CORPUS CHRISTI – Palmer Wenzel came out of the bullpen to pitch 5.2 scoreless innings to lead UTSA to a 6-1 victory over former Southland Conference foe Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday night at Chapman Field.
Wenzel (5-1) entered the game in the fourth inning with a runner at third base and UTSA leading 2-1. The side-winding right-hander proceeded to strike out the two batters he faced in the frame to keep the Roadrunners (19-16) in the lead.
UTSA backed up their reliever with a run in the sixth, one in the seventh and two more in the eighth.
Meanwhile, Wenzel rolled along.
The San Antonio native hit the first batter of the fifth and then retired nine straight. Harrison Dinicola broke up the streak with a leadoff single in the eighth inning. Wenzel then hit the next batter as a 2-2 fastball carried too far inside.
However, the righty retired the next six batters to clinch the win for the Roadrunners.
Wenzel struck out a season-high seven batters on 78 pitches (57 strikes) in his longest outing in a UTSA uniform.
The Roadrunners' offense produced double-digit hits for the fourth time in their last five contests after totaling 13 knocks in Tuesday's win.
Bryan Arias led the way with a 3 for 4 performance that included a solo home run in the eighth inning. Trent Bowles was 2 for 5 with an RBI, while Ben Brookover and Tony Beam also had two hits apiece.
UTSA will return to Conference USA play this weekend, as FIU comes to San Antonio for a three-game series. The set opens at 6 p.m. Friday at Roadrunner Field.
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