SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team secured its third series victory in American Athletic Conference play with a 13-1 seven-inning run-rule win over Charlotte in the series finale on Sunday at Roadrunner Field in San Antonio.
QUICK HITS
· In his first start since March 9 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Lorenzo Morresi made his return to the starting lineup with a team-leading 2-for-3 game, including five RBI, three runs and a home run – his first as a Roadrunner.
· Matt King also picked up a pair of hits with three runs.
· Starting pitcher Ulises Quiroga (3-0) earned his third win of the season, pitching six innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts. This also marks Quiroga’s third quality start in five starts.
· UTSA improved to a 19-13 overall record (7-2 in American Athletic Conference play), while Charlotte fell to a 14-18 record (4-5 in league action).
· The Roadrunners now take the lone first-place spot in the conference standings.
· This marks the Roadrunners' second consecutive run-rule victory, after never run-ruling an opponent this season before Saturday’s 14-4 win.
· UTSA has won all three of its conference series thus far, picking up series wins against then-No. 10 and conference favorite East Carolina, 2023 AAC Tournament champion Tulane, and 2023 Conference USA Tournament champion Charlotte.
· The Roadrunners’ batters were hit by a pitch seven times in Sunday’s contest – the most in a single game in the conference this season.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The first frame went scoreless on both sides as Quiroga faced one more in the minimum and struck out one batter in the top half. The right-handed pitcher then forced a 1-2-3 inning with another strikeout in the top of the second.
The Roadrunners brought in the first couple of runs of the game in the bottom of the second. The bases were loaded early with a leadoff single by King and back-to-back hits by pitch to Broc Parmer and James Taussig. After a strikeout, Rodriguez was the third batter of the inning to get hit by a pitch, which brought in the first run. Next, Zane Spinn was patient at the plate to earn a full-count walk and drive in the second run.
The 49ers scored their first and only run in the top of the third with an RBI groundout, cutting UTSA’s lead to 2-1.
For the second inning in a row, Taussig was hit by a pitch, followed by Morresi to start the fourth. A couple of batters later, Ty Tilson took Spinn’s spot in the lineup as a pinch hitter. He watched the first pitch find its way into the strike zone to make the count 0-1. Then, Tilson launched a three-run shot past the left field wall – his first home run in a UTSA uniform.
Quiroga recorded another scoreless frame in the fifth, while also adding the sixth strikeout to his line. In the bottom of the inning, the offense added another trio of runs to their lead. With two runners in scoring position and two outs on the board, a single by Morresi drove in a pair of runs. Next at the plate, Rodriguez battled through a full count, eventually hitting a single to bring home Morresi and extending UTSA’s lead to 8-1.
In Quiroga’s final inning, he continued to dominate as he faced one more batter than the minimum and struck out one 49er. The Roadrunners put together a big five-run inning in the bottom of the sixth, opening up with a solo home run by Caleb Hill.
Patience at the plate continued to pay off for the UTSA batters as a couple more hits by pitch and a walk loaded the bases following Hill’s leadoff home run. A groundout scored one run and put two outs on the board. That was followed by a three-run home run by Morresi – his first four-bagger as a Roadrunner – which made UTSA’s lead 13-1.
Fischer Kingsbery took over on the mound for Quiroga in the top of the seventh, facing just one more batter than the minimum to attempt to force a run-rule victory. He did exactly that as he started and ended the frame with a strikeout. With the American Athletic Conference game run rule in effect, UTSA took its second consecutive seven-inning victory by 13-1 to also secure the series victory over Charlotte.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners head to College Station, Texas, for a big midweek matchup against No. 3 Texas A&M on April 9 at 6 p.m.
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