The UTSA Roadrunners (27-14, 9-5 C-USA) dropped the weekend series against North Texas Mean Green (16-23, 8-9 C-USA). The Roadrunners split the double header on Saturday, taking game one of the series before losing the next two.
UTSA jumped to an early lead in game one thanks to a solo home run by first baseman Megan Low in the top of the first inning. UNT rallied back in the bottom of the fifth, holding a 3-2 lead as the Roadrunners trailed going into the top of the seventh.
With UNT looking to get the final two outs of the ball game, UTSA outfielder Taylor Oberg recorded her first career two home run game as she sent a bomb to center field, knotting the score at three a piece.
“I’ve been hitting pretty well recently, so the fact that it finally went over was just a good feeling,” said Oberg. With the momentum favoring the Roadrunners, shortstop Courtney Buchman hit the go-ahead two-run dinger to deep center as UNT failed to answer back in their bottom of the seventh.
Starting just 30 minutes after game one, game two of Saturday’s double-header played out almost identically to game one.
UTSA jumped out to an early lead but found themselves trailing by a score of 3-2 going into the top of the seventh. With two outs and the game-tying run on base, UTSA sophomore Randee Crawford came up to bat. Crawford turned on a pitch that looked promising but landed just shy of the warning track as UNT center fielder Kat Strunk recorded the last out of the ball game, putting an end to the Mean Green’s nine-game losing streak.
Senior Kelsi Ott was the starting pitcher for UTSA in game three and freshman Monique Garcia saw the mound for UNT. Ott had her work cut out for her in the bottom of the third as the Roadrunners found themselves with no outs and the bases loaded.
UNT’s Mallory Land hit into a 5-2 double play, easing UTSA’s nerves despite a collision at home plate between UNT’s Bryana Wade and UTSA catcher Tess Soefje. Soefje was slow to get up but remained in the game as the Roadrunners would go on to get the final out of the inning to avoid giving up a run.
Not showing any sign of injury, Soefje sent a two-run moon shot over the scoreboard in the left part of center field to give UTSA a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth. UNT answered back in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs on just five hits.
Land added an insurance run for UNT, recording an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, extending the Mean Green lead 5-2. UTSA failed to rally in the seventh as they dropped game 3 of the series by a score of 5-2. This was the first time the Roadrunners have lost a Conference USA series this year. When asked about her team’s performance this weekend, Head Coach Michelle Cheatham said, “We’re never out of a ball game. We have all the right tools, (we) just need to put them all together”
UTSA will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday, April 15 at 3:00 p.m. The game at Chapman Field will conclude the Roadrunners’ 12-game road trip.
