UTSA baseball notched 26 strikeouts en route to defeating Navarro College 21-2 on Friday at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners dominated on both offense and defense, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. With contributions from key veterans and flashy newcomers, the ‘Runners cruised to a win in their first exhibition of the fall season.
Navarro College got the upper hand in the top of the first inning as infielder Ryan Alexander hit a deep sacrifice fly off of sophomore pitcher Zach Royse to bring in the runner from third base to take a 1-0 lead.
The Roadrunners responded in the bottom of the first with a steal from home by infielder Jordan Ballin to tie the game. Sophomore outfielder Tye Odom extended the lead by hitting a two-run single to center field.
The ‘Runners were not finished there; junior catcher Lorenzo Morresi hit an RBI double of his own with the bases loaded to leave the inning with a 5-1 lead.
After giving up the lone run in the top of the first inning, Royse was able to settle in and provide the Roadrunners with two scoreless innings before passing the baton to junior pitcher Braylon Owens in the top of the fourth inning.
The Bulldogs were unable to take advantage of the pitching change as infielder McCann Libby went down on strikes and left his teammate stranded on second base.
As the game went on, the Roadrunners’ infield defense continued to be fundamentally sound as they rarely let ground balls get past them. Ballin and utility Diego Diaz shined as they played great second base and shortstop defense. Catchers Morresi and Andrew Stucky also played good defense, throwing out any Bulldogs who tried to steal second base.
The ‘Runners gave their pitchers more run support, tagging opposing pitcher Drake Dowd for two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, making it a 7-1 ballgame.
After Owens struck out the side in the top of the fifth inning, the UTSA offense added two more runs to its total in the bottom of the fifth. An RBI triple from junior utility James Taussig and an RBI single to left field by Odom made it a 9-1 lead for the Roadrunners.
After three scoreless innings from both schools, the ‘Runners’ offense scored another run thanks to a sacrifice fly by junior outfielder Mason Lytle which brought Diaz across home plate.
Navarro College could not score, as the Roadrunners’ pitching team either struck out the side or got help from the defense to get out of each inning.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Diaz hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field to extend the ‘Runners lead. Afterward, junior catcher Andrew Stucky showed off his strength by hitting a two-run home run to center field.
In the top of the tenth inning, the Bulldogs were once unable to get their offense going as freshman outfielder Christian Hallmark got on base with a walk, but got caught stealing second base by Stucky to end the inning.
The ‘Runners kept their foot on the gas in the bottom of the 10th inning as Cade Sadler hit a three-run single. Afterward, in the bottom of the 11th inning, Andrew Detlefsen hit a two-run single.
The Bulldogs were completely stunned by UTSA’s pitching staff as the Roadrunners struck out 26 total batters in the 14 innings they played.
UTSA baseball will play Alvin Community College at 3 p.m. Friday at Roadrunner Field.
