UTSA baseball opened up American Conference play with a 2-1 series win against Florida Atlantic University over the weekend at FAU Baseball Stadium.
After struggling defensively and on the mound against the University of Texas at Arlington and Houston Christian University, the Roadrunners (17-7, 2-1 AC) took the series opener with strong infield play and a clean performance from senior pitcher Christian Okerholm. A late-game mishap prevented UTSA from locking up the series on Saturday, but the Roadrunners took care of business on Sunday, run-ruling the Owls (14-10, 1-2 AC) in their first rubber match of the season.
“It feels good [to start off conference play with a win],” coach Pat Hallmark said. “Anytime you go on the road, especially a place like FAU, and you win the series, you have to feel good about it.”
Game One
Typical Friday-night starter, junior pitcher Connor Kelley, lost his spot to Okerholm in the series opener. Okerholm delivered three scoreless innings to open up the match before senior pitcher Gunnar Brown checked in for him. Brown and senior stopper Sam Simmons virtually shut down the Florida Atlantic offense, holding them to just one run — the second-lowest total for a UTSA opponent all year. The Roadrunners’ offense wasn’t at their best on Friday, but they did just enough to pick up a 4-1 win.
Game Two
Junior outfielder Lane Haworth launched a two-run homer in the opening inning of game two, giving UTSA a short-lived lead, as the Owls responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. A Florida Atlantic throwing error and a clutch two-RBI double from sophomore utility Jacob Silva helped the Roadrunners notch a sixth-inning four-spot to retake the lead after four scoreless innings. The Owls tied it in the bottom of the sixth, and a passed ball from senior pitcher Mike DeBattista in the eighth allowed Florida Atlantic to score the go-ahead run, snatch a 7-6 win and force a Sunday rubber match.
Game Three
When the team needed it the most, the UTSA offense came through with arguably its best performance of the season to seal the series win. The entire starting nine recorded at least one hit, highlighted by a perfect 4-4 performance from Silva that included his first home run with the Roadrunners. Junior pitcher Kendall Dove lasted five innings before freshman left-handed pitcher Christopher Gutierrez closed out the game with three strikeouts in the final two innings. Gutierrez’s 2.0 innings pitched is his longest appearance of the season, and the Roadrunners won 18-8.
UTSA returns home for a rematch with Texas-A&M-Corpus Christi at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Roadrunner Field.
