ABILENE, Texas – Despite a game-tying grand slam by slugger Taylor Smith, the UTSA baseball team dropped its final midweek matchup of the regular season, 10-8, to Abilene Christian on Tuesday afternoon at Crutcher Scott Field.
QUICK HITS
- Taylor Smith and Garrett Poston each picked up three hits a piece, extending their reached base streaks to 10 games and 11 games, respectively. Smith hit a game-tying grand slam and Poston hit a solo jack.
- Four more Roadrunners extended their reached base streaks, including Antonio Valdez (12), Leyton Barry (19), Caleb Hill (19) and Josh Killeen (16).
- The Roadrunners fall to a 36-16 overall record, while Abilene Christian improved to 32-20 overall.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
After a scoreless first frame in which freshman starter Ruger Riojas forced a three-up, three-down inning with two strikeouts, the Wildcats took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
Abilene Christian then added on four more runs in the bottom of the third to extend its lead to 6-0.
A solo home run by Poston in the top of the fourth finally put the Roadrunners on the board, but the Wildcats responded in the bottom of the frame to extend their lead to 7-1.
In the top of the fifth, UTSA exploded for six runs to tie the game up at 7-7. A single by Poston drove in Matt King and Antonio Valdez to cut ACU's lead to four runs. A few batters later, the bases were loaded with two outs on the board. T. Smith came up to bat and watched the first pitch fall in the strike zone. On the next pitch, he launched it to left field for a game-tying grand slam.
The Roadrunners took a 8-7 lead in the top of the sixth as Valdez came in to score on a dropped third strike. The lead didn't last long though as the Wildcats scored two in th4e bottom of the frame to regain the 9-8 lead.
The seventh frame went scoreless as Simon Miller sat down the Wildcats in order on two groundouts and a strikeout.
ACU tacked on another run in the eighth for a 10-8 advantage. The Roadrunners were unable to keep up as UTSA fell, 10-8, to Abilene Christian on Tuesday.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners conclude the regular season in Ruston, La., facing defending Conference USA Champion Louisiana Tech for a three-game series on Thursday-Sunday. All three games will be streamed on CUSA.tv.
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