SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA softball team continues its four-game homestand as the Southern Miss Golden Eagles come to Roadrunner Field Saturday and Sunday for a three game Conference USA series.
The Saturday doubleheader was originally scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., but with the threat of inclement weather earlier in the day, first pitch has been moved up to 4 p.m. Game two will begin about 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. The series finale is still set for Sunday at 1 p.m. All games will be streamed on CUSA.tv ($) and can be followed with live stats on goUTSA.com.
Saturday's contests will also take part in Fiesta festivities as UTSA Athletics will be selling its official first-ever Fiesta medal at Roadrunner Field. Each medal will be available for $10.
The Roadrunners (17-22, 5-10) are coming off an 8-7 nonconference victory over Houston Baptist on Tuesday. The victory helped snap a four-game losing streak for UTSA as centerfielder Bailee Baldwin went 2-for-4 with a double, home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Shortstop Ashlynn Walls went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, three RBIs and a stolen base, while leftfielder Celeste Loughman singled, doubled and scored twice.
In the circle, the Roadrunners leaned on freshman Madison Nelson and Michelle Iparraguirre. Starting for UTSA, Madison recorded her second save, as she allowed six runs on nine hits, six runs, six errors and a strikeout in 5.2 innings. Pitching in relief, Iparraguirr (2-0) earned the win holding the Huskies to just one run on three hits, an error, a walk and a strikeout in 1.1 innings.
Overall, Baldwin continues to lead the way with a .353 batting average, 38 RBI and 16 home runs. Loughman is hitting .328 with a team-best 43 hits and 13 stolen bases. Walls has the top power numbers among UTSA's rookies with 34 hits, 12 RBI, 10 doubles and 10 runs while hitting .296.
All three are looking to extend their current hitting streaks as Baldwin carries a four-game hitting streak into the weekend while Loughman owns a three-game streak and Walls holds a two-game streak.
Guiding UTSA's pitching staff, Lizzy Fox (10-9) owns a team-best 2.03 ERA to rank second in Conference USA. The senior also tops the squad with 53 strikouts.
The visiting Golden Eagles (16-30,5-10 C-USA) have lost nine of their last 11 outings, including a 4-2 road loss to Alabama on Wednesday.
Ciarra Cherry leads the offense with a .358 average while Destini Brown is hitting .342 with a team-high best 41 hits and 23 runs.
Kim Crowson totes a 3.22 ERA in 29 appearances, while Samantha Robles is 6-13 with a 4.50 ERA and a squad best 81 strikeouts.
UTSA is 5-12 all-time against Southern Miss after losing two of three games last season in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Roadrunners last claimed a series against the Golden Eagles in 2015 when they went 2-1 on the road.
