HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Rylee Rodriguez slugged a solo home run in the eighth inning to lift the UTSA softball team to a 7-6 comeback victory at Southern Miss in game two of a doubleheader on Friday at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. The Golden Eagles scored a 10-4 victory in the opener of the three-game Conference USA series.
Rodriguez's solo blast, her team-leading 10th of the season, helped the Roadrunners (17-25, 7-10 C-USA) complete a rally from a 4-0 deficit and remain a game ahead of Southern Miss (23-22, 6-11 C-USA) in the conference standings.
Rodriguez, a freshman from Pearland, went 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead a UTSA offense that pounded out 11 hits in the nightcap. Fellow freshmen Celeste Loughman and Lindsey Stewart added two hits apiece.
Southern Miss climbed out to a 3-0 lead after two innings. Arielle Pollock drew a one-out walk, advanced to second when Heather Hill was hit by a pitch and scored on an interference call on a single down the right-field line by Rachel Johnson. Chase Nelson then drove home two more runs on a two-out base knock to right.
Nelson had another run-scoring single in the fourth to push the Golden Eagles' advantage to 4-0.
The Roadrunners got on the board with three runs in the fifth. Angelica Nino drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on a double to right center by Stewart. Loughman tripled to left to plate a pair and cut the deficit in half. Loughman then came home on a base hit to left center by Rodriguez to make it 4-3.
Southern Miss answered with two runs in the bottom half of the frame with RBI-singles by Pollock and Hill.
UTSA knotted the score with a three-run sixth. Hailee Garza led off with a single through the left side of the infield and later scored on an infield single by Stewart. Rodriguez singled to left center to plate Stewart and Bailee Baldwin pushed home Loughman, who walked, with an infield single to the shortstop to tie the game at 6-6.
A scoreless seventh sent the contest to extra innings, where Rodriguez provided the heroics with the go-ahead long ball on a 1-1 pitch from Jillian Johnson.
Lizzy Fox (11-13) earned the win in relief for UTSA, striking out two and allowing two runs on five hits in four frame.
Johnson (6-6) was tagged with the loss after giving up a pair of hits, including the home run, in two and a third innings.
UTSA plated three runs in the top of the first in the lid-lifter.
Baldwin launched a three-run homer to right center that scored Stewart, who led off the game with a single through the left side, and Loughman, who reached on an error.
However, The Golden Eagles answered with a five-spot in the home half, highlighted by a two-run single by Tori Dew and a two-RBI triple down the right-field line by Pollock.
Southern Miss tacked on a pair of runs in the next frame on a sacrifice fly by Caitlyn Aldous and a run-scoring single to center by Dew to make it 7-3.
Dew lined a triple to right center to push home Aldous in the fourth and increase the advantage to 8-3.
In the sixth, a wild pitch and a sac fly by Dew — her third RBI of the contest — gave the Golden Eagles a 10-3 edge.
Garza doubled to right center, advanced to third on an infield single by Nino — one of her two hits in the game — and scored on Stewart's ground ball to second base, that was misplayed for an error, in the top of the seventh. Loughman then reached on a bunt single but Southern Miss ended the threat and the game with a fly ball to center and a groundout.
Samantha Robles (6-7) picked up the win after striking out six and allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits in six and a third innings.
Game three is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday.
