UTSA baseball had five players notch double-digit RBIs en route to defeating Texas Southern University 14-5 on Saturday at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners (14-3) put six runs on the board in the first three innings before the visiting Tigers (4-11) got on the board in the middle innings. The UTSA offense scored in seven of nine innings and all but one of its starting nine earned at least one RBI. Texas Southern walked 14 runners at the plate and the Roadrunners picked up their 13th consecutive win — a program record.
“It’s nice to set records,” coach Pat Hallmark said postgame. “We weren’t talking much about it and I didn’t even know until yesterday that we tied the record, but it’s wonderful. Setting records is a good thing. So, we try to win games, take it one-at-a-time and it’s nice to set the record.”
Junior infielder Ty Hodge got UTSA started in the bottom of the first with an RBI double down the left field line. Senior outfielder James Taussig closed out the inning with an RBI single into center field to score T. Hodge.
In the second, Texas Southern pitcher Kewan Braziel walked junior outfielder Drew Detlefsen with the bases loaded to give the ‘Runners a 3-0 lead. In the following inning, freshman infielder Jordan Ballin scored off a bases-loaded walk, and senior outfielder Mason Lytle sliced an RBI double into center field to further extend UTSA’s lead.
The Tigers scored twice in the fourth, but the Roadrunners responded with two runs of their own that same inning. Taussig reached on a fielder’s choice, allowing T. Hodge to score, and Ballin picked up his second RBI of the night with an infield single that brought home Taussig.
Senior pitcher Conor Myles got the start for UTSA and had six strikeouts through three innings before running into trouble in the top of the fourth. After allowing two runs on two hits, Hallmark pulled Myles off the mound in favor of junior transfer Sam Simmons. The Panola Junior College transfer lasted just one inning before he was replaced by junior Connor Kelley.
Ballin picked up his third RBI in the fifth; junior infielder Cade Sadler, sophomore catcher Whitt Joyce, freshman utility Nathan Hodge and Detlefsen picked up scattered RBIs over the course of the remainder of the game. Sophomore pitcher Kendall Dove came in for Kelley in the eighth and closed out the victory for UTSA.
The Roadrunners earned 15 hits in 35 at-bats, and the team’s pitching rotation dished out 12 strikeouts. UTSA played its longest game of the season against Texas Southern with a run-time of three-and-a-half hours, 11 minutes longer than the previous high of three hours and 19 minutes against Youngstown State University on March 1.
The Roadrunners’ series finale against the Tigers is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at Roadrunner Field.
