SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team secured a swift 5-2 victory over South Florida in just over two hours in the series opener in American Athletic Conference play on Friday night at Roadrunner Field in San Antonio.
QUICK HITS
· Matt King led the team with a 3-for-4 day at the plate with two runs scored.
· Caleb Hill had a perfect 2-for-2 game with one run and one RBI.
· Ulises Quiroga (6-1) acquired his seventh win, along with his sixth quality start of the season. The senior pitched eight innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts.
· Ruger Riojas picked up his seventh save of the season, recording the final two outs of the game while striking out one batter.
· The Roadrunners turned three double plays, their most of the season.
· UTSA improved to a 28-20 overall record (14-8 in AAC play) while South Florida fell to a 23-26 overall record (9-13 in conference action).
· This was the Roadrunners’ fastest game of the 2024 campaign, lasting only two hours and seven minutes.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The first inning went scoreless as Quiroga started the game strong with a three up, three down inning with two strikeouts. In the second inning, he continued to dominate on the mound with another 1-2-3 frame, while picking up two more punchouts.
The Roadrunners opened up scoring in the bottom of the second. King began the frame with a single through the left side, before a hit by pitch to Hill put two runners on. A groundout advanced both runners to scoring position with one out on the board. Then, a groundout by Diego Diaz brought home King to give UTSA a 1-0 advantage.
The score didn’t budge through the third inning. Despite allowing a couple doubles, an impressive play by Lytle helped keep the Bulls at bay as he caught a flyout in center and then sent it to third base to get the runner on a double play.
UTSA added three to its advantage in the bottom of the fourth, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Three straight singles by King, Hill and Isaiah Walker loaded the bases to start the inning. Then, a sacrifice fly by Diaz drove in the first run of the frame. Hector Rodriguez followed that with a clutch bases-clearing double which brought home Hill and Walker.
The Bulls recorded a quick single on the first pitch of the fifth, but Quiroga forced a flyout to follow that. Then, Quiroga caught a grounder to the pitcher’s mound, flipped it to Diaz at second and then Diaz threw it to Walker at first for a crucial double play to end the inning.
South Florida notched its first run of the game with a solo home run in the top of the sixth. Quiroga added another three up, three down inning to his impressive outing in the seventh.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Roadrunners added another run to their lead (now 5-1). Olivo was hit by pitch, before pitcher-turned-pinch runner Drake Smith replaced him at first. Then, Smith stole his first base of his career. Following that, King hit a single to third base which put runners on the corners.
The Bulls opened the eighth frame with a solo home run to cut UTSA’s lead to 5-2. In the ninth inning, Quiroga came back out to the mound and recorded the first out before he was replaced by Riojas. He then struck out the first batter he faced before securing the game with a flyout. UTSA earned the 5-2 win over South Florida in the series opener.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and Bulls will resume the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. Prior to the game, the Senior Day ceremony and Graduation will take place at Roadrunner Field.
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