SAN ANTONIO — Fresh off hosting the UTSA Classic last weekend, the Roadrunners will return to the diamond this weekend for five games at the Ole Miss Classic. The three-day tournament is scheduled to get underway on Friday morning.
UTSA (5-5) will open the event on Friday with games against Northern Iowa (8-3) and Stephen F. Austin (3-7) at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively. The Roadrunners then will face host Ole Miss (9-3) the following day at 1:30 p.m. before playing one more game on Saturday and once on Sunday in bracket play.
The Birds went 3-2 in last weekend’s home event with a pair of victories against Virginia and another versus North Dakota. Tess Soefje hit two homers and drove in three runs to help pace a UTSA offense that produced seven round-trippers in the five games. Erica Sanchez hit .500 (5-of-10), including a career-high three hits in a game against the Cavaliers.
In the circle, Chelsea Parker earned two victories, while Lizzy Fox registered eight strikeouts in a team-high 13 innings. In addition, freshman Zoe Bacon picked up her first collegiate victory in a game that she also hit the game-tying homer.
Northern Iowa has won eight of its last nine games after opening the season 0-2. Last weekend, the Panthers went 4-1 with victories against Michigan State, Montana and Memphis in Tempe, Ariz. Picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference, Northern Iowa returns seven starters from last year’s team that went 22-28 overall and 15-10 in MVC play. Samantha Olson leads a potent offense that is batting .311 on the season with her .429 mark and Chelsea Ross is batting .400 with a pair of homers and 15 RBIs. Panthers pitchers have combined for a 4.06 ERA, led by Alyssa Buchanan’s 2.52 ERA.
Stephen F. Austin is riding a six-game losing streak with four of those losses coming to ranked teams. The Ladyjacks, who dropped all five games at the Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla., last weekend, returns 13 letterwinners from last year’s team that went 19-32. Lindsay Campbell leads the offense with her .310 average, while Brittany Lewis is hitting .258 with three extra-base hits and eight RBIs. Stephen F. Austin pitchers have a collective 4.65 ERA, led by Hannah Welch’s 3.29 mark.
Ole Miss has won five of its last six games and is coming off a doubleheader split at Southern Miss on Wednesday. The Rebels are hitting .324 early in the season with three players batting better than .350 thus far. Hailey Lunderman leads the way with a .462 average, while Ashton Lampton checks in at .450 with a pair of homers and 11 RBIs. In the circle, the staff has posted a 2.27 ERA led by Alyssa Clayton’s 2.08 ERA. Madi Osias also checks in with a 2.69 and team-leading 25 strikeouts in 26.0 innings.
UTSA leads the all-time series against former Southland Conference foe Stephen F. Austin, 42-21, including wins in four of the last five meetings. The Roadrunners never have faced Northern Iowa or Ole Miss.