTSA, which left 10 runners on base in the game, had just three base runners in the final three frames and could not get the tying run across as Smith closed out the victory.
The Roadrunners will be back in action on Tuesday, March 24, when they travel to Austin for a doubleheader at Texas (18-9). First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Red & Charline McCombs Field and both games will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network.