SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team notched its seventh consecutive series victory of the season, securing the series win over WKU with a 5-4 triumph over the Hilltoppers on Saturday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
QUICK HITS
- Ruger Riojas earned his third win of the season, striking out a batter and allowing two runs on four hits in three innings pitched.
- Simon Miller earned his fourth save, entering the game with two outs and a runner on to strike out the final batter.
- Josh Killeen led the Roadrunners as he went 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBI.
- Sammy Diaz hit a home run for the second consecutive game. At least one Roadrunner has hit a home run in the last nine games.
- Taylor Smith extended his reached base streak to 21 games, hitting a single and walking in the contest. Diaz and Caleb Hill both extended their reached base streaks to 15 games.
- The Roadrunners have been nearly unstoppable under pressure, toting a 6-1 record in one-run games.
- Officially hitting the halfway point of the 2023 season, UTSA has won all seven of its weekend series so far.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The first inning went scoreless as both sides of the frame went down in order. Starting pitcher Uli Quiroga struck out the side in the top of the first, before sitting down the Hilltoppers in order again in the top of the second.
The Roadrunners opened scoring in the bottom of the second as Diaz opened up the inning with a solo home run on the first pitch he saw, his second straight game with a jack.
The Hilltoppers quickly tied it up at 1-1 in the top of the third as WKU'S three-hole hitter Drew Reckart drew a bases-loaded walk. WKU then took a 2-1 lead with a solo home run by Ty Batusich in the top of the fourth.
The Hilltoppers' lead didn't last long though as UTSA responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning. The Roadrunners earned free bases on a walk by Hill and hit by pitch to Shane Sirdashney. Then, Smith battled back from a 0-2 count to loop a one-RBI single to left center and tie the game at 2-2. Matt King followed that with a single of his own to load the bases. After an out, a go-ahead single by Killeen drove in a couple runs and gave UTSA a 4-2 advantage.
After a pitching change by the Hilltoppers, Leyton Barry reached first on a passed ball, after striking out swinging, while King came in to score to extend the lead to 5-2.
The fifth inning saw a couple of zeros on the board. The Hilltoppers got a run across in the top of the sixth to cut UTSA's lead to 5-3. Daniel Shafer shut down WKU in the seventh and eighth innings, notching three strikeouts along the way.
Shafer forced a flyout to start the ninth inning, but a walk, fielder's choice and error after this put runners on first and third. A sacrifice fly then drove in the Hilltoppers' fourth run. The Roadrunners then brought in Miller to record the final out. He forced a strikeout to end the top of the ninth and lead UTSA to a 5-4 win over WKU, securing the series victory.
The Roadrunners improved to an 22-6 overall record (7-1 in Conference USA action), while WKU fell to a 16-12 overall record (2-6 in C-USA).
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and Hilltoppers conclude the series on Sunday at Roadrunner Field. First pitch is at 12:30 p.m. on CUSA.tv.
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