SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA baseball team snapped its six-game winning streak with a 10-5 loss to Charlotte in the series opener on Friday night at Roadrunner Field in San Antonio.
QUICK HITS
· Mason Lytle extended his hitting streak to 16 games, going 2-for-4 with a run and a double. This marks his 13th consecutive multi-hit game, starting on March 16 against Northwestern.
· Two more Roadrunners had two-hit performances, including Andrew Stucky (one run, one RBI and one double) and Hector Rodriguez (two runs and one double).
· Robert Orloski, Daniel Garza and Ryan Beaird combined to strike out 14 batters, the team’s second-most punchouts this season.
· UTSA fell to a 17-13 overall record (5-2 in American Athletic Conference play), while Charlotte improved to a 14-16 record (4-3 in conference action).
· This loss snapped the Roadrunners’ six-game winning streak, its longest streak this season.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
Despite allowing two base runners to get into scoring position with no outs, Orloski battled through the jam as he forced a popout and two strikeouts to put up a scoreless first inning.
Orloski faced the minimum in the second frame as he recorded a pair of flyouts and another strikeout. The Roadrunners opened scoring in the bottom of the inning. With two outs on the board and Ty Tilson on first, Stucky launched a double to left center and Tilson ran all the way home. The first pitch thrown to Whitt Joyce went wild and got away from the 49er’s defenders as Stucky advanced to third and then scored on that pitch.
Charlotte got on the board and took a 4-2 lead in the next frame using an RBI single and bases-loaded triple. Orloski also struck out the side in the inning. UTSA got a few runners on board in the bottom of the third but left them stranded.
The 49ers added another run in the fourth and the Roadrunners didn’t have an answer as the score then stood at 5-2, in favor of Charlotte.
The fifth and sixth innings went scoreless, although UTSA put three runners on across those two frames. On the mound, Garza struck out three in that span while facing just one more than the minimum.
Charlotte tacked on three more runs in the top of the seventh. UTSA answered with two runs after the stretch. Rodriguez opened the inning with a single and advanced to third on an error and a single by Lytle. Then, a sacrifice fly by Matt King brought Rodriguez home. Tye Odom followed that with a single which advanced Lytle to third. With runners on first and third, the Roadrunners called for a double steal play. Although Odom was called out, Lytle scored from third to make the score sit at 8-4, Charlotte still leading.
The 49ers reached double digits in scoring as two runs came across the plate in the top of the eighth. Beaird closed out the final inning and forced a quick 1-2-3 frame with a pair of strikeouts.
Coming down to the final three outs, the Roadrunners attempted a rally in the bottom of the ninth. UTSA loaded the bases via a double, a hit-by-pitch and a walk. Rodriguez came in to score on a fielder’s choice. Taussig earned a walk on a 3-2 pitch count to load the bases again, but the runners were left stranded as UTSA fell to Charlotte by 10-5 in the opener.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners and 49ers resume the series on Saturday as game two gets underway at 2 p.m. at Roadrunner Field.
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