SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA softball team defeated UTEP 17-8 in six innings to clinch the series and earn a spot in the conference championship Sunday afternoon.
The Roadrunners opened the game with five runs in the first. Kat Ibarra started with a double, then reached second on a passed ball. Celeste Loughman, Riley Grunberg and Madison Washington all earned walks to put the first run on the board (1-0). With one out and bases loaded, Marena Estell earned a walk as Grunberg reached home (2-0). Taylor Medina singled to left field as runners advanced and Washington scored to extend the lead (3-0). Two more walks from Brittany Coe and Ibarra added two more runs (5-0) to close out the inning.
UTSA scored three more runs in the second. Grunberg opened with a walk and Washington homered to right center field to lead 7-0. With two outs, Taylor Medina hit a solo home run to center field as the Roadrunners led 8-0.
In the third, the Miners scored five runs in the top of the frame to close the gap (8-5). In the bottom of the frame, Loughman singled to left field with two outs on the board. Grunberg followed with a home run to help UTSA lead 10-5.
UTEP scored two more runs in the fourth from a two-run homer as it trailed 10-7, but a solo homer from Lauren Coerver in the bottom of the frame pushed the lead back to four (11-7).
In the fifth, the Miners scored a single run in the top of the frame. Leading 11-8, Ibarra started the inning with a single down the left line. Loughman homered to center field as UTSA led 13-7.
Closing out the game, Erykah Guerrero earned a walk and Lourdes Bacon singled in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Loughman singled as runners advanced and Guerrero scored (12-7). Grunberg hit her second home run of the day, scoring Loughman and Bacon, to clinch the game.
UTSA has 13 hits on the day with Loughman leading the team with three.
Clarissa Hernandez, Tatum Seith and Jamie Gilbert each made an appearance and totaled four strikeouts.
Conference championship bound
The Roadrunners are set to compete in the 2021 Conference USA Championship May 12-15 in Bowling Green. Ky. UTSA is seeded No. 8 and will face No. 5 seeded Middle Tennessee on Wednesday at 12 p.m.
This is the fourth time in program history the Roadrunners have qualified for the tournament since joining the conference. The last time UTSA made an appearance was in 2019.
