BILOXI, Miss. – UTSA scored nine runs and hit for the cycle as a team in the third inning on its way to an 11-1 victory over Charlotte in the opening round of the Conference USA Championship at MGM Park on Thursday morning.
The Roadrunners (32-22) posted 18 hits on the day to advance to the winners' bracket for the second consecutive season.
Bryan Arias tied a tournament record with a 5 for 5 performance at the plate. The San Antonio native had a double and a two-run homer to go along with three singles. He also was hit by a pitch, stole a base and scored three times.
UTSA will play the winner of Southern Miss and UAB at 12:30 p.m. Friday. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.ARIAS BREAKS OUT IN TOURNAMENT OPENER
Junior infielder Bryan Arias set the tone early for the Roadrunners with a leadoff single in the first inning. While UTSA failed to score in the that frame, he was hit by a pitch in the third that started a nine-run outburst.
Arias came around to score the first run on Dylan Rock's infield single, just ahead of Trent Bowles, who crossed the plate following a Charlotte error that put the Birds up 2-1.
Later in the inning, Arias launched his team-leading eight home run of the campaign, a two-run shot that gave UTSA a 9-1 advantage.
"Bryan's home run was really electric," Bowles said. "We knew right then and there it was on."
Arias added a single in the fifth and another in the seventh, before stealing his 12th bag of the season.
He added a double in the ninth that pushed Aldo Buendia around to third.
Arias not only tied a tournament record with his five hits, but also his career mark, a feat he first accomplished on March 28, 2017, at Baylor.
He thought having seen the 49ers pitchers less than a week ago helped in his approach on Thursday.
"You get an idea of who they are going to pitch and how they are going to pitch," Arias added. "Being able to see them before really helped."
Arias' performance reminded head coach Jason Marshall of last year's tournament opener.
"For Bryan, it kind of reminds me of last year when C.J. Pickering opened the tournament with a few doubles."
Pickering was 3 for 5 with three doubles and two RBIs in UTSA's 9-2 win over top-seeded Southern Miss in the the 2017 C-USA Championship opener.
For Arias though, it's all about his approach and helping out his teammates.
"Just sticking with an approach really helps," he said. "Being able to understand that you have to give a little to get a lot back, having team at-bats and wanting the best for the team."THE ANATOMY OF A NINE-RUN INNING
UTSA sent 13 batters to the plate during the third inning. It all started as Charlotte starting pitcher Chase Gooding began to unravel.
The right-hander hit Bryan Arias to start panel. He forced Ryan Stacy to flyout for the first out of the frame, but then surrendered a single to Trent Bowles. He also hit Tony Beam to load the bases.
Dylan Rock hit a grounder down the third-base line that fielded by 49ers third baseman Jackson Mims on the backhand, but he then threw wide of home plate and toward the first-base dugout, allowing two runs to score on the play.
Charlotte then pulled Gooding from the game, setting up an streak of at-bats that had not been seen this season for UTSA.
Philip Perry entered the game and walked Chris Estrada on four consecutive pitches. He then gave up a double to Garrett Moon that scored two. But it was the following at-bat that head coach Jason Marshall pointed to as the point that allowed the Roadrunners to pull away.
Lamb turned around a 1-0 pitch from Perry and hit it off the wall in left field, driving in two, and allowing him to reach third with his fifth triple of the year.
"I thought his triple was the key," Marshall said. "It was kind of unexpected, for him to turn around an outfielder like he did. He probably caught him off guard. That was a big swing."
UTSA was not finished.
Aldo Buendia took a 2-2 pitch and guided it into right field for a single to plate Lamb. Arias then looked at three balls before unloading on a fastball and sending it over the scoreboard in left field to clear the bases.
"It was crazy," Arias said about returning to the dugout. "It was a lot of fun, so much energy going through. Everyone was just playing for each other and that's what you want to see in the tournament."
The nine runs was the second most scored by the Roadrunners in an inning this season. UTSA plated 11 in the third inning against Prairie View A&M on April 11, in a game that was won 24-3.KIRBY CONTINUES TO DOMINATE
Over Chance Kirby's last six starts, the right-hander is 5-0 with 1.00 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 36 innings.
The Austin native continued to impress on Thursday, but it was after a lengthy first inning, in which he threw 21 pitches and allowed two hits. An unearned run also came across the plate after a fielding error extended the stanza.
But, Kirby pointed to his anxiousness for the start that he had to overcome in addition to the first-inning run.
"I really had a tough time trying to slow my heart rate" he said. "I was really amped up and excited, so it took me a little bit to settle down."
He said he didn't really settle down until the Roadrunners busted out for nine runs in the third.
"Once they got those runs it made it really easy to relax and do my thing," he added. "That eased the burden tremendously. All I had to do was go out and pound the zone after that. It was really simple after that."
Kirby made it look simple.
After the two hits allowed in the first inning, he walked a batter in the second but escaped unscathed.
When UTSA took a 9-1 lead in the top-half of the third, he went back out in the bottom-half and needed only six pitches to get the team back in the dugout.
Kirby was rolling.
After the second-inning walk, he retired 10 straight. The streak ended in the fifth, when he walked Jackson Mims on four pitches. But he worked out of that frame four pitches later after forcing Reece Hampton to hit into a fielder's choice.
He retired the side in the sixth on only four pitches. He struck out Todd Elwood on three tosses to start the seventh. He then retired his final batter on a 10-pitch battle that ended with a pop fly in foul territory that was gloved by Tony Beam.
Kirby exited after embracing catcher Garrett Moon on the mound and received praise from his teammates on his way back to the dugout.
UTSA head coach Jason Marshall praised Kirby's actions after the long third inning.
"I think it was huge to have that type of a lead and really put a good team on their heels," Marshall said. "As a starting pitcher, you can't ask for much more than that. I was just proud of his response after that. You look up and he was just rolling through the outs. He did a great job staying poised."
So what's been the key to Kirby's last six starts?
"Strikes, strikes and just mixing his pitches," Marshall added. "You're starting to see a complete pitcher. He's not buckling or giving in and limiting the mistakes. He's caught some momentum and just continues to get better at the end of the season."
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