SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team secured their third consecutive weekend series victory, taking a 14-3 win over Utah to win the rubber game on Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
Antonio Valdez led the Roadrunners with a 3-for-5 day at the plate, recording a pair of runs, five RBI and two home runs. Caleb Hill also had a fantastic game, going 2-for-4 with two runs, three RBI, one double and one home run, while also stealing home for UTSA's 11th run of the game. Matt King was the other Roadrunner to have a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-5 with a run and a triple, his third triple of the weekend series. Daniel Garza earned the win in this game, improving to 3-0 on the season. He allowed a run on four hits while fanning three in three frames.
Despite getting a couple runners on from a walk and a single in the top of the first, starting pitcher Robbie Maldonado got out of the frame without allowing a run. The Roadrunners went three up, three down in the bottom of the inning. The Utes had a few hits in the top of the second, but once again Maldonado forced a groundout to end the inning. In the bottom of the frame, the Roadrunners opened up scoring and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. King opened it up with a triple, before Hill launched a home run to left center. A few batters later, UTSA had a runner on first and third for Walker in the ninth spot. Walker reached on a throwing error as Killeen came in to score to give the Roadrunners a 3-0 advantage.
The third and fourth innings went scoreless. Maldonado had a three up and three down inning with a double play and swinging strikeout in the third. He allowed a couple runners on in the fourth but ended Utah's momentum as he forced a grounder. The Utes got on the board in the fifth with a two-run homerun. The Roadrunners matched that in the bottom of the frame as Valdez unleashed on the first pitch he saw as the third batter up, launching a two-run jack to left center to make the score 5-2.
UTSA exploded for six runs in the sixth inning to extend its advantage to 11-2. A hit by pitch, single and walk loaded the bases for the top of the batting order. Shane Sirdashney singled to drive in a run and still leave the bases juiced. Leyton Barry hit a bases-clearing double to follow that. A couple of outs later, Hill doubled to right center to drive in Barry. Hill then advanced to third as Josh Killeen reached first on a fielding error. For the second time this week, the Roadrunners attempted and pulled off a double steal as Killeen stole second and Hill stole home for the 11th run of the game.
Garza held back the Utes in the top of the seventh as he allowed a couple hits but kept them off the board. In the bottom of the frame, Valdez launched his second home run of the game, this time a three-run shot to give UTSA a 14-2 lead. Coming in to pitch in the eighth inning, John Chomko saw his first appearance of the season, forcing two groundouts and a fly out, but also allowing a solo homerun to make the score 14-3, still in favor of UTSA. Daniel Shafer forced a scoreless ninth inning with two fly outs and a groundout, leading UTSA to the 14-3 win over Utah in the series finale.
The Roadrunners improve to a 10-3 record, while Utah falls to a 5-6 overall record.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners head to San Marcos, Texas, to face Texas State for a Battle of I-35 showdown on Tuesday, March 7. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT at Bobcat Ballpark.
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