COLLEGE STATION — UTSA split a pair of games on Friday to open play at the Texas A&M Invitational. The Roadrunners started the day with an 11-0 victory against Prairie View A&M before a 12-0 setback against No. 5 Texas A&M. Both games were played in five innings due to the eight-run rule.
Angelica Niño, Taylor Oberg and Celeste Loughman each recorded three hits on the day to lead the Roadrunners (7-10), while Madison Kinley launched a three-run homer and scored a pair of runs. Lizzy Fox improved to 5-7 in the circle with four shutout innings against the Panthers (1-13)
In the opener, UTSA pounded out 15 hits, including seven for extra bases, and it received a stellar pitching performance from Fox en route to the team's third shutout of the season.
Fox gave up just one hit over four scoreless innings and freshman KyLee DeCock worked a perfect frame in relief with a strikeout to complete the shutout.
The Roadrunners erupted for seven runs off nine hits in the top of the second to take control of the game.
Bailee Baldwin's infield single got the rally going and she came around to score following back-to-back doubles by Oberg and Kaley Pyles. Niño, who finished with a season-high three hits, singled and stole second before Lindsey Stewart extended the lead to 3-0 with an RBI groundout.
Loughman then picked up her second triple of the campaign to score Niño and reigning Conference USA Player of the Week Rylee Rodriguez made it 5-0 with a double to center field. She would come around to score on Randee Crawford's single to left-center and Oberg capped the frame with her second hit of the inning, a single to left that made it 7-0.
Erica Sanchez's RBI double to left in the fourth ballooned the advantage to 8-0 and Kinley put an exclamation point on the victory with her first homer of the season, a three-run shot, in the fifth.
DeCock came on to work the bottom of the fifth and she sat down the Panthers in order for the 11-0 run-rule victory.
In the second game of the day, the Aggies (16-1) bounced back from their first defeat of the season on Wednesday with a pair of runs in the first, one in the second, eight in the third and another in the fourth for the 12-0 win.
Loughman picked up her second double of the season in the fourth inning and Oberg had the only other hit of the contest for UTSA.
The Roadrunners will continue play with a pair of games on Saturday beginning with a 9 a.m. matchup with Prairie View A&M. UTSA then will face Georgetown (3-11) at 4:15 p.m. Both contests have been moved up an hour due to threat of rain.
