MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The UTSA baseball team opened up its series against Memphis with a 9-6 victory in American Athletic Conference action on Friday night at FedEx Park in Memphis, Tenn.
QUICK HITS
· Mason Lytle went 4-for-6 with three runs, one RBI, one double and one triple. This marks his third four-hit game of the season.
· Hector Rodriguez had a 3-for-5 day at the plate, while Caleb Hill and Alexander Olivo picked up two hits apiece.
· Ruger Riojas (7-0) earned his seventh win of the season, striking out three batters in 2.1 innings pitched.
· Daniel Garza forced the final two outs, one of them a strikeout, to earn his second save of the season.
· UTSA improved to a 20-14 overall record (8-2 in AAC play), while Memphis fell to a 17-18 overall record (5-5 in conference action).
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The Roadrunners’ bats got going early as two singles and a hit by pitch loaded the bases in the top of the first, but the runners were left stranded. The Tigers put the first run on the board in the bottom of the frame.
Memphis’ lead didn’t last long as UTSA tied it up in the top of the second. With two runenrs on and one out, a single up the middle by Lytle knotted the score at 1-1. Ryan Beaird forced a quick 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second with one strikeout. The third inning went scoreless, despite UTSA putting two runners in scoring position. In the bottom of the frame, Beaird faced one more batter than the minimum to put together another scoreless inning.
After one out to start the fourth, a triple by Lytle and a hit by pitch to Hill put runners on the corners for the Roadrunners. Olivo then hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Lytle and give UTSA the 2-1 advantage. Beaird picked up another scoreless frame in the bottom of the fourth, only allowing one runner to board the bases.
The fifth inning was another scoreless frame. Ryan Ward posted a three up, three down inning with one strikeout to close it out. UTSA extended its lead to 5-1 in the top of the sixth on a RBI single by Olivo and a two RBI double by Diego Diaz.
The Tigers scattered four runs across the bottom of sixth through the bottom of the eighth to tie the game up at 5-5. The Roadrunners responded in the top of the ninth with a big four-run inning. Hill and Ty Tilson both hit RBI singles, while Mark Henning reached on an error which scored two runs to give UTSA a 9-5 lead.
Memphis scored one run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth, but Garza closed out the game with a strikeout. UTSA held on to take the series opener by 9-6 over Memphis.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and Tigers go head-to-head in game two of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. at FedEx Park in Memphis, Tenn.
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