HAMMOND, La. – The UTSA softball team picked up a pair of victories on Saturday at the Lion Classic, first besting South Dakota, 3-2, before topping Mississippi Valley State, 7-0.
The Roadrunners (7-2) will wrap up the tournament on Sunday as they take on host school Southeastern Louisiana at noon inside North Oak Park.
UTSA vs. South Dakota
The 'Runners first bested the Coyotes, as freshman Ava Eldridge (2-0) picked up the win and Clara Edwards (3-1) the loss. Classmate Sabrina Wick went 2-for-3 at the dish with a pair of runs, while senior Jaylen Prichard logged two hits and made the difference with a go-ahead two-run RBI double.
UTSA got on the board in the bottom of the first, as singles by Wick and Prichard put a pair on for senior Crislyne Moreno. Wick then charged home on a well-placed sac-bunt for a 1-0 Roadrunner edge.
South Dakota responded with a crooked number in the third and held on to the lead until the bottom of the sixth. A pinch-hit single for senior Camryn Robillard kick-started the rally, and a base knock for Wick kept things going. A sacrifice moved the tandem over, ahead of Prichard's bases-clearing two-bagger that handed the squad a 3-2 edge. The Coyotes managed to escape the inning without any further damage but could not beat Eldridge in the top of the seventh as the 'Runners escaped with the victory.
UTSA vs Mississippi Valley State
UTSA took down MVSU in the second game of the day, as Kaylie Olivarez (1-1) and Meredith Schmitt combined for a two-hit shutout. Schmitt fanned three over the first three innings, ahead of four shutdown innings by Olivarez featuring six strikeouts. Madison Bruce (1-4) was stuck with the loss for the Delta Devils.
Senior Lindsey Davis and Moreno recorded multiple hits at the plate, while sophomore Sydney McReynolds batted in two runs.
Rucker sliced a single into left before denting the plate on back-to-back wild pitches for a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Shortly after, junior Madison Lenton led off the second with a base knock into center. Davis legged out a bunt single, and Wick matched to score Lenton. An RBI groundout for Rucker followed, plating Davis and increasing the Roadrunner advantage to three.
The 'Runners doubled their lead in the third, as Moreno and Robillard kick-started a rally with back-to-back hits. McReynolds then cleared the bases with a double into left and came around to score on a Madlock single, resulting in a 6-0 lead.
A Moreno triple plated the day's final run as Prichard crossed home for the 7-0 advantage. From there, Schmitt was lights out en route to the victory.
Keep up with UTSA Softball all season long on goutsa.com, and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSASB, X (Twitter) @UTSASoftball, and on Instagram @utsasoftball.
-UTSA-