MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The UTSA softball team (4-16) dropped a pair of tight games on Saturday during the second day of Blues City Classic action. The Roadrunners created ties in both outings late, but seventh-inning scores ultimately turned both games to losses. UTSA fell to SIU Edwardsville (6-11) in the morning, 6-3, and Drake (4-9) in the nightcap, 6-5, at the Tigers Softball Complex.
Game one: SIU Edwardsville
UTSA stormed back from a rocky first-inning deficit against the Cougars, but couldn't maintain the momentum. SIUE responded to UTSA's game-tying home run with a long ball of their own, putting up a pair of insurance runs in the seventh to hand UTSA the 6-3 loss.
Fresh off a 9-1 loss at the horns of North Dakota State, the Cougars went right to work on UTSA starter Jamie Gilbert, taking a leadoff walk to the final game of the morning. SIUE followed up with a single and a three-run homer to right center for their opening gambit. Gilbert put away two runners via groundout and struck out the final batter to evade more harm.
The UTSA defense bounced back with quick 1-2-3 innings in the second and third frames. In the meantime, grad transfer second baseman Sammy Dees jumpstarted the offensive effort with a two-out single in the second and the Roadrunners chipped off one run via senior left fielder Ciarra Mata's RBI single to score sophomore first baseman Sophie Campbell.
Right on the heels of a Cougars RBI double called back on a runner leaving early, Mata notched her first sacrifice fly of the year and second RBI of the game, bringing Camryn Robillard home to trim SIUE's advantage to 3-2.
The teams traded scores in the fifth and sixth with dueling leadoff home runs for Lilly Hood and Lexi King – both batting second in their respective lineups, as UTSA briefly tied it up before SIUE edged in front, 4-3. The Cougars maintained their pace in the next at-bat, tacking up the needed insurance on a two-out Paige Rocha double to left center for two runs and the final 6-3 margin.
Finishing off her 2.0-inning save, Kelsey Ray shut down the Roadrunners in order in the final frame. Sydney Baalman (3-3) went 5.0 innings for the win, allowing two earned runs on six UTSA hits. Reliever Kenzi Schultz (0-2) took the loss on 2.2 innings of action.
At the plate, sophomore Sophie Campbell went 2-for-2, scoring once to pace UTSA. Mata went 1-for-2 with two RBI. Hood and Robillard were 1-for-4 and 1-for-2 respectively, both scoring a run.
Game two: Drake
Although the Roadrunners pulled ahead early, Drake crept back into contention and took the lead in the fifth. After UTSA locked in a late tie, a seventh-inning Drake homer proved to be the kill-stroke after the Roadrunners couldn't convert in the final frame of the 6-5 loss.
After freshman starter Reagan Smith put away the first six batters quick and clean, a leadoff walk in the third proved costly for UTSA. Emily Valtman got aboard on the free pass and moved over via a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch. She came home for a brief Drake lead off Haylee Lehman's RBI single down the left line.
Responding with resolve in the home half, sophomore third baseman Robillard took little time in knotting the score, smacking a leadoff home run to right center for her first dinger of the year. Mata and junior shortstop Kat Ibarra each followed with singles. Mata scored courtesy of an error during Hood's single and senior Marena Estell brought Ibarra home with a sacrifice fly. Hood capped off the four-run frame with a heads-up play to score from third on a wild pitch.
The Bulldogs reclaimed a single run in the fourth with a Valtman RBI single through the left side. But the scoring threat didn't end there from Drake, with the Bulldogs scoring three runs in the top of the fifth to go ahead 5-4.
Once again, the Roadrunners responded as Mata and reached the plate from third because Estell didn't give up on a wild third strike, reaching first to keep the play live and tie the game.
However, Emma Dighton's key home run in the top of the seventh turned out to be the game-winner. In the home half, UTSA juiced the bases with a single, a walk and hit batter, but Drake's Mackenzie Hupke delivered the final strikeout to allow the Bulldogs to sneak out a win.
Hupke (2-2) tossed the final four innings for the win, holding UTSA to one hit and one run, despite three walks. She struck out six roadrunners. Taking the loss, Estell (2-3) tossed 3.0 innings, allowing two runs and two hits.
Mata scored twice on 1-for-2 hitting, leading six Roadrunners with hits.
The final UTSA game of the Blues City Classic is scheduled for Sunday, March 5 at 11:30 a.m., a rematch with the North Dakota State Bison at the Tigers Softball Complex.
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