HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Roadrunners fell in game two of the weekend series at No. 11 Southern Miss, 8-3, at Pete Taylor Park on Saturday afternoon.
UTSA and USM were tied heading into the top of the sixth but then the Golden Eagles flexed their bats and put five unanswered runs on the board – with four coming in the seventh – to secure the game two win.
UTSA (33-17) drops back to a tie for second place in the conference following the loss. Louisiana Tech and UTSA are tied at 17-9 in the conference standings with each team being two games back of Southern Miss (19-7) as La Tech holds the tie-breaker over UTSA having won the series.
The Roadrunners were limited to just four hits on the day with two coming from Ryan Flores. Flores provided the only runs for UTSA, as the senior first baseman cranked his ninth home run of the year with Jonathan Tapia and Josh Killeen on base for a three-run blast. Also of note in the game for UTSA was that the pitching staff broke the all-time single season record for most strikeouts in a year. On the season the Roadrunners now have 456 punchouts, breaking the previous record of 454 set in 2018.
UTSA started sophomore right-hander Ryan Ward for Saturday afternoon's contest. Ward went for an inning and two-thirds, allowing two runs on no hits with a strikeout. Entering in the bottom of the second to record the final out was Jacob Jimenez. Jimenez would finish the second, pitch the third and go two-thirds of the fourth. He allowed one run on four hits before Grant Miller entered for the final out in the fourth. Miller closed the fourth and came back out for the fifth. After allowing a leadoff hit, Ulises Quiroga was called from the pen. Quiroga pitched the entire fifth and sixth innings, allowing one run on four hits with a strikeout. It was Quiroga's strikeout that broke the all-time single school record for most in a season by a pitching staff. Ryan Beaird took the mound in the seventh. The freshman pitched on no days rest and allowed four runs on three hits in the frame. UTSA turned to Hunter Mayo in the eighth and Mayo allowed a single hit and recorded a strikeout in his lone inning.
Southern Miss (37-14, 19-7 C-USA) starter Hunter Riggins (6-4) pitched for six innings where he limited the Roadrunners to four hits and three runs. Riggins tallied six punchouts to go along with two walks. Entering for Riggins in the seventh was Dalton Rogers. Rogers would go on to finish the game for the Golden Eagles, as he allowed no hits or runs over that span and recorded two strikeouts. The performance by Rogers allowed the southpaw to claim his fifth save of the season.
Southern Miss got the scoring started in the bottom of the second. A pair of walks put Golden Eagles on first and second before they pulled off a double steal to place both runners in scoring position. With two on and two out, USM catcher Blake Johnson singled up the middle to plate both and put the Golden Eagles up 2-0 early.
USM put another run on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Will McGillis singled to start the inning and was able to advance to second after the second batter grounded out. With McGillis on second, Gabe Montenegro lined a single to left field to score McGillis, just beating the throw from left.
The Roadrunners put together a strong sixth inning for the second straight game as they put their first runs on the board. Following back-to-back walks from Tapia and Ochoa, Ryan Flores stepped into the batter's box and blasted his ninth home run of the season over the left-centerfield fence. The Flores homer tied the game at three apiece.
The Golden Eagles put another run on the board in the bottom frame of the sixth. With runners on the corners and one out, USM shortstop Dustin Dickerson flew out to deep right-centerfield. The fly-out was enough to bring in the runner from third as Dickerson earned an RBI sac fly.
Southern Miss entered the bottom of the seventh with a 4-3 lead and saw it double by the time the inning ended. The Golden Eagles brought their first run across thanks to a Will McGillis RBI. Then, with two on and one out, Carson Paetow cranked his second home run of the series out to right-centerfield. The three-run blast put the Golden Eagles up 8-3.
Saturday Notes
Home Runs
UTSA: Ryan Flores (9)
USM: Carson Paetow (11)
WP – Hunter Riggins (6-4): 6.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
SV – Dalton Rogers (5): 3.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
LP – Ulises Quiroga (1-4): 2.0 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Up Next
The Roadrunners will be back at Pete Taylor Park for the series finale against No. 11 Southern Miss tomorrow, May 15. The game is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and will be streamed on ESPN +.
- UTSA -
