SAN ANTONIO — UTSA dropped both ends of a Friday doubleheader to No. 15 Southern Miss by scores of 15-1 and 15-9 to conclude its regular season.
After clinching a spot at The First, A National Banking Association, Conference USA Tournament on Thursday night, the Roadrunners (28-26) now will await the results of Saturday's contest between FIU and WKU. An FIU win would make UTSA the eighth seed at next week's postseason event, while a loss will place the Roadrunners as the No. 7 seed.
#15 Southern Miss 15, UTSA 1
Southern Miss starter Kirk McCarty held UTSA off the board through six straight innings before the Roadrunners managed to score on an Aldo Buendia RBI single. Buendia also broke McCarty's no-hitter in the fifth with a one-out single to extend his hit streak to eight. The freshman finished the first game of the day with a pair of hits and an RBI.
The Golden Eagles scored in all but three innings in the first game of Friday's doubleheader with a combined 10 runs in the last two innings. Southern Miss also won the hits battle outhitting the home team 14-7.
Five of Southern Miss' hits went for home runs, including a two-run long ball in the second inning. Catcher Bryant Bowen hit two homers in the first game finishing the day with two hits, two runs scored and four RBI.
The furthest a UTSA base runner advanced to was second base on two occasions with runners on first and second in the seventh and ninth innings.
Left-hander Nolan Trabanino took the loss for UTSA in his 7.2 frames of work. Trabanino allowed seven runs on eight hits, struck out four and walked four.
Trabanino's counter, Kirk McCarty earned the win in his six innings of action. McCarty struck out six batters bringing his season total to 90. Meanwhile, Hayden Roberts earned the save – his sixth – and fanned five batters.
#15 Southern Miss 15, UTSA 9
Southern Miss scored early with a pair of runs in the top of the opening stanza but the Roadrunners took the lead in the home half with three runs.
The Golden Eagles tied up the score in the following inning and scored the go-ahead runs in the fourth that held the rest of the way. Southern Miss (44-12, 25-5 C-USA) added to its lead in the fifth with a lone run and again in the seventh with nine runs.
Reliever Trent Driver held UTSA off the board in his 3.2 innings of two-hit baseball to earn the win and move to 2-0 on the season.
UTSA chipped away at its deficit with a pair of runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.
In the bottom of the sixth, and trailing 6-3, UTSA used a two-run home run from Jesse Baker to make it a one-run game, 6-5.
The Golden Eagles' nine-run seventh blew open the game despite the Roadrunners responding back in the home half with two runs on a Chris Estrada two-RBI double.
Mason George scored the final two runs for the Roadrunners on his two-RBI single in the eighth. George connected for 4-for-4 at the plate with two RBI. Bryan Arias joined the catcher with four hits as he went 4-for-5 with two runs, two RBI, two doubles and a home run.
