PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – The UTSA softball team suffered a 10-9 defeat at the hands of Southern Illinois across 10 innings of action at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge inside Nancy Almaraz Stadium
The Roadrunners (1-5) fell to the Salukis (7-2), with 17 hits on the afternoon, tying for the fourth-most on the UTSA single-game leaderboard.
Redshirt junior Madison Collins (0-1) was pegged with the loss after allowing two hits over the final 3.2 innings with two strikeouts. Freshman Arlette Hernandez was also solid in the circle, allowing one hit across the first four innings, and fanning five. Meanwhile, Brooklynn Danielson (3-0) got the win for SIU.
At the plate, junior Taryn Madlock was 4-for-5 with an RBI, and classmate Samantha Mundine drove in a team-high three RBIs.
UTSA wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as sophomore Skylar Rucker, freshman Demiree Stafford and sophomore Sabrina Wick opened the contest with consecutive singles. Mundine then plated Rucker with a sac fly, and Stafford scampered home on a Saluki miscue.
The ‘Runners added another in the second with Hernandez knocking in freshman Brookelynn Meador. From there, Wick kick-started the third with a triple and came home on a Mundine knock, and Mundine dented the plate on a Meador single for a 5-0 lead.
The Roadrunners increased their advantage to six, as senior Madison Hornback sliced a single into left, allowing Madlock to score.
SIU began its comeback in the fifth, putting two runs on the board before exploding for six in the sixth.
With their backs against the wall, the Roadrunners extended the bout, as Madlock singled and crossed home via an SIU error. Later in the inning, senior Katia Reyes got one to fall in left center, with a Meador run knotting the contest at six.
Each team plated a run in the eighth, and neither team scored in the ninth. SIU finally broke through in the bottom of the 10th for a walk-off win.
The ‘Runners will be back in action on Friday, as they close out the tournament by facing Eastern Kentucky at 1 p.m., ahead of the finale with Long Beach State at 4 p.m.
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.
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