SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will open Conference USA play on the road with a three-game weekend series at Marshall. The teams will meet for a 12 p.m. (CT) doubleheader on Saturday before an 11 a.m. (CT) tilt the following day.
The Roadrunners (9-12) will look to bounce back from Wednesday's 7-2 defeat at Texas. Rylee Rodriguez produced a two-RBI single for UTSA to boost her batting average up to .373 and her team-leading RBI total to 23. The freshman is one of six players batting at least .300 for the squad, which owns a collective .309 average at the plate to rank second in the league just behind the Thundering Herd (14-4).
Rodriguez also ranks third in the circuit with her 23 RBIs and eight doubles, while her five homers are tied for fourth. Bailee Baldwin also is tied for the top spot on the team with five homers after hitting three last week for a new career-best.
In the circle, Lizzy Fox's seven victories are tied for third in C-USA. The junior leads the pitching staff with a 3.06 ERA, while Nicole Merrill's 28 strikeouts are tops on the team.
Marshall is coming off a 5-0 weekend at the Eagle Classic, hosted by Georgia Southern. The Thundering Herd picked up wins against South Carolina State, Presbyterian, Eastern Kentucky, Delaware State and Georgia Southern. Morgan Zerkle and Elicia D'Orazio both rank in the league's top three for batting at .459 and .449, respectively, to help Marshall top the conference with a team .312 mark. The pair also pace the conference in stolen bases as D'Orazio has swiped 24 bags and Zerkle owns 23 steals.
Jordan Dixon is tops in the conference with 10 victories and she has started 11 of the team's 18 games. In 82 innings pitched, Dixon has a 2.05 ERA and 105 strikeouts.
Marshall won the only previous meeting between the programs, 1-0, in the opening round of the 2016 C-USA Tournament.
