HOUSTON – A four-run eighth inning highlighted by James Taussig’s go-ahead home run led the UTSA baseball team to a 4-2 victory over Rice on Sunday afternoon in American Athletic Conference action at Reckling Park in Houston.
QUICK HITS
· Three Roadrunners led the team with two hits, including Mason Lytle, James Taussig and Diego Diaz.
· Starting pitcher Ulises Quiroga (6-0) picked up his sixth win of the season. He picked up his fifth quality start of the 2024 campaign, allowing just two runs on four hits and striking out eight batters in seven innings pitched.
· Fischer Kingsbery closed out the game, recording his fourth save of the season. He kept the Owls scoreless on just one hit and four strikeouts in the final two frames.
· UTSA improved to a 25-18 overall record (12-6 in AAC action), while Rice fell to a 17-26 overall record (8-10 in conference play).
· In six conference series so far, the Roadrunners have won the series finale in each one of those.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The first two innings were stagnant as only one runner was allowed on base by the two teams combined. In the bottom of the first, Quiroga forced the Owls out using a pair of groundouts and a flyout. Quiroga continued to dominant in the second inning as he struck out the side, all swinging strikeouts.
Rice got on the board first as a two-run home run gave the Owls an early 2-0 advantage.
The Roadrunners struggled at the plate through the first three frames as the first runner was allowed on base in the fourth inning on a hit by pitch to Caleb Hill.
The fourth through seventh innings went scoreless. Quiroga forced a three up, three down fourth inning, using a groundout, strikeout and popout. He struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth, two of them swinging. Despite allowing a single to start the sixth, Quiroga fought through it for another scoreless frame.
In his final inning on the mound, Quiroga recorded a 1-2-3 frame in the bottom of the seventh, striking out one Owl and forcing two flyouts.
The Roadrunners’ offense began heating up in the top of the eighth inning. Andrew Stucky led off the inning with a single to left field. Then, Lytle doubled and advanced to third on the throw, but Stucky was not able to beat the throw home as one out was added to the board.
On the first pitch of the next at-bat, Caleb Hill hit a single to drive in Lytle for UTSA’s first run of the game. After one more out was made and the Owls turned to the bullpen, Matt King hit a double to left center that drove home Hill and knotted the score at 2-2.
With King on second, Taussig stepped up to the plate and launched the first pitch he saw past the right field wall to lift the Roadrunners over the Owls by 4-2.
Coming in to relieve Quiroga, Kingsbery posted a three up, three down bottom of the eighth inning.
The Roadrunners got a couple of more on the basepaths in the top of the ninth, but didn’t bring in any more runs. Back on the mound, Kingsbery delivered a shut-down bottom of the ninth frame, striking out the side to lead UTSA to a 4-2 win over Rice in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners return home to host Texas State in a Battle of I-35 matchup on Tuesday, April 30, at 6 p.m. at Roadrunner Field.
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