SAN ANTONIO — Fresh off last weekend's three-game sweep of UTEP at Roadrunner Field, UTSA will take to the road for five consecutive contests beginning with a 3 p.m. tilt on Wednesday at Houston Baptist.
The Roadrunners (30-14) reached 30 wins for the first time since 2006 with their sweep of the Miners and took over sole possession of first place in the Conference USA West Division.
Designated player Randee Crawford earned C-USA Player of the Week honors on Monday after she hit .556 (5-for-9) with a pair of homers and eight RBIs in the series. The sophomore and teammate Megan Low each have 15 home runs this season to tie for the team and league lead. Crawford also leads the circuit with 56 RBIs, which are the most by a UTSA player since Jessica Rogers set the school record with 64 in 2005.
In the circle, Nicole Merrill went 2-0 and did not allow a run against the Miners. The Round Rock native came on in relief in game one before she picked up her first shutout of the season with five scoreless frames in Sunday’s series finale.
Meanwhile, the Huskies (10-27) will look to snap a six-game losing streak, while they have lost eight of their last nine overall. Houston Baptist, which will be playing in just its 10th home contest, is hitting .269 on the spring, but opponents have registered a .341 batting average. The Huskies pitching staff owns a 6.68 ERA and is led by Laci Belovsky’s 7-11 record and 5.09 ERA to go along with 69 strikeouts. Nicole Shedd leads the offense with a .352 batting average, seven doubles, two triples, four homers and 21 RBIs, while Melissa Herman is hitting .333 with three homers and 20 RBIs.
UTSA leads the all-time series 19-4, including a 9-2 record in Houston. The Roadrunners have won the last four meetings and have scored at least 10 runs in three of those four victories.