SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team secured its eight series win of the season, defeating Middle Tennessee by 12-4 on Saturday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
QUICK HITS
- Starting pitcher Drake Smith pitched his longest career outing, allowing three runs and fanning three batters in 4.2 innings pitched.
- Simon Miller notched his seventh win of the season (7-0), coming in to relieve Smith in the fifth and recording 2.1 innings of work.
- Leyton Barry had a fantastic day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI.
- Taylor Smith extended his reached base streak to 28 games, while Matt King extended his to 12 games.
- Shane Sirdashney collected a season-best six RBI, while King and Tye Odom each recorded three runs.
- The Roadrunners improved to a 27-8 overall record (11-2 in Conference USA play), while Middle Tennessee fell to a 17-16 overall record (8-6 in C-USA action).
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The Roadrunners opened up scoring in the bottom of the second as a double by Sirdashney drove in the first two runs of the game. UTSA extended its lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth frame with RBI singles by Sirdashney and Barry.
On the mound, D. Smith turned in arguably his best start yet, keeping the Blue Raiders scoreless in the first four innings. With the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, D. Smith was pulled just one out shy of his second win as Miller came in to halt Middle Tennessee's rally.
The Blue Raiders eventually scored all three of those runners to make it a close 4-3 ballgame, but an error made those runs unearned, saving D. Smith's stat line.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Roadrunners responded with double the runs. A fielder's choice, two errors and two singles by UTSA to give the Roadrunners a comfortable 10-3 lead.
The Blue Raiders brought home their fourth run of the game in the top of the sixth, while the Roadrunners responded with their 11th and 12th runs in the bottom of the frame. Garrett Poston doubled to right center to drive in King, before a groundout by Sirdashney drove in Odom to give UTSA a 12-4 lead.
The final three frames went scoreless as Miller, Ryan Ward and Ryan Beaird combined to allow just one baserunner in that span. Miller struck out the first batter he saw in the seventh, before forcing a flyout, allowing a single and forcing a groundout for the scoreless frame.
In the eighth, Ward forced a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout, groundout and force-out at first. Coming in to close out the final frame was Beaird, who proceeded to force a three up and three down ninth inning. Beaird struck out the first batter, then forced a groundout and popup to seal the 12-4 UTSA win over Middle Tennessee.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and Blue Raiders conclude the three-game series on Sunday. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. (CT) at Roadrunner Field.
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