UTSA baseball won its series against the University of Alabama at Birmingham 14-4, 6-3, 13-6 over the weekend at Young Memorial Field.
After letting a Power Five win slip away on Tuesday against Texas Christian University, the Roadrunners (25-9, 7-2 AAC) took out their frustration on the Blazers (18-14, 3-6 AAC) in the series’ opening game. The ‘Runners secured the series victory in the second game, the first of a Saturday doubleheader, before dropping the finale — resulting in a gentleman’s sweep.
Game one
The opening match was all UTSA. The Roadrunners led 11-1 following the conclusion of the fifth inning.
Senior outfielder Garrett Gruell gave the ‘Runners their first lead of the game with a two-run jack over the right field wall. Over the next two innings, UTSA scored four runs off the bat of senior catcher Andrew Stucky, which included a solo-home run and a bases-clearing RBI double.
With junior ace Zach Royse on the mound, the Roadrunners cruised to victory.
Game two
The ‘Runners’ Saturday bout was a tight-knit conference contest. The Blazers jumped out to an early lead and maintained it through the middle innings. A four-run seventh inning that saw RBIs from freshman utility Caden Miller, senior outfielder Mason Lytle and junior outfielder Drew Detlefsen broke the game open for the ‘Runners; Lytle tacked on a sacrifice fly in the ninth to secure the series win.
Game three
Only 45 minutes after the conclusion of game two, the Roadrunners and the Blazers went right back to the diamond. Alabama-Birmingham was fighting for pride in the finale. Refusing to join the likes of Florida Atlantic University, Long Island University and Youngstown State University in the “swept by UTSA” category, the Blazers laid into the back-half of the Roadrunner rotation. Alabama-Birmingham scored a whopping nine runs in the eighth inning, teeing off on whatever pitcher coach Pat Hallmark threw on the mound. Sophomore pitcher Kendall Dove finally stopped the bleeding but allowed five runs in the process.
Through three conference series, the ‘Runners are tied for first in the American Athletic Conference with the University of South Florida. The ‘Runners have a six-game advantage in their overall win record and both teams have a 7-2 conference record — which is what determines who claims the top spot in the AAC. Though they won’t have their shot at the Bulls until early May, the Roadrunners’ upcoming schedule is a favorable one, with three of the four teams they face before South Florida possessing losing records.
Detlefsen led in RBIs across the series with seven, and the best performance on the mound came from junior pitcher Christian Okerholm in the team’s first game on Saturday. Okerholm went four innings while allowing one run on two hits and dishing out a single strike out en route to picking up his first win of the season.
UTSA will next face Wichita State University at 6 p.m. Friday at Eck Stadium.
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