SAN ANTONIO – A solo home run by Sammy Diaz lifted UTSA over WKU, 3-2, in a series-opening pitcher's duel on Friday night at Roadrunner Field.
QUICK HITS
- Luke Malone earned his third win of the season, keeping the Hilltoppers to just two runs on six hits while fanning eight batters.
- Simon Miller earned his third save, fanning three in the final two scoreless frames.
- The Roadrunners were limited to four hits as Josh Killeen, Sammy Diaz, Caleb Hill and Matt King each recorded one.
- WKU's starting pitcher Lane Diuguid had a phenomenal night, going a career-high 7.0 innings pitched.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The Roadrunners opened up scoring in the bottom of the first. Two walks to start off the inning, followed by a flyout, put runners on first and third with an out. Antonio Valdez then stepped up to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Killeen, giving UTSA a 1-0 lead.
UTSA then extended its lead to 2-0 with an RBI double by King in the bottom of the second. Meanwhile, Malone was dominant on the mound as he struck out five batters in the first two frames.
After a scoreless third inning, the Hilltoppers got on the board and tied the game up at 2-2 with a two-RBI single in the top of the fourth.
The tie ballgame didn't last long though. Diaz led off the bottom of the fourth and fouled off the first three pitches he saw. On the fourth pitch he saw, he launched a solo jack over the batters' eye in centerfield, regaining a 3-2 lead for the Roadrunners.
That would be the last time either team scored for the rest of the game. The fifth frame went down in order on both sides. In the sixth inning, both the Hilltoppers and Roadrunners got a runner on base but didn't do much with it. WKU got another runner aboard in the seventh, but the Hilltoppers went down on a caught stealing play.
Miller relieved Malone in the eighth frame and struck out the first two batters he faced. After allowing a couple baserunners, he recorded the final out of the top of the eighth on a groundout.
The Roadrunners were able to get a couple runners on in the bottom of the frame, but were unable to get farther than that.
Miller came back out to conclude the final inning. After allowing a double to start the ninth, he sat down the Hilltoppers on a flyout, groundout and swinging strikeout, leading UTSA to a 3-2 win over WKU in the series opener.
The Roadrunners improved to an 21-6 overall record (6-1 in Conference USA action), while WKU fell to a 16-11 overall record (2-5 in C-USA).
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and Hilltoppers resume the series on Saturday at Roadrunner Field. First pitch is at 2 p.m. on CUSA.tv.
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