MIAMI – The No. 25 UTSA secured the series victory over FIU with a 9-8 weather-altered game two win, before dropping the series finale by 6-1 to the Panthers on Sunday at FIU Baseball Stadium.
QUICK HITS
- With a 9-8 win in the first game, head coach Pat Hallmark officially reached 100 wins with the Roadrunners in his fourth season at the reins of the program.
- In game one, Ruger Riojas improved to a 4-0 record, while Simon Miller notched his eighth save.
- Leyton Barry led UTSA with a 3-for-4 outing with two runs and two RBI.
- Two more Roadrunners had two-hit games, including Sammy Diaz and Garrett Poston.
- In game two, Caleb Hill led the Roadrunners with a 2-for-4 game.
- Taylor Smith extended his reached base streak to 33 games.
- The Roadrunners sit at a 30-10 overall record (14-3 in C-USA), while FIU now has a 16-24 overall record (4-14 in conference play).
GAME ONE – UTSA 9, FIU 8
In a game that spanned over two different days due to a weather suspension, there was plenty of action. Panthers struck first in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead. The Roadrunners responded with four runs to take a 4-1 lead in the next frame as Diaz hit a two-run home run and Garrett Poston and Leyton Barry each hit solo jacks. FIU then made the score 4-3, still in favor of UTSA, with a two-RBI single in the bottom of the frame.
After scoreless third and fourth frames, the Roadrunners scored a couple of runs in the top of the fifth on a two-RBI groundout by Matt King. In the bottom of the frame, the Panthers scored three runs to tie the game up at 6-6.
Once again, the Roadrunners had a response in the very next frame as UTSA regained the lead on a two-RBI double by Poston and RBI single by Barry gave the Roadrunners a 9-6 advantage.
The Roadrunners went down in order in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the frame, freshman relief pitcher Riojas struck out the first batter. After this, the game entered a lightning delay before entering a rain delay. Eventually the game was suspended due to ongoing weather and scheduled to pick up on Sunday at 10:15 am ET.
Coming back to finish the final few frames of Saturday's suspended game on Sunday morning, Simon Miller took over on the mound and forced a groundout and flyout to end the seventh frame.
In the bottom of the eighth, a fielding error proved costly to the Roadrunners as the Panthers scored two to cut UTSA's lead to 9-8. Despite allowing a few baserunners, Miller was able to hold them there in the ninth and seal the 9-8 win for UTSA over FIU, securing the series victory.
GAME TWO – FIU 6, UTSA 1
Despite putting five runners on base through the first five innings, the Roadrunners were kept scoreless in that span.
At the same time, the Panthers scored three runs across the first five frames – one each in the first, second and fifth innings.
UTSA found its way onto the board in the sixth frame as a groundout by King drove home Barry and cut FIU's lead to 3-1. A solo home run by the Panthers in the bottom of the inning then extended their lead to 4-1.
The Panthers scattered a couple more runs across the seventh and eighth frames and the Roadrunners struggled to keep up as UTSA fell to FIU, 6-1, in the series finale in Miami.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners return home to host Houston Christian on April 25. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Roadrunner Field on CUSA.tv.
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