SAN ANTONIO — Jesse Baker went 3-for-4 with three runs and four runs batted in to help UTSA salvage a split in Saturday’s doubleheader with South Dakota State at Roadrunner Field.
The Jackrabbits (6-5) won the first game in 10 innings, 7-6, despite RJ Perucki’s game-tying grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
The Roadrunners (7-4) will host cross-town foe Incarnate Word (2-8) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Game 1: South Dakota State 7, UTSA 6 (10 innings)
UTSA starter Nolan Trabanino picked up where Friday night starter Brock Hartson left off holding the Jackrabbits off the scoreboard through five innings.
Horacio Correa III gave UTSA a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single to center plating Mitchell Matulia from second base.
South Dakota State then took advantage of a UTSA error in the sixth and scored three unearned runs on Aaron Machbitz’s three-run homer down the left-field line to take a 3-1 lead.
The Jackrabbits extended their lead to 6-1 an inning later with a pair of RBI singles and a run-scoring double play grounder.
Baker narrowed the Jackrabbits' lead to 6-2 in the eighth when he plated John Welborn on a fielder’s choice, but UTSA stranded runners on second and third to end the frame.
Down to its final three outs, the Roadrunners put together a rally.
John Bormann, Logan Kinder, and Welborn all walked to load the bases, which brought Perucki to the plate. The preseason All-Conference USA selection battled his way to a full count before launching a game-tying grand slam over the left-field wall.
Hpwever, the Jackrabbits pushed across the go-ahead run in the 10th on Tyler Shannon’s RBI ground out.
That proved to be the game-winner, as UTSA went down in order in the bottom of the frame.
Game 2: South Dakota State 8, UTSA 5
UTSA used a four-run fifth inning followed by a three-run sixth to gain a split of the twinbill.
Justin Anderson (2-1) allowed two runs and struck out seven in six innings of work to earn his second victory of the season.
Baker again gave UTSA a 1-0 lead in the first with one-out solo homer to left.
Al Robbins gave the lead back to the Jackrabbits in the top of the fifth with a two-run home run that snuck just inside the left-field foul pole.
Baker continued his assault on the South Dakota State pitching staff in the bottom of the inning with a bases-clearing double that gave UTSA a 4-2 lead. Mitchell Matulia drove Baker around two batters later to extend the lead to 5-2.
After South Dakota State answered with a run in the sixth, Perucki drove in C.J. Pickering with a sacrifice fly to center and Correa III added two more with a single through the middle of the infield.
The Jackrabbits added two runs in the ninth but never threatened to take the lead, as Logan Onda finished off his first save of the season.