WACO, Texas – Squaring off with their first ranked opponent of the season, the UTSA Roadrunners softball team (6-24) kept things quiet early against No. 21 Baylor (24-8) on the road, but consecutive scoring innings for the home squad sealed an 8-0 victory for the Bears on Tuesday evening at Getterman Stadium.
Freshman starter Reagan Smith wiped the Bears out cleanly in the opening frame and escaped a two-runner jam in the second to open Tuesday night's non-conference tilt in an early pitcher's duel. Three of the six outs across the first two frames were collected by sophomore center fielder Rylie Giddens, including an over-the-shoulder highlight play at the wall in the first inning.
However, the Bears broke through the UTSA defensive line in the third, after McKenzie Wilson notched the first hit of the game for either team, setting up Ana Watson's RBI single into shallow outer right field to break the deadlock with a 1-0 Baylor lead. The Bears added two more runs on a bases loaded Presleigh Pilon single back at the pitcher and another on a Josie Bower RBI single to right field. Baylor finished the four-hit frame with a 4-0 advantage.
Though sophomore third baseman Camryn Robillard snapped Baylor's combined no-hitter while facing reliever Kaci West in the fourth, the Roadrunners couldn't get any further traction against the effectively-pitching Bears.
Moving into the home half while facing UTSA reliever Kenzi Schultz, the Bears got hot again at the plate, with back-to-back RBI from Sydney Collazos and Watson, followed by a two-run single from Bower to grow an 8-0 margin before Marena Estell closed the frame in relief.
Putting away three consecutive batters in the fifth, West (5-1) clinched her win after pitching three full innings. Taking the loss for UTSA, Smith (3-9) went three full innings, allowing four hits and four runs.
The Roadrunners take the field again this weekend in Miami, returning to Conference USA play with a three-game set at FIU. UTSA will face the Panthers on Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium, Friday-Sunday, March 31 to April 2. FIU has no midweek contests and heads into the weekend with a 15-18 record overall and is 2-7 in C-USA play. UTSA goes into the matchup at 2-4 in C-USA play.
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