SAN ANTONIO – The No. 22 UTSA baseball team used a combination of shutdown pitching and late-inning rally to secure a series-opening 9-7 win over Rice at Roadrunner Field on Friday night.
QUICK HITS
- Both Antonio Valdez and Caleb Hill led the Roadrunners with three hits each.
- Taylor Smith, Matt King and Sammy Diaz picked up a pair of hits apiece.
- Starting pitcher Luke Malone recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts in six innings pitched.
- Ryan Beaird picked up his fourth win, pitching an inning of shutout ball with a pair of strikeouts.
- Simon Miller earned his 10th save of the season, closing the final two frames as the Owls did not get a hit from him.
- The Roadrunners improved to a 34-12 overall record (17-4 in C-USA action), while Rice fell to 17-28 overall (7-15 in conference play).
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The Owls jumped on the ball early, putting three runners on base before the first out in the top of the first. Rice scored three in the inning to take a 3-0 lead, before adding another in the top of the second to extend it to 4-0.
In the bottom of the second, the Roadrunners began to chip away at that lead. Hill opened the inning up with a triple, before King singled to drive in UTSA's first run. A couple batters later, a fielder's choice by Josh Killeen drove in King to make the score 4-2, still in favor of Rice.
Malone worked a quick inning in the third, sitting down the Owls with three strikeouts on 13 pitches. UTSA continued to work at the score in the bottom of the frame, as a RBI single by Valdez put the Roadrunners within one run. Then, Hill reached on a fielder's choice and Smith came in to score on the play and tie the game up at 4-4.
Malone forced another three up and three down inning in the fourth with another strikeout. In the fifth frame, the Owls regained the lead (7-4) on a three-run home run, but Malone picked up a pair of strikeouts to bring his total to 10, a new career high for the senior.
After a scoreless sixth inning, the Roadrunners made things interesting. A solo home run by Smith to open the bottom of the seventh frame to kickstart a big inning for UTSA. The next seven Roadrunners reached base after this. A single up the middle by King drove in a pair of runs to tie the score at 7-7 with just one out. A single and a pair of hits by pitch loaded the bases with two outs. Isaiah Walker then worked a full-count walk to bring home the winning run for UTSA, taking an 8-7 lead.
Closing out the game, the Roadrunners brought in the trusty Miller from the bullpen. He forced a 1-2-3 eighth frame with a strikeout. In the bottom of the frame, Valdez launched a solo home run to give UTSA a 9-7 advantage.
In the ninth frame, Miller worked quickly to secure the victory for the Roadrunners, forcing a strikeout and a couple of groundouts. UTSA secured the 9-7 win over Rice to open the series.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and Owls resume the conference series on Saturday at Roadrunner Field. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. (CT) on CUSA.tv.
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