SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team secured its sixth American Athletic Conference series win with a 5-3 victory over South Florida on Sunday morning at Roadrunner Field in San Antonio.
QUICK HITS
· Mason Lytle and Matt King led the team with two-hit games.
· Ruger Riojas (9-3) secured his ninth win of the season, allowing just one run and striking out four batters in 3.2 innings pitched.
· UTSA improved to a 29-21 overall record (15-9 in AAC play) while South Florida fell to a 24-27 overall record (10-14 in conference action).
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
Starting pitcher Braylon Owens kept the Bulls scoreless in the first frame. The Roadrunners put the first run on the board in the bottom of the inning. Zane Spinn earned a full-count walk, before he stepped on the gas to score from first on a double by Matt King.
A solo home run by South Florida in the top of the second knotted the score at 1-1. The score didn’t budge again until the sixth inning. The Bulls left four runners stranded, while the Roadrunners left three runners stranded through that span.
South Florida took a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth as the Bulls drove in one run. UTSA knotted the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the frame as a groundout by Ty Tilson drove in Drake Smith – the pitcher-turned-pinch runner’s first run scored of his career.
Riojas took over on the mound in the top of the seventh, recording a 1-2-3 frame with one strikeout. The Roadrunners put together a two-run frame in the bottom of the seventh. Lytle led off the inning with a solo home run to give UTSA the lead.
The team then loaded the bases before South Florida turned to its bullpen. After the pitching change, a wild pitch allowed Spinn to score from third, extending the lead to 4-2.
The Bulls made it one-game in the top of the eighth, but the Roadrunners answered in the bottom of the frame. An error by South Florida’s shortstop allowed Taussig to come home and make the score, 5-3.
Despite allowing a couple of baserunners in the top of the ninth, Riojas worked through the jam. He struck out two batters, including the final one swinging, to lead UTSA to a 5-3 win over South Florida on Sunday morning.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners will host their last home game of the season on May 14, hosting a crosstown rivalry matchup against UIW at 6 p.m. at Roadrunner Field. UTSA will then head to Boca Raton, Fla., to conclude the regular season with a three-game conference series against Florida Atlantic on May 16-18.
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