MIAMI, Fla. — No. 3 seed UTSA hit three home runs and jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but second-seeded Florida Atlantic rallied to score six unanswered runs for a 6-4 win in the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament on Friday evening at FIU Softball Stadium.
With the defeat, the Roadrunners (36-18) saw their season-best six-game winning streak as well as their 2015 season come to an end. Courtney Buchman got UTSA started with a two-run homer, while Vivian Tijerina and Randee Crawford hit back-to-back homers as part of a four-run third inning.
Meanwhile, Samantha Messer pitched four no-hit innings of relief for the Owls (37-16-1), who advanced to face top-seeded WKU in Saturday’s championship game.
UTSA starter Nicole Merrill and Florida Atlantic starter Kylee Hanson each breezed through the first two innings before the Roadrunners put up their four-spot in the third.
Jade Smith reached base to start the inning with the help of a throwing error. After Hanson got a strikeout, Buchman gave UTSA a 2-0 lead with her 12th homer of the season. Hanson got another strikeout before Tijerina and Crawford hit back-to-back round-trippers for their ninth and 19th blasts of the campaign, respectively.
Crawford’s homer pushed the advantage to 4-0 and the Livingston native tied the team’s single-season RBI record with her 64th of the spring.
However, Florida Atlantic chipped away with two runs in the bottom of the fourth on Tatum Buckley’s double down the third-base line and the Owls took the lead for good with four runs against reliever Kacy Freeze in the bottom of the fifth.
Messer entered to start the fourth inning and allowed just one base runner when she hit Megan Low in the fifth. The righty retired the final seven batters that she faced to close out the victory and secure a spot for the Owls in the tournament’s championship game.