The UTSA softball team visited Allan Saxe Field in Arlington this past weekend to play in the Boerner Invitational. The Roadrunners went 3-2, improving their overall record to 7-14.
The ‘Runners started the weekend off strong with two wins on Friday, one against the University of Incarnate Word (UIW) and the other against Texas A&M – Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC).
UTSA scored six runs against UIW and held the Cardinals (9-2) to just three, but the deciding factor for this win was not hits — it was the decision-making at the plate. The Roadrunners collected nine walks, which helped put runners on the bases to maximize the outcome of each hit, one of which was a three-run home run by freshman utility player Brenna Jahn.
The following game against TAMU-CC (10-6) was not a hit frenzy game. The ‘Runners only managed to get three hits, but one was a three-run home run off the bat of junior shortstop Camryn Robillard, her fifth of the season, which was the winning factor. The show’s real star was freshman pitcher Iliana Saucedo, who pitched a complete game and finished with a line of seven innings pitched, one earned run, 10 strikeouts and only three hits allowed in UTSA’s 3-1 win.
The Roadrunner’s only losses of the weekend came on Saturday against TAMU-CC and the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA).
In the second game against the Islanders, UTSA assembled two hits and two errors, which did not complement senior pitcher Kenzi Schultz’s complete game and her best outing since a scoreless four-inning bout in San Marcos. The lack of offense somehow showed two runs on the board, but it was not enough as the ‘Runners fell 4-2.
In the loss against UTA, everything seemed to be the opposite for UTSA as they fell 8-2. Coach Vann Stuedeman had to use five different pitchers over the six innings of play. The pitching staff allowed 12 hits, five walks and saw eight runs come across the plate by their fault. The Roadrunners did, however, collect five hits, two of them belonging to Jahn, one of which was her second home run of the weekend.
UTSA’s last game in Arlington was a dominant 14-0 win against Grambling State. This was the first time the ‘Runners initiated the run rule against any team this season.
The Roadrunners put up a season-high 14 runs off of 10 hits. Seven players collected one or more hits and nine players collected one or more RBI’s. The defensive play also helped establish the win by conducting a flawless performance with no errors. The unblemished defense was a great companion to the complete game pitched by Saucedo, who finished with a line of 5 innings pitched, zero earned runs, seven strikeouts and only two hits allowed in UTSA’s 14-0 win.
The Boerner Invitational allowed the Roadrunners to finally finish off a tournament with a winning record. With the improving talents of freshmen Jahn and Saucedo, there is a lot to look forward to as the ‘Runners start to make their way into conference play.
UTSA’s next game will be the home opener against Abilene Christian University at 5 p.m. Tuesday, at Roadrunner Field.
