SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team forced the series opener against Rice to extra innings, but fell short by 9-8 in the 10th frame on Friday night in American Athletic Conference action at Reckling Park in Houston.
QUICK HITS
· Isaiah Walker led the team as he went 3-for-4 with two runs and a walk.
· Three Roadrunners had two-hit games, including Mason Lytle, Caleb Hill and Mark Henning.
· UTSA fell to a 24-17 overall record (11-5 in AAC action), while Rice improved to a 16-25 overall record (7-9 in conference play).
· With UTSA’s loss and East Carolina’s win over Memphis today, the Pirates take the top spot in the conference standings while the Roadrunners trail in second place at one game behind.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The first inning went scoreless, despite a couple runners getting on base for either team. The Roadrunners opened scoring in the top of the second as a sacrifice bunt by Henning drove in James Taussig to give UTSA a 1-0 advantage. The Owls responded with a four-run bottom of the inning to take a 4-1 lead.
The third inning didn’t see a score change as each pitcher faced one more batter than the minimum.
UTSA put together a three-run top of the fourth to tie the score at 4-4. With bases loaded and no outs, Andrew Stucky was hit by pitch to drive in the first run of the inning. Lytle followed that with a sacrifice fly that brought home Diego Diaz. A fielder’s choice by Hill scored Henning and capped off scoring with the game tied at 4-4.
Rice responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to regain a 6-4 lead, before a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth extended the Owls’ lead to 7-4.
The sixth and seventh innings saw a few more zeros added to the scoreboard. Zach Longshore was dominant on the mound, not allowing the Owls to score and allowing just one hit through those two frames. In the seventh, he recorded a 1-2-3 inning using just seven pitches.
The Roadrunners cut their deficit to 7-5 as a single by Hill brought Henning across the plate. The Owls quickly answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame to make the score 8-4.
In the top of the ninth, UTSA loaded the bases quickly using a double by Ty Tilson, a single by Walker and a walk by Diaz. A single by Broc Parmer and a double by Lytle combined for three runs to knot the game at 8-8. Ruger Riojas used just seven pitches to swiftly make the three outs of the bottom of the ninth and force the game to extra innings.
In the 10th inning, the Roadrunners got a runner on base but were unable to score. The Owls brought across a run in the bottom of the frame to secure the walk-off as UTSA fell to Rice by 9-8 in the first game of the series.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and Owls will resume the series in game two on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Reckling Park in Houston.
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