UTSA softball closed out its final home series of the season by winning two of three against the University of Tulsa 4-3, 2-1, 5-0 at Roadrunner Field.
Game one:
Friday’s close-knit contest between the two AAC opponents was settled in extra innings. UTSA scored three runs unanswered before Tulsa managed to even the score at 3-3 in the seventh inning.
Senior utility Crislyne Moreno opened the game the same way she closed it: with a home run. Moreno took her first journey around the bases when she shot a ball over the left field fence during the first inning. Her efforts during the eighth inning earned her cheers from the dugout, setting the tone for their final stand at home. Moreno pushed her final at-bat over the highest peak of the center-field fence to finish the game in a true walk-off fashion, earning two RBI’s in the process.
Senior outfielder Lindsey Davis and senior infielder Camryn Robillard knocked in runs of their own during the bottom of the fifth inning that helped UTSA gain an edge over the Golden Hurricane.
Game two:
The ‘Runners dropped the second game of the series by one run. The lone run was scored by the team’s premiere backstop, sophomore Kalee Rochinski — who smashed a solo home run in the bottom of the second, posting the first and only run of the game.
“We would have fought anyway. We would have given 100% no matter what,” Davis said of their Saturday loss. “None of the calls were going our way. Nothing was falling our way. But we gave 100% regardless.”
Game three:
In a thrilling series finale that began with back-to-back homers in the first inning, the Roadrunners shut out the Golden Hurricane and proved that they can look adversity in the face and come out stronger on the other side. Although their season has yet to conclude, the ‘Runners’ energetic approach to Sunday’s game put them ahead of Tulsa in the AAC rankings.
Seniors shone during their last bout at Roadrunner field, as Moreno and Davis knocked out home runs in the first and fourth innings, respectively. The efforts from an underclassman that helped hold the Golden Hurricane scoreless.
Through the first five innings, freshman pitcher Ava Eldridge kept Tulsa from scoring a single run or registering a single hit, retiring every batter.
“Coming into the past couple of games, Ava has been dominant,” Davis said. “It’s not because she didn’t have the skill set, it’s the mentality of, ‘I’m so bad.’ But focusing on getting the girls in the dugout on the field takes the pressure off of her.”
Coach Vann Stuedeman has nearly completed her second season at UTSA and has come up shy of a winning season for the second year in a row, yet the positivity and the culture she has established since entering Roadrunner Field has bordered on triumphant. She has increased her win total from her first season, and the women on the team have refused to turn away from the field after home losses with anything but smiles on their faces. In her upward trajectory, one can only assume that every season will be better than the last.
UTSA will play its final series of the year against University of South Florida at 3 p.m. Friday at USF Softball Stadium.
