SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team dropped its second game, 6-3, of the three-game series against South Florida in American Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Roadrunner Field in San Antonio.
QUICK HITS
· Prior to the game, the team recognized its six seniors – Daniel Garza, Caleb Hill, Alexander Olivo, Ryan Ward, Fischer Kingsbery and Ulises Quiroga. These six seniors plus Mason Lytle also went through an on-field graduation ceremony.
· Diego Diaz led the team as he went 3-for-5 with one RBI and a double.
· Three more Roadrunners had two-hit games, including Mason Lytle, Mark Henning and Zane Spinn.
· Spinn launched a solo home run in the eighth, the first of his career as a Roadrunner.
· UTSA improved to a 28-21 overall record (14-9 in AAC play) while South Florida fell to a 24-26 overall record (10-13 in conference action).
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The Roadrunners opened scoring in the bottom of the first. A couple of singles by Hill and King and a hit by pitch to Taussig loaded the bases. Diaz then singled to drive in Hill from third. Then, Mark Henning hit a groundout which brought in King to give UTSA a 2-0 lead.
The second and third innings went scoreless. Starting pitcher Zach Royse put together a 1-2-3 frame in the top of the second with two flyouts and a strikeout.
The Bulls scattered six runs across the fourth and fifth frames to take a 6-2 advantage, while the Roadrunners did not respond. The sixth and seventh innings did not see the score change. Daniel Garza picked up a pair of strikeouts in a three up, three down sixth inning. Ryan Beaird came in to relive Garza in the seventh and faced the minimum, using a fielder’s choice and a double play.
UTSA added one run in the bottom of the eighth as Spinn hit his first home run as a Roadrunner, a solo jack to cut the deficit to 6-3.
The Roadrunners got two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth but were not able to score. UTSA fell to South Florida by 6-3 in the second game of the series on Saturday.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and Bulls will play the rubber match on Sunday at 11 a.m. at Roadrunner Field.
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