SAN ANTONIO – A 5-run rally in the fifth inning guided UTSA to its first conference victory, winning 9-6 against UTEP on Friday evening at Roadrunner Field.

After taking an early lead of 2-0, a score UTEP could not match until the fourth inning, the ‘Roadrunners beat the Miners 9-6.

Pitcher Marena Estell led an aggressive start to the game by hitting a ball into the outfield. 

Kat Ibarra took that as an opportunity to run from second base all the way through home plate to put UTSA on the scoreboard.

With Estell on second base and Lilly Hood on third, a play made by Madison Lenton gave Hood the time she needed to run home to give the ‘Runners a score of 2-0 in the first inning.

Both UTEP and UTSA scored two runs each in the fourth inning. 

Erykah Guerrero and Ciarra Mata’s aggressive base-running gave the ‘Runners their lead in the fourth inning. 

“One of the things going into the series is to be aggressive on the base bats because we are athletic,” head coach Michelle Cheatham said of Guerrero and Mata base stealing. “We can run a little bit, so those guys are always looking to take more than one base.”

UTEP responded with four runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 6-4 lead.

UTSA scored five runs in their next at-bat, beginning with Camryn Robillards second home run of the season.

At one point during the fifth inning, new hitters were added to the batting rotation after the ‘Runners scored five points. Cheatham also mentioned that she could move several basemen throughout the game because the women’s athleticism allowed her to, something UTEP was unable to do during the game unless absolutely necessary.

“We’re extremely athletic, so this team has players that can kind of move around and play different positions,” Cheatham said. “Depending on the flow of the game and kind of where we’re at, we’re able to move some people around whether it’s to make our offensive lineup stronger or our defensive lineup stronger.”

When the duo of Guerrero and Mata both made it through home in the fourth inning, UTEP replaced their pitcher. Then, of course, that pitcher was replaced when all three Guerrero, Mata and Ibarra ran through home during the bottom of the fifth. 

The game ended after the top of the seventh after UTEP failed to score any more points against the ‘Roadrunners. The final score was UTSA 9-6 UTEP.

Both women were very happy that they could score two points each. “We’ve been needing that all season, but it’s a great start,” Guerrero said.

Coach Cheatham hopes her team will play with more consistency in Saturday’s game.

“They come out and swing it; they are very aggressive,” Cheatham said. “Our mindset is to continue to beat them in that factor and our offense can put up the same kind of numbers. We’re just going to come out tomorrow and be consistent,” Cheatham said.

The Roadrunners will play game two against UTEP at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Roadrunner Field.