MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The UTSA softball team (8-37, 3-16 C-USA) fell behind Middle Tennessee (32-15, 11-8 C-USA) early in the second game of the series but couldn't produce the run support to even things up before the Blue Raiders pulled away in Saturday's Conference USA loss at Blue Raider Softball Stadium.
Though starter Kenzi Schultz largely pitched well in the front half of the game, a pair of first-inning walks proved troublesome for the Roadrunners, as Julia Garcia's RBI single bounced through the middle to put the Blue Raiders in front, 1-0. Middle Tennessee followed with an additional run in the second after Shelby Echols drilled a double to center field, too deep for UTSA to stop Amaya Harris from scoring on a blazing sprint from first with two outs.
Down just two scores, the Roadrunners handed off pitching duties in the fourth to Jamie Gilbert, who struck out three of the first four batters she faced and kept the sheet clean through the fifth. However, the Blue Raiders found some gaps in the sixth that allowed Middle Tennessee to create some separation.
Working with a runner aboard and just one out in the sixth, MTSU registered back-to-back RBI triples by Laura Mealer and Ava Tepe, followed by a Riley Gilmore RBI single – breaking the game open to a 5-0 lead.
Offensively, the Roadrunners failed to push a runner past second base and Kamryn Carcich (8-5) earned the complete-game win Saturday after making the save in Friday's series opener. Carcich limited the Roadrunners to four hits and two walks. Taking the loss, Schultz (0-3) threw three full innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks.
At the plate, Kat Ibarra went 2-for-3 and is batting .571 in this series against the Blue Raiders.
The series wraps up at noon on Sunday at the Blue Raiders Softball Stadium, closing out the final road series for UTSA in the regular season. UTSA will finish off the regular season at home next week as host to Florida Atlantic at Roadrunner Field.
-UTSA-
