SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team secured an upset series win over No. 10 East Carolina, taking down the Pirates by 6-5 in American Athletic Conference action on Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
QUICK HITS
· Broc Parmer led the team with three hits - two of those hits were doubles.
· Three more Roadrunners picked up two hits apiece, including Mason Lytle, Alexander Olivo and Zane Spinn.
· Daniel Garza (1-1) earned the win, pitching three innings of two-run ball.
· Ruger Riojas picked up his third save of the season and second of the week,
· UTSA improved to an even 12-12 overall record (2-1 in AAC play), while No. 10 East Carolina fell to a 16-6 record (1-2 in conference action).
· The Roadrunners took a 4-3 advantage over the Pirates in the all-time series record, dating back to 2014.
· This series victory marks the first time the Roadrunners have won a three or four game series against a top-10 team. UTSA has previously won series against ranked teams three times – No. 29 Old Dominion in 2022, No. 23 Charlotte in 2022 and No. 27 Southern Miss in 2019.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
Starting pitcher Ulises Quiroga faced the minimum in the first frame. After allowing a walk on a 3-2 count, he battled back as he forced a flyout and strikeout. He then eliminated the baserunner as a caught stealing play from catcher Parmer to shortstop Matt King was perfectly executed.
The Roadrunners opened scoring in the bottom of the frame. After the Pirates’ starter Jake Hunter forced a strikeout to start the inning, Lytle beat an 0-2 count as he lined a single through the middle. His quick feet then got him to second with a stolen base, before Olivo hit a single to left center and Lytle came in to score. A couple batters later, King scored on a double by Parmer that went over the centerfielder, giving UTSA a 2-0 lead.
A solo home run in the top of the second put the Pirates on the board and made the score 2-1, still in favor of UTSA. The Roadrunners responded with two more runs in the bottom of the frame. Odom reached second on an error to start the inning, before he came home on a double to left field by Spinn. Spinn then advanced to third on a groundout, prior to scoring on a sacrifice fly by Caleb Hill to extend UTSA’s lead to 4-1.
The third frame went scoreless as Quiroga battled a tough situation with two runners in scoring position, but ultimately escaped the inning unscathed. The Pirates made it a one-run game in the fourth with a two-run home run that made the score 4-3, UTSA still leading.
UTSA added some insurance in the bottom of the fifth as Lytle opened the inning with a single on the first pitch he saw. Smart baserunning helped advance him to just 90 feet from scoring. Lytle stole second on a strikeout, before advancing to third on a passed ball. He then scored on a sacrifice fly by King.
The Pirates took one back in the sixth with a solo home run to make it a one-run game once again, but the Roadrunners responded with one run of their own in the bottom of the inning. Odom started things off with a double to left center, before advancing to third on a passed ball during Spinn’s at-bat. Battling through a 3-2 count, Spinn grounded out to second for Odom to run home and extend UTSA’s lead to 6-4.
The eighth frame saw a couple more zeros added to the scoreboard. Garza faced the minimum in the top of the inning. He won a 3-2 count against the Pirates’ leadoff hitter Carter Cunningham, forcing a flyout to center. The next ECU batter hit a single to center, but a “strike them out, throw them out” play helped Garza finish the inning scoreless.
The Pirates hit another solo home run to begin the eighth frame to cut UTSA’s advantage to 6-5, before Riojas took over on the mound. He then struck out the first two batters he faced and forced a groundout for the third out.
Riojas started the ninth inning with two long flyouts, before allowing a double. He then used two pitches on the next batter to force a game-ending groundout as UTSA clinched the 6-5 series finale victory, securing the series victory over No. 10 East Carolina in its first-ever AAC series.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners head up to Waco, Texas, to face the Baylor Bears on March 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.
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