The UTSA Roadrunners (9-2) took on Southern University (3-9) in a three-game series from March 4-6, at Roadrunner Field. UTSA, coming off a thrilling 6-5 extra-inning win over then No. 2 Stanford, were looking to keep their hot start to the season rolling, while the Jaguars were looking to reestablish some momentum after losing their last seven games prior to this series. Thanks to an overpowering offense, UTSA cruised to a 15-4 win on Friday night. On Saturday afternoon, the ‘Runners did not enjoy the same sort of offensive success, as their pitching staff was worked over in a 4-11 loss. Then, in the deciding game of the series on Sunday afternoon, the UTSA offense roared back to life thanks to five home runs as they stormed to a 15-7 victory and the series win.

On Friday night, the ‘Runners got off to a fantastic start on offense and never looked back. The first three UTSA batters of the game reached safely and they managed to scratch across two runs, despite not being able to get a hit to break the game open. In the second inning though, they did just that. After Sammy Diaz singled up the middle to drive in Garret Poston, Leyton Barry came to the plate with two runners on and promptly deposited a ball over the fence for a three-run shot to give UTSA a commanding 6-0 lead after two innings. Southern clawed one run back in both the third and the fourth to bring the score to 6-2 after the top of the fourth, but in the bottom half of the inning that momentum was firmly shut down. With the bases loaded, Ian Bailey on the first pitch of his at bat crushed a ball to deep left center over the wall for a grand slam and a 10-2 UTSA lead. UTSA cruised from there. Starter Jacob Jimenez (2-0, 3.55 ERA) was pulled after going five innings while allowing five hits, four runs, two walks and five strikeouts, then the UTSA bullpen worked four shutout innings to secure the win. Thanks in part to a pair of home runs by Diaz and Chase Keng, UTSA extended their lead out to 11 and they took game one of the series by a final score of 15-4. 

Game two of the series on Saturday started well enough for UTSA, with a Shane Sirdashney RBI double to give them an early 1-0 lead, but Southern was determined not to see this game turn into a blowout. A Jaguar’s two-run homer off of UTSA starter Ulises Quiroa (1-1, 4.76 ERA) gave Southern the lead in the top of the second. That lead was short-lived, however, because in the bottom half of the inning Austin Ochoa launched a two-run home run of his own for UTSA and the ‘Runners regained the lead at 3-2. Southern tied things up in the third inning and then a two RBI single in the fourth saw them once again retake the lead at 3-5. A solo home run from Isaiah Walker in the bottom of the fourth drew UTSA within one, but that was as close as they got. UTSA left six runners on base over the course of the next five innings as the Jaguars tagged the UTSA bullpen for six more runs in the game. Southern pulled away for a 4-11 victory in game two to snap UTSA’s seven game win streak.

In game three, it was a back-and-forth affair. The Jaguars took the early lead in the top of the second thanks to a two-run home run, but UTSA answered right back in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of home runs, a solo shot by Ryan Flores to draw within one and then a two-run shot by Diaz to take a 3-2 lead. Southern tied it up in the third, but then Bailey crushed a solo home run to left to regain possession of the lead. Southern scored three more runs in the fourth to go up 6-4 and then tacked on another run in the fifth to go up 7-4. It was in the bottom of the fifth, though, that UTSA made their push. Keng got things started with an RBI double, Flores singled to bring in Keng and then Sirdashney tied the game up with an RBI double of his own. Poston scored Sirdashney with an RBI single to give UTSA back the lead at 8-7, a lead they never relinquished. UTSA added on a further two runs in the inning to go up 10-7 and cruised from there. The ‘Runners added four more runs in their last three times up at the plate, including Bailey’s second home run of the game, a solo shot to deep center in the eighth inning. Sirdashney finished things off two batters later with a two-run homer down the left field line and UTSA took the win and the series win by a final score of 15-7. 

UTSA will remain at home for a game against the UIW Cardinals (4-4) on Tuesday, March 8, at 6 p.m. The team will then hit the road for a three-game series against the Oklahoma Sooners (5-5) from March 11-13. The game against UIW can be streamed on CUSA.tv and the series against Oklahoma can be found on soonersports.tv.