SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will take a break from Conference USA play when it hosts No. 20 Baylor in a 6 p.m. contest on Tuesday, March 22 at Roadrunner Field.
The contest has been designated as an Orange Out and fans are encouraged to wear orange. The first 150 fans will receive an orange Chevy Rowdy towel.
The Roadrunners (11-17) are coming off a series win at Charlotte last weekend that was capped by a 12-0 run-rule victory on Sunday. Chelsea Thomas went 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI in the series finale, which saw UTSA set a season-high for runs scored. Jade Smith also enjoyed an exceptional weekend by hitting .400 with a double, three RBIs and a stolen base. The output helped push her batting average for the season to a team-best .329 and the senior is hitting .444 in C-USA action.
The UTSA pitching staff also had a stellar performance last weekend in the Queen City as it allowed just one run in the final two games (14 innings) against the 49ers. In game two, Lizzy Fox tossed a career-high 9.0 innings and scattered four hits, while striking out three for the victory. The sophomore retired the final 13 batters that she faced to help lower her ERA for the season to 2.94. On Sunday, Nicole Merrill threw five shutout frames to tally her second C-USA win and she has posted a 0.57 ERA (3rd C-USA) during league action.
Meanwhile, the Bears (23-6) are coming off a three-game sweep of Central Florida last weekend in Waco. Baylor features a balanced lineup that contains five players who are hitting better than .300, including Lindsey Cargill and Sarah Smith, who each check in at .400. Smith has been the team’s leading run producer with 30 RBIs, while Linsey Hays owns 17 extra-base hits (10 doubles, seven homers) to go along with 23 RBIs. In the circle, Baylor pitchers have a collective 2.68 ERA and the group is paced by Heather Stearns’ 1.75 ERA and 11-2 record. Stearns has gone the distance seven times and she has tallied 104 strikeouts in 82.1 innings.
Baylor leads the all-time series 22-13, but UTSA snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Bears with a 2-1 victory in nine innings at Getterman Stadium last season. The series is nearly split in games played in San Antonio, with the Bears holding a slight 7-6 edge.