SAN ANTONIO – Bryan Sturges and the UTSA offense pounded out 14 hits Saturday at Roadrunner Field, squaring the Conference USA opening series at one game apiece.
The Roadrunners improved to 8-11 overall and 1-1 in C-USA play with a 10-4 victory over Middle Tennessee (6-12, 1-1).
As part of a stretch in which UTSA plated at least one run in each of the team's last four times at bat, Sturges busted open a close game with a two-out bomb over the left field wall in the sixth.
The first career home run for the junior transfer from Houston, Texas, who began his career at TCU, Sturges turned on a 0-1 pitch and when it came down in the netting beyond the outfield barrier, expanding the Roadrunners lead to 7-2 in the sixth.
Dylan Rock's single up the middle up the middle in the third, extended his hitting streak to open the season to 19 games. This is the longest hitting streak by a Roadrunner since 2010, matching Tyler Carpenter's mark.
For the second day in a row, the team scoring first failed to claim the victory, after the Blue Raiders saw its 2-0 lead disappear by a three-run spurt in the home third.
Slater Foust turned in a gritty performance on the mound for UTSA, allowing his team to remain in the game early and benefitted from his teammates scoring 10 runs on 14 hits.
The junior righty worked around traffic on the base paths, limiting the visitors to two runs, despite allowing 10 hits in 5.2 innings of work. He walked just one and fanned four, picking up his third win against just one loss in six appearances.
Foust allowed three hits in the opening frame but got out of trouble, holding the Blue Raiders to a 1-0 lead, after a half-inning of play. A walk and two singles in the next frame extended Middle Tennessee's lead to 2-0 but once again, Foust stranded two runners on base and extinguishing the threat.
In the third, the Blue Raiders threatened to encroach on the Roadrunners turf, threatening to open up the lead early with back-to-back one-out singles. Foust dug deep and thwarted the uprising and keeping his team close.
When he returned to the mound in the top of the fourth, Foust found himself pitching with a lead after his mate's plated three runs on four hits.
Middle Tennessee was held scoreless from the third through seventh innings, as UTSA methodically pulled away.
With two outs and no one on in the fifth, Griffin Paxton singled through the left side of the infield and moved into scoring position with his first stolen base of the afternoon. He came home on an RBI double by Shane Sirdashney, making the score 4-2.
In the next frame, the Roadrunners rallied with two outs and no one on. Stacy doubled off the wall in left center. With an open base at first, the guest from Murfreesboro, Tennessee chose to face Sturges and issued an intentional walk to Dylan Rock. Sturges made it hurt with the long ball, pushing the margin out to 7-2.
Paxton crossed the plate on a passed ball and Sirdashney added to the run total when he came in on an infield single by Bryan Arias in UTSA's next turn at the plate, going up by seven at 9-2.
The teams traded solo tallies in the eighth and Middle Tennessee registered one in the ninth for the final score.
For the second day in a row, Arias went 3 for 5 at the dish. Stacy added a three-hit day for the Roadrunners, while Sturges, Paxton and Sirdashney added two knocks each.
Neither team has decided who will get the ball in the rubber game of the three-game set. First pitch is scheduled for noon Sunday.
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For more information, contact:
Brent Ingram (brent.ingram@utsa.edu; 210.845.8651)
Michael High (michael.high@utsa.edu; 210.845.9037)
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