SAN ANTONIO — UTSA baseball scored 15 runs unanswered to defeat Rice University 15-7 on Thursday at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners (40-11, 21-4 AAC) had zero hits through the first four innings before freshman utility Caden Miller launched a solo-home run in the bottom of the fifth to give the team its first score of the night. The shift in momentum gave life to UTSA’s starting nine, as the ‘Runners proceeded to put eight runs on board over the remainder of the fifth and sixth innings. The Owls (17-36, 10-15 AAC) had no response for the offensive surge as the ‘Runners secured their program-record fortieth win.
“Obviously a pretty-cool moment, [I] was just not trying to do too much there,” Miller said. “It was a rough few innings. We continue fighting no matter how many times we get punched in the face. We might be on the ground but we’re going to get back up. Delivering in that moment, trying to spark an inning, it’s huge. Kudos to the guys behind me right after that. They just kept it going and it was pretty electric.”
Miller’s home run was followed up with a bases loaded walk from senior outfielder James Taussig, allowing senior infielder Garrett Gruell to score unearned. Owls pitcher Garrett Stratton walked senior catcher Andrew Stucky in the following at-bat, allowing freshman infielder Jordan Ballin to score unearned as well. Stratton proceeded to hit senior infielder Norris McClure shortly after, allowing senior outfielder Mason Lytle to score. Junior infielder Drew Detlefsen sliced a bases-clearing RBI double to give UTSA its first lead of the night.
“We weren’t doing the best on the pitcher and [coach Pat Hallmark] just wanted us to calm down and relax up in the box like we had been the rest of the season. We stayed in the approach and it paid off pretty well,” Detlefsen said after the game.
A pitching change from the Owls in the sixth proved ineffective as Gruell drove an RBI double down the left field line to extend the ‘Runners’ lead. Gruell reached home off a wild pitch shortly after . UTSA closed out the sixth with a sacrifice fly from Stucky.
The Roadrunners tacked on five runs in the seventh to secure the win.
On top of the program record fortieth win, Ballin broke the program record for walks by a freshman with 37. The team also broke the previous single-season program record for RBIs of 419 with 431. Detlefsen and Stucky led the team in RBIs with three; Miller led in hits with three. Pitchers Zach Royse, Sam Simmons, Kendall Dove and Robert Orloski allowed seven runs on eight hits while tossing nine strikeouts.
“I’m proud of the team,” Hallmark said. “I tell everybody that will listen at this point — they’re wonderful kids. They’re wonderful people. They’re good at baseball. I’ve been part of other good baseball teams but the difference in this team is the quality of the person. ”
Game two of the Roadrunners’ series against Rice is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at Roadrunner Field.
