SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA Baseball team battled till the very last out but fell to UT Arlington, 10-9, on Friday evening at Roadrunner Field.
QUICK HITS
· Three Roadrunners collected two hits apiece, including Isaiah Walker, Caleb Hill and James Taussig.
· Hill started the season on a high note with two home runs, four RBI and three runs.
· Walker picked up a pair of runs, while Taussig drove in one.
· In his collegiate debut, freshman Robert Orloski struck out five batters in 3.2 innings pitched.
· Cooper Hrbacek and Ryan Ward kept the Mavericks scoreless through the last three innings to keep the Roadrunners in the game.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The Mavericks scattered four runs through the first three innings, while the Roadrunners struggled at the plate.
UT Arlington added five more runs in the top of the fourth to extend its lead to 9-0. UTSA found its way on the board with a fielder’s choice by Mason Lytle which Matt King scored on.
The Mavericks brought in another run in the top of the fifth to make the score 10-1. In the bottom of the frame, Hill hit the Roadrunners’ first home run – a three-run shot to cut UTSA’s deficit to 10-4.
Starting in the sixth inning, UTSA kept UT Arlington scoreless. In the sixth frame, Ryan Beaird allowed two hits but did not allow a run as he forced the Mavericks into two flyouts and a strikeout. Lytle hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to make the score 10-5, still in favor of UTSA.
Coming in to pitch in the seventh inning, Hrbacek made quick work of the Mavericks – forcing two flyouts and a groundout. The Roadrunners posted a trio of runs as they cut their deficit to 10-8 in the bottom of inning. With the bases loaded and no outs, King hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Hector Rodriguez. After a pitching change, Taussig singled to shortstop and drove in another run. Lytle then hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Walker and cap scoring in the inning.
The eighth inning went scoreless on both sides of the frame. Hrbacek continued to dominate the mound, recording a pop up, ground out and fly out.
In the final frame, Hrbacek walked a batter to begin the inning before Ryan Ward took over on the mound. Ward recorded a strikeout and forced a double play to put another zero on UT Arlington’s side of the board. Hill opened up the bottom of the inning with his second home run of the night a solo shot to right field to get the Roadrunners just one run shy of tying the game (10-9). Despite the anticipation building, UTSA was not able to find a hit through the last three outs as the Roadrunners fell, 10-9, to the Mavericks.
The Roadrunners fell to 0-1 record, while the Mavericks moved to 1-0 to start the season.
ON DECK
UTSA and UT Arlington continue the series with a doubleheader on Saturday. The first game will be seven innings and will start at 12 p.m., while the second game will be a full nine innings and start at approximately 3 p.m.
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