CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chelsea Thomas collected a season-high four hits and Nicole Merrill tossed five scoreless innings as UTSA took its second consecutive Conference USA series with a 12-0 run-rule victory over Charlotte on Sunday afternoon at D.L. Phillips Softball Complex.
Thomas finished 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI for the Roadrunners (11-17, 5-1 C-USA), who produced a season-high 12 runs off 12 hits. Tess Soefje drove in a team-high three runs, while Kendall Burton, Randee Crawford and Jade Smith each recorded a pair of hits.
The offense was plenty for Merrill, who picked up her second straight victory in a series finale as she scattered five hits and struck out six to improve to 2-1.
Crawford helped the Roadrunners start fast in the top of the first with a booming solo homer on the eighth pitch of the game against 49ers (17-10, 1-5 C-USA) ace Lexi Betancourt. The blast was Crawford’s eighth of the season and her fourth round-tripper against C-USA opponents on the season.
UTSA went on to load the bases following a single by Kaley Pyles, Thomas’ double and a walk to Bailee Baldwin. The Charlotte defense then unraveled with three errors that yielded three unearned runs and staked the visitors to a 4-0 cushion.
Merrill worked out of a jam in the bottom of the frame as the 49ers loaded the bases with a pair of hits and a walk, but the junior got a swinging strikeout to end what proved to be Charlotte’s biggest threat of the day.
Soefje came up to bat with the bases loaded in the second and lined a 1-0 pitch to left field for a double that plated two more runs. An inning later, Thomas lined an RBI single to left and Angelica Niño coaxed a bases-loaded walk to push the advantage to 8-0.
UTSA picked up four more runs in the top of the fifth when Soefje was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Smith blooped a double into right field. The fifth 49ers error of the contest allowed the final run of the day to cross the plate.
That was more than enough for Merrill, who picked up a pair of strikeouts to end the fourth and tallied her sixth punchout to close the 12-0 triumph.
UTSA will return to Roadrunner Field for a 6 p.m. matchup on Tuesday, March 22 against No. 20 Baylor (23-6).