SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team lost a 9-6 heartbreaker to UIW, falling to the Cardinals on a walk-off home run on Tuesday night at Sullivan Field.
QUICK HITS
- Five Roadrunners notched a pair of hits each, including Caleb Hill, Taylor Smith, Shane Sirdashney, Antonio Valdez and Isaiah Walker.
- Smith extended his reached base streak to 23 games, while Hill extended his reached base streak to 17 games.
- Simon Miller pitched two innings of shutout ball, fanning five batters along the way.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The first two innings went scoreless as freshman Zach Royse earned his second start and faced the minimum in the first two frames.
The Roadrunners opened up scoring in the top of the third as Smith blasted a solo home run with two outs in the frame. Sirdashney followed that with a single, before a triple by Valdez drove him in to give UTSA a 2-0 lead.
The Cardinals got one back with a solo home run of their own, cutting UTSA's lead to 2-1.
UTSA then tripled its runs in the fourth frame as Leyton Barry opened the inning with a double, before a double by Garrett Poston drove him home. Walker then singled to put runners on first and third. Hill put a bow on the inning with a three-run bomb to right field to extend UTSA's lead to 6-1.
UIW added three runs to the board in the bottom of the fifth to cut UTSA's lead to 6-4.
The sixth through eight innings saw a few more zeros on the board. Freshman Ruger Riojas pitched the sixth inning and allowed a couple base runners but escaped the inning unscathed. Miller then relieved Riojas, striking out the side on order in the seventh frame. He struck out the first two batters he faced in the eighth as well, putting up another zero.
Coming down to the final inning, the Cardinals got their last chance at the plate with UTSA still leading by 6-4. UIW ended up fighting back and a three-run home run with two outs forced the walk off as UTSA fell to UIW by 9-6.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners take their first road trip out of the state to face the Charlotte 49ers this Easter weekend, Thursday through Saturday. All three games are set to be broadcasted on ESPN+.
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