SAN ANTONIO — Sophomore utility Caden Miller hit two home runs, but UTSA baseball still fell to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, suffering a 7-6 loss on Thursday at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners (35-18, 16-9 American) led the Blazers (30-23, 14-11 American) after a UTSA four-spot in the third inning. Alabama-Birmingham began to pull away after a two-run shot on freshman pitcher Christopher Gutierrez in the fourth and a solo shot in the sixth. Miller’s second home run of the night came in the eighth, keeping UTSA in the game late. A double into center field from sophomore infielder Josh Arquette put the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth, but sophomore infielder Jordan Ballin grounded out for the game’s final out.
“We walked too many early, but other than that, we played fine,” coach Pat Hallmark said after the game. “We only had seven hits in 33 at-bats, but [Blazers pitcher Mason] Steele only walked us once, and they made some plays. Their defense played good.”
The Blazers scored four runs in the second before junior infielder Diego Diaz homered into right-center field for the Roadrunners’ first score of the game.
Trailing by three, Miller shot a two-run home run into right field. Graduate catcher Andrew Stucky followed suit with a two-run shot, giving UTSA its only lead of the game.
Senior pitcher Gunnar Brown picked up the start for UTSA in the opener, surrendering five hits, four runs and four walks in 3.2 innings. Hallmark pulled him in the fourth for Gutierrez, but Gutierrez would only see one batter after giving up the two-run mash.
Kelley entered for Gutierrez and, outside of one pitch, enjoyed a solid outing. Kelley tossed three strikeouts to just one earned run and three hits across 5.2 innings.
After Miller’s home run in the eighth, UTSA had a chance to secure the tying run in the ninth, but Ballin’s grounder never made it out of the infield.
Even with the loss, the Roadrunners can still clinch their second consecutive American Conference Championship with either two wins over the Blazers, or one win and an East Carolina University loss.
Game two of UTSA v. Alabama-Birmingham is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at Roadrunner Field.
