SAN ANTONIO – Bailee Baldwin, Hailey Garza and Ashlynn Walls had two hits apiece, but Southern Miss held off UTSA, 10-5, in Conference USA action on Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners (18-24, 6-12 C-USA) pounded out nine hits, but the Golden Eagles (18-31, 7-11) rallied for 12 hits to claim the weekend series.
Senior Lizzy Fox (10-10) got the start in the circle pitching 4.2 innings while only yielding one walk. Freshman Madison Nelson came in relief and pitched the last 2.1 innings with four earned runs and zero walks.
UTSA stormed out to a 2-0 advantage in its first at-bat. Back-to-back singles by Baldwin and Walls set the table for sophomore Kylea Nix, who pushed the first two runs of the game home on a base hit to left field.
Southern Miss answered with a three-run spot in the top of the second inning. With runners on second and first and two outs, Rebekah Dilavore smacked a single up the middle to make it 2-2. Caitlyn Aldous followed with an RBI single to left field to give USM a 3-2 lead.
UTSA battled back with three runs in the bottom of the second after a pair of Southern Miss fielding errors, a double from freshman Hannah Boring and a single from Baldwin gave the lead back to the Roadrunners at 4-3. Freshman Victoria Villarreal added a fifth run for the home squad with an RBI single to right field.
The Roadrunners maintained their 5-3 lead through the next two innings until the Golden Eagles grabbed a 6-5 advantaged with three scored runs off two RBI singles.
Southern Miss held the 6-5 lead heading into the top of the seventh when Chase Nelson lined a triple down the right field line and scored on an infield single. The Golden Eagles cushioned their edge with a three-run homer over the right field wall from Aldous for the win.
The Roadrunners return to the field on Tuesday with a nonconference matchup against I-35 rival Texas State. UTSA takes on the Bobcats in a single game with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m.
