SAN ANTONIO – A two-out wild pitch scored the winning run for the UTSA baseball team in a 10-9 walk-off win against Grand Canyon on Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
QUICK HITS
· Junior center fielder Mason Lytle went 4-for-6 with three runs.
· Sophomore right fielder Tye Odom went 3-for-5 with two runs and a double.
· Seniors Caleb Hill and Alexander Olivo each picked up a pair of hits.
· Sophomore Ruger Riojas earned his third win of the season, closing out the last four innings of the game while striking out five batters.
· The Roadrunners walked six times and were hit by pitch three times, both team season highs.
· UTSA improves to a 6-6 record, while GCU falls to 6-5 record.
· This is the Roadrunners’ first series win of the season.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The Lopes opened up scoring in the first inning as an RBI single gave GCU the early 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the frame, the Roadrunners loaded the bases but were unable to execute on the opportunity.
GCU extended its lead to 4-0 in the top of the second, using a three-run home run to do so. UTSA used a four-run bottom of the second inning to knot the score. A couple of singles and a walk loaded the bases with no outs. Next, Hill reached base on an error and Taussig scored on an error to put the Roadrunners on the board. A groundout followed that to drive in the second run. After Olivo walked to load the bases, Lytle singled to right field to bring home two runs and tie the game at 4-4.
The third inning went scoreless, despite UTSA getting runners on first and second. The Roadrunners took the lead in the bottom of the fourth as Taussig hit a three-run home run – his second jack of the season – to give UTSA a 7-4 lead.
In the next frame, two home runs by the Lopes knotted the game up at 7-7. In the bottom of the fifth, the first two Roadrunners got on base. Then, Matt King hit a sacrifice fly to regain the lead for UTSA. After another single and a pitching change, Lytle hit another single to extend the Roadrunners’ advantage to 9-7. A sacrifice fly by the Lopes in the sixth cut UTSA’s lead to 9-8.
After a scoreless seventh inning, the Lopes tied up the game at 9-9 with a solo home run in the top of the eighth. In the top of the ninth, Riojas kept GCU off the board, picking up two strikeouts along the way.
Five pitches loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, before Grand Canyon made a pitching change. On the first pitch that the new Lopes’ pitcher threw, Lytle reached on a fielders’ choice but a runner was out at home to put two outs on the board. The Roadrunners stayed patient on the next at-bat. The first pitch to pinch-hitter Broc Parmer was a wild pitch, but not enough to score a run. The next pitch to Parmer was another wild pitch. This time, it was enough to bring home King from third as UTSA clinched the 10-9 walk-off win over Grand Canyon to take the series.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners host Tarleton on Wednesday, March 6, at 4 p.m. at Roadrunner Field.
-UTSA-