SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA Baseball team opened up the 2023 season in exciting fashion as a walk-off triple by Leyton Barry led the Roadrunners to a 3-2 win over Tarleton State on Friday night at Roadrunner Field.
Luke Malone dominated on the mound in the first six innings, allowing no runs on just two hits while striking out five. Simon Miller earned the win as he allowed a pair of runs on three hits and sat down seven batters in the final three innings. Leyton Barry led the team with the walk-off triple and three RBI.
The game started off as a pitcher's duel as neither team was able to record a hit until the fifth inning. The first run of the day came in the third inning as Barry reached on a fielder's choice and Garrett Poston came in to score on the same play to give UTSA the 1-0 lead. A couple of innings later came the first few hits of the day as the Texans notched a couple of singles in the top of the fifth and the Roadrunners hit a single in the bottom of the frame.
The sixth inning saw the batters retire in order on either side of the frame. Although the seventh inning saw a few runners on base, the eighth inning is when things started to heat up. In the top of the inning, the Texans put a couple runners in scoring position but were unable to do anything with it. The Roadrunners did the same in the bottom of the frame, foreshadowing the intensity the next inning would bring.
After Tarleton's first batter grounded out, a few singles loaded the bases for the Texans. Then, Tarleton's leftfielder Trace Morrison, who had recorded a hit in the fifth inning, stepped up to bat. A fielder's choice put him on base and an error advanced him to second as two Texans came in to score to give Tarleton the 2-1 lead. The Roadrunners didn't let the small setback stop them. Similar to the top of the ninth, the bottom of the frame began with an out – this time being a strikeout - but the next few batters reached base on walks. With runners on first and second, preseason honoree Barry stepped up to bat. He watched the first three balls land out of the strike zone for a quick 3-0 count. After the first strike, Barry went to battle as he fouled off the next five pitches. It wasn't until the 10th pitch of the at-bat that Barry strung a triple out to right center, driving in Shane Sirdashney and Taylor Smith to lead UTSA to an exciting 3-2 walk-off win over Tarleton.
The Roadrunners hold a 1-0 record to start the season, while the Texans start the season with a 0-1 record.
ON DECK
The second game of the series is set for Saturday at Roadrunner Field. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. on CUSA.tv.
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