SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA Baseball team secured the opening series win with a 13-6 victory over Tarleton State on Saturday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
Daniel Garza earned his first win of the season, coming in to relieve Robbie Maldonado in the fourth inning and striking out five batters and walking none in four innings of work. Shane Sirdashney led the Roadrunners as he went 3-for-5 at the plate with three runs, two RBI and two walks. Matt King also had a fantastic outing, going 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI. Four more Roadrunners had multi-hit games as Garrett Poston, Antonio Valdez, Isaiah Walker and Tye Odom notched two hits each.
Tarleton struck first as a couple walks and a two-run double in the top of the first gave the Texans an early 2-0 lead. The Roadrunners quickly responded in the bottom of the inning as Sirdashney started it off with a double to right center and then he was driven in on single by Poston to make the score 2-1, in favor of Tarleton. In the next inning, the Texans advanced a few runners into scoring position but weren't able to convert that into runs. After the first two batters were sat down by Tarleton's starter Dylan Delvecchio, Walker came up to the plate and hit a single through the right side. Odom followed that with a double to put him and Walker on second and third, respectively. Bringing the top of the order back up, Sirdashney singled to right field to drive in Odom and Walker and give UTSA the 3-2 lead.
Maldonado made quick work of the Texans in the third inning, using just six pitches to sit down the three batters on a lineout and a double play. The Roadrunners got a few runners in scoring position in the bottom of the third but nothing came of it. Garza came in to relieve Maldonado in the top of the fourth and gave up a homerun to the first batter he saw, knotting the score up at 3-3. He then settled in to sit down the next three batters on a flyout and two foul outs. After a couple scoreless frames, the Roadrunners regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Poston opened the inning with a single up the middle. After a lineout, King connected on the first pitch he saw and sent it out of the park to make UTSA's lead 5-3. Valdez followed this with a double to right center and later scored on a passed ball to extend the Roadrunners' lead to 6-3.
The Roadrunners then used a six-run bottom of the sixth to extend their lead to 12-3. Sirdashney and Poston began the inning with two straight walks. After the next batter struck out, four straight singles by King, Valdez, Leyton Barry and Sammy Diaz drove in five runs. After one more out, Odom doubled to drive in Diaz and make the score 12-3.
The Texans added another run in the top of the seventh and the Roadrunners countered with one in the bottom of the frame as Sirdashney scored on a wild pitch to make the score 13-4. In the top of the eighth, Tarleton added a couple more runs and that would be the last time either team scored in the game. UTSA ran away with the 13-6 victory over Tarleton, securing the series win on Saturday afternoon.
The Roadrunners improved to a 2-0 record to start the season, while the Texans fell to a 0-2 record.
ON DECK
UTSA looks to complete a season-opening sweep over Tarleton during the series finale on Sunday at Roadrunner Field. First pitch is at 1 p.m. (CT) on CUSA.tv.
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