SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA Roadrunners defeated cross-town rival UIW 2-1 Wednesday evening at Roadrunner Field.

The Roadrunners had a tough first inning as Pitcher Ryan Ward gave up a home run in what ended up being UIW’s only points of the night. 

“I just kind of settled in, started throwing my slider a lot more, they’re a big fastball hitting team. Just throwing the slider made a big difference,” said Ward. 

In the bottom of the second, Garrett Poston came up to the plate with the bases loaded. With UIW pitcher Micah Berens feeling the heat, he walked Poston, allowing Tye Odom to score and tie the game at 1-1. 

From then on, it was a pitching battle between the two teams. UTSA pitchers Ruger Riojas and Simon Miller pitched six scoreless innings. 

With the match seemingly destined for extra innings, UTSA scored on a stolen base from Antonio Valdez, thanks to some confusion in the UIW infield. 

“I knew, with the way the game was going, it was going to be hard to swing the bat and score runs. We were going to have to take advantage of them having a mishap,” Valdez said after the game. 

UTSA is now 3-2 in games decided by two runs or less this season.
“Pitching and defense is always the key. We pitched well today and have all year in this game, [and] if you pitch and play defense, you got a shot, so it worked out,” coach Pat Hallmark said.