SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team improved its conference-leading record with a series-opening 13-5 victory over Middle Tennessee on Friday night at Roadrunner Field.
QUICK HITS
- Luke Malone earned his fifth win of the season (5-2), striking out six and allowing two runs in five innings pitched.
- Leyton Barry and Isaiah Walker led the Roadrunners with three hits each. Barry also notched three runs and two RBI, while Walker recorded a pair of runs and a RBI.
- Matt King also had a standout night with five RBI on two hits.
- Smith extended his reached base streak to 27 games, while Matt King extended his to 11 games.
- The Roadrunners improved to a 26-8 overall record (10-2 in Conference USA play), while Middle Tennessee fell to a 17-15 overall record (8-5 in C-USA action).
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
After a scoreless first inning, the Roadrunners put a couple of runs on the board with a two-run home run by King in the bottom of the second. The third inning saw a similar result as a two-run home run by Barry then extended UTSA's lead to 4-0.
On the mound, UTSA's Friday ace Malone was dominant as usual. Allowing just three base runners in the first four innings. He struck out the side swinging in order in the top of the fourth. A sacrifice fly by Shane Sirdashney in the bottom of the frame gave UTSA a 5-0 advantage.
The Blue Raiders then got on the board in the fifth with a pair of runs in the top of the frame, but the Roadrunners responded with double in the bottom of the inning. After Barry opened the inning with a single, Antonio Valdez brought him home with a single up the middle. A pitching change and a single later, Caleb Hill and King hit back-to-back doubles to give UTSA a 9-2 lead.
The sixth inning looked similar as Middle Tennessee added two more runs and UTSA added four more. The Roadrunners scored their four runs on a double by Valdez, sacrifice fly by King, single by Walker and single by Garrett Poston, taking a 13-4 lead.
Coming in to relieve Malone in the sixth inning, Daniel Garza forced a three up and three down seventh inning. A sacrifice fly by the Blue Raiders in the eighth cut UTSA's advantage to 13-5.
Freshman Zach Royse came in to close out the game in the ninth inning, forcing a pair of flyouts and a groundout. The Roadrunners took a 13-5 win over Middle Tennessee to open the three-game conference series.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and Blue Raiders resume the series on Saturday at Roadrunner Field. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. on CUSA.tv.
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