Roadrunners beat No. 7 Texas State to claim ninth straight home win

SAN ANTONIO- Leyton Barry had three hits and Matt King drove in three to help lead UTSA to a 14-8 win over No. 7 Texas State on Tuesday night at Roadrunner Field.

UTSA (28-13) used a five-point first and eight-point sixth to claim victory over Texas State (32-10), ending a nine-game winning streak for the Bobcats and extending the streak of UTSA’s winning streak in nine-game home games.

The Roadrunners victory took UTSA to 8-2 against ranked foes, including 5-0 at home with wins over No. 2 Stanford and three over No. 23 Charlotte. It marked a major victory in UTSA’s quest for potential NCAA Tournament positioning, as the Roadrunners entered the game with a No. 58 NCAA RPI and Texas State possessed a No. 47.

The Roadrunners took a 5-2 lead in a home and away first inning before Texas State scored six in the second and third innings. After scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth, UTSA exploded for eight runs in the sixth and added an insurance run in the seventh to help secure the win.

UTSA’s monster week of opportunities will continue with three games at Middle Tennessee’s No. 51 RPI, starting Friday at 6 p.m. The Roadrunners are currently tied for second in Conference USA, with the Blue Raiders one game behind.

Barry led the Roadrunners with a 3-for-5 game and two RBIs, with King leading in three-runs with a 2-for-5 outing. UTSA also got plays within two hits of Ian Bailey, Chase Keng and Isaiah Walker. Jonathan Tapia, Garrett Poston and Ryan Flores everyone had blows and Samy Diaz finished with a pair of RBI.

Beaird (2-1) took the win with two shutout innings, allowing just three hits with two strikeouts, throwing a fifth-and-sixth shutout before UTSA’s eight-run seventh.

The Roadrunners have started their second year Neighborhood Ryan, who pitched 0.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits with two walks and one strikeout on 26 pitches. Coming to relieve Ward in the first, Braden Davis pitched 0.1 innings. The freshman allowed one run, no hits and walked one on five pitches. Ulises Quiroga was called from the bullpen in the second. The sophomore pitched 1.1 innings, allowing four runs on three hits with a walk and strikeout on 27 pitches.

Simon Miller came to the mound to relieve Quiroga in the third. The sophomore right-hander threw 0.2 innings, allowing one run on a hit, walking two and one strikeout on 24 pitches. Reece Easter took the mound to relieve Miller in the fourth. The super senior pitched an inning, allowing just one hit on 11 pitches. Taking the mound in the top of the fifth, Beaird allowed three runs with two strikeouts in two innings of work.

Jean Chomko took the mound for Beaird in the seventh and threw a monster pair of innings. He allowed just one hit, one walk and three strikeouts on 32 pitches. Luke Malone closed the game for UTSA, working a perfect ninth with two strikeouts.

Texas State starter Trevis Sundgren pitched an inning. The Bobcat right-hander allowed five runs on six hits and one strikeout on 24 pitches. Jonathan Martinez was called from the Texas State bullpen in the second. Martinez allowed one hit and struck out with 22 pitches over his two innings on the mound. Austin Smith was brought in to replace Martinez late in the fourth. Throwing two innings, Smith allowed one hit and recorded three strikeouts on 31 pitches.

From the Bobcat bullpen, Tony Robie came on to replace Smith in the bottom of the sixth. Throwing 0.0 innings, the second threw 10 pitches, allowing two hits and walking one. Matthew Nicholas (1-1) was called from the bullpen late in the sixth. Nicholas allowed four runs on a hit with one walk and one strikeout for 0.1 innings of work.

Triston Dixon replaced Nicholas in sixth. Dixon went 0.2 innings, allowing one run on a hit and one strikeout on 14 pitches. Victor Loa was brought in from the bullpen to relieve Dixon in the seventh. Loa allowed a run on a hit and walked a batter on 15 pitches in 0.1 innings. Tristan Stivors – a favorite for the Sun Belt conference reliever of the year – came in to fence for the Bobcats. The senior pitched 1.2 innings, allowing one hit and three strikeouts on 27 pitches.

The Bobcats scored the first point of the game leading the first on an RBI brace from Dalton Shuffield to score Ben McClain. With bases loaded, Daylon Pena reached first base on a fielder’s pick and scored Shuffield.

UTSA took the lead late in the period with five points. With Tapia and Poston on base via singles, Bailey slipped one down the middle to score Tapia from second. With a two-strike tally, Keng singled past second baseman to score Poston to tie the game. A single to third base from Walker tackled Bailey as the Roadrunners took the lead. Going into another run with a 1-1 count, Barry fired a two-RBI double to left field as Keng and Walker raced through the house for a 5-2 lead.

Four points from the Bobcats saw another lead change. Two walks laid the groundwork for McClain’s home run in the top of the second. McLain’s three-run homer was followed by a solo outburst on a Shuffield full count as Texas State regained the lead, 6-5.

Two runs in the lead of the third extended Texas State’s lead. With bases loaded and a count of 1-2, Shuffield reached on an error as Wesley Faison and August Ramirez were sent home as the Bobcats took a three-point lead, 8-5.

The Roadrunners took the lead in the bottom of the sixth after two scoreless innings. A Barry single went past the second baseman. King hit a single to advance Barry to third. Tapia was walked around to charge Bailey’s bases. With a full count, Bailey was walked to tag Barry. Flores followed with a defensive pick as Bailey reached third base on a second base error as Tapia and King scored to tie the game, 8-8. A sacrificial bunt from Diaz tackled Bailey as the Roadrunners regained the lead. Keng then picked mid to tag Flores for a two-point lead. Walker was walked in to load the bases for King as the Roadrunners beat around the order with two strikeouts on the board. With the count 1-0, King snatched a ball deep to center field for a three-run brace to score Diaz, Keng and Walker as UTSA took a five-point, 13-8 lead.

UTSA added another point to their lead in the seventh. Bailey singled down the middle as Flores walked. A passed ball moved both runners forward to put UTSA in scoring position as Diaz headed for the plate. A pitch to Diaz’s third base tackled Bailey for a 14-8 lead over the Bobcats to win the game.

Tuesday’s Notes
Home runs
UTSA: N / A
State of Texas: Ben McClain (5), Dalton Shuffield (8)

WP- Ryan Beard (2-1): 2 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
SV- N / A
LP- Matthew Nicholas (1-1): 0.1 IP, 1 hit, 4 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Next

UTSA travels to Murfreesboro, Tennessee this weekend to take on Middle Tennessee in a weekend series. The first game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Friday and will air on CUSA TV.

-UTSA-