SAN ANTONIO — UTSA fights back from a 6-3 deficit to defeat Florida Atlantic 10-7 in game one of the three-game series on Friday, Mar. 28 at Roadrunner Field in San Antonio, Texas.
THE BASICS:
Score: UTSA 10, Florida Atlantic 7
Records: UTSA (21-7) (3-1), FAU (19-7) (2-2)
Location: Roadrunner Field
Win: Zach Royse (2-3) | Loss: Steven Andrews (2-1)
UTSA struck first in the first inning as Caden Miller led the inning off with a hit-by-pitch. He was then brought to third on two wild pitches. James Taussig was the man who brought him home on a sacrifice fly.
In the second, FAU added five runs on a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded then a grand slam to take a 5-1 lead entering the bottom of the second.
In the bottom of the third, Nate Hodge led the inning off with a walk. Miller then homered to center field to give the Roadrunners three runs in the game. Florida Atlantic added another run in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly.
The Roadrunners entered the bottom of the fourth down 6-3. With a lead-off single hit by Andrew Stucky and a walk, the Roadrunners had two aboard. Ty Hodge hit a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners into scoring position. Nathan Hodge was able to drive in one run to cut the FAU lead to two runs on a sacrifice fly to right field.
Stucky led the sixth inning off with a walk; he was able to reach second on a ground out. Jordan Ballin then hit an infield single that scored Stucky from second, thanks to some aggressive base running. After a walk drawn by N. Hodge, two Roadrunners were on the basepaths. Miller came up big and delivered a double down the left-field line to give UTSA a 7-6 lead.
In the seventh, Taussig was able to reach on an error and was quickly advanced to second on a single hit by Drew Detlefsen. Both Runners advanced to scoring position on a flyout. After an intentional walk drawn by Norris McClure, the Roadrunners had bases loaded. T. Hodge then hit a sacrifice fly to score Taussig and advanced Detlefsen to third. Ballin drove in UTSA’s ninth run of the ballgame by hitting a single to left field that scored Detlefsen.
In the top of the eighth FAU scored their seventh and final run of the game on a solo homer. With Runners on second and third, Miller was able to score as he attempted to steal home but an errant throw by the pitcher allowed him to slide in safely to give UTSA a comfortable 10-7 lead going into the ninth. Relief pitcher Robert Orloski went three up, and three down to end the game.
Starting pitcher Zach Royse threw six innings, giving up nine hits and six runs with three strikeouts en route to his second win of the year. Orloski picked up his first save of the year as he went 2.2 innings pitched, giving up just one hit and one run with three strikeouts.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- UTSA is now 13-3 when they score in the first inning.
- The Roadrunners are now 15-4 when they score first in the game.
- UTSA is 8-3 in night games.
- The Roadrunners had three sacrifice flies in the ball game for a new season high.
- Miller went 2-for-3 with four RBIs for his sixth multi-hit game and fifth multi-RBI game of the year.
- Ballin had two hits and two RBIs for his fourth multi-hit game and fifth multi-RBI game of the season.
-UTSA-