Photo Credit: Jeff Huehn/UTSA Athletics

Despite losing Games 1 and 2 to the UT Arlington Mavericks (24-26, 8-13 WAC), the UTSA Roadrunners (26-24, 9-12 WAC) salvaged the season with a win in Game 3 that earned the team a spot in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament.

On Friday, May 3 at Roadrunner Field, the ‘Runners gave up three runs on two hits and two errors in the seventh inning that allowed the Mavericks to collect a come-from-behind 4-1 victory.

UTSA starting pitcher Haylee Staton (14-9) took the loss in 6 1.3 innings, but only two of the four runs were earned. The Roadrunners only run came on a Jolene Graham solo home run to left field in the fourth inning.

UT Arlington starter Teri Lyles (20-11) pitched seven innings and collected her 20th win of the season. Rebecca Stokes was 1-for-3 and had a two RBI double in the seventh inning as part of the Maverick’s rally.

The series was concluded on Saturday, May 4 with the Roadrunners splitting a double header with the Mavericks.

In Game 2, UTSA starting pitcher Alyssa Vordenabum ((9-11) was chased after two innings where she allowed four runs on five hits. UT Arlington’s Meagan Michele and Lyles each had two hits and drove in two runs to lead the Mavericks to a 6-4 victory.

UTSA’s primary offense came from catcher Megan Low who had three RBIs in the game including a two-run double in the fifth inning that cut UT Arlington’s lead to two runs. The Roadrunners threatened in their final at-bat when Courtney Buchmann and Graham each reached base on singles, but with two outs center fielder Victoria Birdwell popped up to end the game.

The ‘Runners were able to finish the series with a much needed 4-2 win behind Graham’s 2-for-3 hitting performance. Graham hit her third homerun of the season, and the second of the weekend series in the third inning that put UTSA ahead for good. UTSA pitcher Staton rebounded from her Friday loss by pitching a complete game while striking out seven.

With the regular season over, the ‘Runners will head to Ruston, La for the 2013 WAC softball Tournament. This season the tournament will be played at the Lady Techster Softball Complex and is hosted by the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters. UTSA is currently the fifth seed and will play No. 4 Texas State on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.