NEW ORLEANS – The UTSA baseball team earned its first road victory in American Athletic Conference action in a 6-3 win over Tulane on Thursday night at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans.
QUICK HITS
· Matt King had a monster day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with one run and one RBI.
· Mason Lytle had a 3-for-5 showing with one run, while Andrew Stucky went 2-for-4 with one run.
· Ruger Riojas (5-0) earned his fifth win of the season, striking out seven batters in the last 4.2 innings of the game. He has earned either a save or a win in his last four appearances.
· Starting pitcher Robert Orloski turned in 4.1 innings of one-run ball while striking out six.
· UTSA improved to a 14-12 overall record (3-1 in conference action), while Tulane now sits at a 15-11 record (2-2 in AAC play).
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The Roadrunners got on the board early in the first frame as King got on base with a double down the left field line, before being driven in by a first-pitch double by Ty Tilson. The Green Wave knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the first.
The second and third innings went scoreless. Orloski worked through a jam in which he allowed two base runners in each frame, but pushed through it to put some zeros on the board.
A solo home run by Tye Odom gave the lead (2-1) back to the Roadrunners in the fourth inning. In the bottom of the frame, Orloski struck out the side in order – all three of them were swinging strikeouts.
The Roadrunners added another run to their lead in the fifth frame. Rodriguez earned a four-pitch walk to open the inning, before singles by Lytle and King loaded the bases. After a pitching change by Tulane, Olivo grounded out to shortstop, enough for Rodriguez to score from third and make UTSA’s lead 3-1.
In the bottom of the inning, a single and walk got Orloski into a jam, despite also forcing a flyout. He was then replaced by Riojas who forced a couple more flyouts to halt Tulane’s offense.
Riojas recorded a three up, three down inning in the sixth, which included a strikeout. The Roadrunners continued to add to its lead in the top of the seventh. Lytle and King hit back-to-back singles to get a run across the plate. In the bottom of the frame, Riojas continued to dominate with another 1-2-3 inning with a couple of strikeouts.
UTSA continued to work in the eighth inning as a couple singles and a walk loaded the bases. Then, Olivo won a 3-2 pitch count with a hit by pitch, which then forced the fifth run in. Riojas allowed a single in the bottom of the inning, but a groundout and two strikeouts got him through another scoreless frame.
The Roadrunners loaded the bases again in the ninth with an error and two hits by pitch. Rodriguez then hit a groundout which brought home Odom from third. The Green Wave attempted a comeback in the bottom of the ninth as a two-run home run cut their deficit to three runs. Riojas shut down the Tulane rally with a strikeout to end the ninth and lead UTSA to a 6-3 victory in the series opener.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and Green Wave resume the series on Friday with game two’s first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.
-UTSA-