SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The finish of Sunday's Conference USA series finale between UTSA (6-18, 2-1 C-USA) and UTEP (9-14, 1-2 C-USA) on the softball diamond at Roadrunner Field couldn't have been any closer if you scripted it. Ultimately, the Miners pulled out the 4-3 win, quelling the UTSA comeback with a full count, bases loaded and a grab at the fence to allow UTEP to dodge a UTSA series sweep.
Counter to the subsequent games in the series, nobody was lighting up hits column on the scoreboard – especially the Roadrunners, who had accumulated 23 hits and 20 runs through victories in the first two games. Instead, UTSA was limited to only four base knocks on the afternoon.
Two of the Roadrunners hits manifested in the opening frame, as senior Marena Estell and junior Taylor Jensen singled, but were wiped off the basepath on a foul-out deep down the left field line.
In the circle for UTSA, Estell was leading a Roadrunner defense that kept the board clear throughout her outing, opening with a 1-6-3 double play in the first and clearing a runner from third in the second. It wasn't until the fourth inning when the Miners registered their first hit.
In the meantime, UTSA earned its first run in the second, as sophomore third baseman Camryn Robillard scored from second on junior shortstop Kat Ibarra's RBI drive into shallow left field. The second score for the Roadrunners was again Robillard, coming home off an error ball on contact laid down by senior Ciarra Mata to push UTSA on top 2-0.
However, the Miners began to make some moves when pitching changed hands to freshman Reagan Smith in the fifth. With a single and a walk placing runners, Savannah Favre found a seam through the right side for an RBI single, then two consecutive walks gave Caitlyn Brockaway an RBI to even the score at 2-2. Rylan Dooner added an RBI single to claim the lead and Amaya Lee's RBI walk gave the Miners some much-needed insurance before Jamie Gilbert came out of the bullpen to collect the final out.
For the third time on the day, Robillard scored in the sixth to bring the deficit to a single run, coming home via Ibarra's RBI fielder's choice.
The Roadrunners worked their way into a winning opportunity after Gilbert knocked down the Miners in the seventh, drawing two walks and getting a hit batter aboard to load the bases. UTEP saved the tie by going home for the force out on Robillard's contact to the shortstop. With two outs and bases loaded in the final opportunity, catcher Erykah Guerrero battled out a six-pitch full count before the smacking the seventh pitch deep to center field - drawing out the Roadrunners from their dugout in anticipation. But Guerrero's hero moment and UTSA's walk-off win were robbed by center fielder Ashlynn Allen's leaping grab at the fence to secure a 4-3 UTEP win.
Robillard matched a career high while scoring all three of UTSA's runs in the finale. She went 1-for-2 with a double and walked twice. Ibarra went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one walk, capping off a weekend in which she batted .455 against the Miners with six RBI and five runs.
Aalijah Alarcon (4-5) earned the win for UTEP after exiting the game in the seventh and re-entering after her relief was coming up short. She tossed 6.2 innings with four hits and three runs allowed, walking seven. After earning wins in the first two series games, Smith (3-6) took the loss on 0.2 innings. Estell left the game after the fourth in one of her better outings of the year, going 4.0 innings with one hit, one walk and no runs allowed.
Count UTSA among the four Conference USA squads to open on a 2-1 series win in the first weekend of league play. The Roadrunners will be away next week, starting with a Tuesday midweek game at Tarleton State (14-13) in Stephenville, Texas, before heading up I-35 for a weekend C-USA series at North Texas (14-9).
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