UTSA lost 13-0 to Florida Atlantic University on Friday at Roadrunner Field.
Decked out in pink bows to celebrate healthcare workers, the Roadrunners (14-16, 2-7 AAC) suffered their fifth sweep of the season, and their second to a conference opponent. At the hands of the No. 30 Owls (29-5, 8-1 AAC), the ‘Runners were pushed further into the American Athletic Conference cellar with a grand slam in the fourth inning, though their collective fate was secured long before that.
“My pregame speech was that every pitch has a life and a history of its own,” coach Vann Stuedeman said. “It lives, it does what it does and then it’s over. Then the next pitch is alive. We’ve got to do a better job of switching from pitch to pitch, good or bad.
“When good things happen, you’ve got to go to the next pitch. When bad things happen, you’ve got to go to the next pitch. When nothing happens, you’ve got to go to the next pitch. But every pitch does have a life and history of its own and you really have to focus on that.”
Ahead of the fourth inning for UTSA, three pitchers had graced the mound, two timeouts had been called and zero runs had been made. When freshman pitcher Kaylie Olivarez stepped up on the bump, one of her pitches led to an error, another resulted in a double, followed by a single and a final cookie to infielder Jesiana Mora to top it off with a grand slam. The ‘Runners trailed 9-0 at the end of the fourth, yet saw the game through an additional inning.
Florida Atlantic pitcher Autumn Courtney swept away any chance UTSA had at a comeback after she struck out junior infielder Caton Letbetter and fouled out freshman utility Sabrina Wick in the bottom of the fifth. However, three home runs made by the Owls in the fifth helped seal the deal.
Despite the sweep, the Roadrunners did not make a single error in the first inning and kept it scoreless in the process.
With three balls, two strikes and two outs on the board, the only thing that could make the Owls position better was to have runners on the bases, luckily for them, the bases were loaded. Batterymates sophomore catcher Kalee Rochinski and freshman pitcher Reagan Stoudt served as the ‘Runners first line of defense through the entirety of the first inning until a pitch to Rochinski’s left shoulder threw the dynamic to the wind. The Owls scored three runs while the Roadrunners scrambled to locate the ball behind home plate. Rochinski ranks No. 30 in being hit by pitchers and today an error was made after she was hit by her own.
The ‘Runners have struggled to pave a successful path for themselves in the AAC since they booked their entry ticket ahead of the 2024 season. They are currently down six losses in their 2025 conference record. This was also the team’s fourth run-rule loss of the season and their third to a conference opponent.
“We have to make quicker adjustments,” Stuedeman said of the team’s struggle to get runs after putting runners on bases. “Faster adjustments, buying into their own plan, knowing what they want to swing at hunting it. Go get it and hit those fair.”
The Roadrunners will resume their weekend series against the Owls at noon tomorrow at Roadrunner Field.
English
Spanish