BOCA RATON, Fla. – The UTSA baseball team opened its three-game American Athletic Conference series against Florida Atlantic with a statement 14-1 victory in seven innings on Thursday night at FAU Baseball Stadium in Boca Raton, Fla.
QUICK HITS
· Diego Diaz led the team with a 3-for-4 performance, recording one run and three RBI.
· Alexander Olivo went 2-for-3 with both hits being opposite field home runs. He recorded four runs, two RBI and a walk.
· Two more Roadrunners had two-hit games, including Caleb Hill and Matt King.
· Ulises Quiroga (8-1) earned his eighth win of the season, allowing just one run on four hits and striking out four batters in 5.2 innings pitched. This also marks Quiroga’s 17th career win, tying Luke Malone (2020-23) for the ninth spot for most career wins in the program record book.
· UTSA improved to a 31-21 overall record (16-9 in AAC play) while Florida Atlantic fell to a 25-26 overall record (11-14 in conference action).
· This marks the Roadrunners’ second consecutive run-ruole victory after defeating UIW by 13-3 in eight innings on Tuesday.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The Roadrunners opened up the game with a statement, putting together a big five-run inning in the top of the first. With runners on the corners and one out, King hit a single up the middle to drive in Mason Lytle and give UTSA the first run.
After a walk and another out, the bases were loaded with two outs on the board. Mark Henning earned a full count walk and Spinn earned a five-pitch Taussig and Henning to give UTSA a 5-0 advantage after the top of the first.
The Owls led off the bottom of the frame with a solo home run to cut the Roadrunners’ lead to 5-1.
The Roadrunners then responded swiftly in the top of the second. Olivo led off the frame with a solo home run of his own. A few batters later and two runners on, Diaz singled to right field and drove in King to put seven runs on the board for UTSA.
In the bottom of the inning, Quiroga faced the minimum as the first batter grounded out, then the second Owl walked but was quickly eliminated on a double play from shortstop King to first baseman Mark Henning.
In the second consecutive inning, Olivo hit another home run – his second of the night – in the top of the third, making the score 8-1. Quiroga once again faced the minimum in the bottom of the frame, forcing a pair of flyouts and a groundout.
The score did not budge in the fourth frame. Quiroga picked up a pair of strikeouts in the bottom of the frame and worked himself out of a jam with two runners on.
The Roadrunners put together another big inning in the top of the fifth, scoring six runs in the frame. This was UTSA’s third time it scored six or more runs in an inning this season. Zane Spinn opened the frame with a solo home run – his second jack of the 2024 campaign.
The Owls sat the next two batters down, but that didn’t slow down the Roadrunners. They loaded the bases with a walk by Olivo, single by Hill and walk by King. Then, Taussig won a full count and walked in UTSA’s 10thrun.
After this, a pair of singles by Diaz and Henning drove in a combined four runs to extend UTSA’s lead to 14-1. The next two innings went scoreless, despite the Owls getting three on base.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Owls had a couple in scoring position before UTSA called in Ryan Ward from the bullpen. He walked a batter to load the bases, but then got the final batter swinging to avoid any damage by Florida Atlantic.
Ward faced the minimum in the bottom of the seventh, starting off with a groundout. He walked the second batter, but then a flyout was flipped to first to get the runner out as well. UTSA earned a dominant 14-1 win over Florida Atlantic in the series opener on Thursday night.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and the Owls resume the series on Friday night with first pitch set for 5:30 p.m. CT/6:30 p.m. ET at FAU Baseball Stadium in Boca Raton, Fla.
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