FULLERTON, Calif. — Kendall Burton tied a school-record with her eighth career triple, but UTSA dropped a pair of games to start the Titans Classic on Friday.
The Roadrunners (0-2), who opened their 25th season of play, fell in the opener to Weber State (2-0), 2-1, before a 13-1 setback against host Cal State Fullerton (1-0) in the nightcap.
Alyssa Cummings went 3-for-5 on the day, while Erica Sanchez had a pair of hits, including a double, to help lead the UTSA offense. Along with Burton’s triple, Chelsea Thomas picked up an extra-base hit with a solo homer.
In the opener, Weber State used a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh to plate a run and walk off with the 2-1 victory.
The Wildcats touched up starter Chelsea Parker for a run in the second, when Sara Hingsberger led off the frame with a solo homer to left field. Parker would rebound to keep Weber State off the board until the final inning.
UTSA’s third hit of the game knotted the score 1-1 in the top of the fourth as Thomas blasted her first homer in a Roadrunners uniform. The McKinney native took two pitches outside of the strike zone from Baylee Reeves before she launched the third pitch of the at-bat over the wall in left.
Parker got out of a jam in the bottom of the frame after the Wildcats scratched out three hits and UTSA threatened in the top of the fifth.
Burton, a preseason All-Conference USA pick, smacked a one-out triple to right center, but she was left stranded. The three-bagger was the eighth of Burton’s career, which tied the program’s all-time record.
Parker retired the side in order in the fifth and sixth as part of a stretch where she recorded nine consecutive outs before the Wildcats rallied with two down in the seventh.
One out away from extra innings, Weber State got two hits and benefitted from a hit batter to walk off with its second win of the day.
Parker took the loss with two runs allowed and a strikeout in 6.2 innings, while reliever Tatiana Su’esu’e got the victory with 1.2 perfect frames of work.
In the nightcap, Cal State Fullerton jumped ahead quickly with five runs in the first and eight runs in the second for a 13-0 lead. The big innings saw 12 hits from the Titans and their offense was aided by four Roadrunners errors.
UTSA broke up the shutout in the top of the third when Madison Kinley doubled and scored on Burton’s fielder’s choice. However, the Roadrunners could not cut into the deficit any more to avoid the run-rule defeat.
UTSA will continue play at the Titans Classic on Saturday with a 1 p.m. (CT) matchup against San Diego State (1-0), followed by a 4 p.m. (CT) tilt with Canisius (0-2).