MIAMI, Fla. — Kendall Burton hit a two-run homer and Kacy Freeze tallied nine strikeouts to help lead No. 3-seed UTSA past sixth-seeded Louisiana Tech 4-1 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament at FIU Softball Stadium.
With the victory the Roadrunners (36-17), who stretched their winning streak to a season-high six games and won their eighth consecutive contest in the series against the Lady Techsters (31-19), will move on to face second-seeded Florida Atlantic (36-16-1) at 3:30 p.m. (CT) on Friday. Freeze allowed one run in seven frames as she improved to 11-4 and defeated Louisiana Tech for the second time in less than a week.
Jade Smith and Vivian Tijerina each went 2-for-3 at the plate to pace the offense, while Tijerina hit her team-leading 13th double.
The Roadrunners got on the board first with the help of a pair of Louisiana Tech miscues. Tijerina started the second inning with a double to the wall in left field and she advanced to third on a wild pitch. Second baseman Karlee Jensen could not handle a pop up in shallow right field and the error allowed Tijerina to touch home for a 1-0 lead.
However, the Lady Techsters got a two-out RBI single from Tori Charters in the top of the third to tie the score. Charters then stole second before Freeze got Anna Cross to strike out looking and end the threat.
UTSA regained the lead on another error in the bottom of the panel. Megan Low reached base when shortstop Katie Smith bobbled a grounder and then threw wild to first base. Her throw landed in the visitors’ dugout and allowed Low to move to second. Tijerina and Randee Crawford followed with back-to-back infield hits that plated Low for the 2-1 advantage.
In the fourth, Smith reached base with a two-out infield single before Burton unloaded on the first pitch of her at-bat for a line-drive homer to center field and a 4-1 cushion.
The Lady Techsters threatened in the fifth, but UTSA got out of a jam when Erica Sanchez made a leaping grab at second base to save a run. Freeze then shut down potential Louisiana Tech rallies in the sixth and seventh with strikeouts to preserve the 4-1 victory.