UTSA softball visited the Lamar University Cardinals this past Tuesday for a non-conference matchup. Sophomore pitcher Reagan Smith continued her pitching dominance as she threw a complete game shut-out to defeat the Cardinals 3-0.
The Roadrunners (12-26, 3-9 American Athletic Conference) faced the Cardinals earlier this season in a close loss, 4-2. With this win, UTSA prevented getting swept by Lamar this season, leaving them both with one win against each other.
Smith’s performance limited Lamar (23-13, 9-3 Southland Conference) to only three hits. She recorded five strikeouts, one administered walk in seven innings pitched, lowering her season ERA to 5.54. Smith and the defense left five Cardinals on base.
The Roadrunners collected 10 hits, with junior second base Jaylen Pritchard and senior catcher Taylor Jensen recording three. One of Jensen’s hits was an RBI single to record the first run of the game in the first inning. Freshman leftfield Brenna Jahn followed up in the same inning with another RBI single to put UTSA up by two early in the game.
At the top of the fourth, the ‘Runners scored another run off of an RBI single by freshman rightfield Taryn Madlock.
Even though UTSA had a double-digit amount of hits, their offense was not what won them the game. The Roadrunners stranded five on the bases and had the opportunity to cash in on more runs. The reason for this win was the spectacular performance in the circle by Smith. Lamar had a chance to put up a run in the seventh, spoiling the complete game shut-out and starting a potential comeback. Smith toughed it out and finished the game with back-to-back strikeouts to secure the win.
UTSA will visit Eastern Carolina University at 4 p.m. Friday at Joyner Family Stadium for an American Conference, three-game series showdown.
