By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
The UTSA Roadrunners held off the home team East Carolina Pirates in a hectic bottom of the ninth inning Saturday afternoon to win 7-6, claiming their 10th win in a row and their 39th overall to tie a program record for a single season.
With Pirates baserunners at first and second, UTSA reliever Robert Orloski recorded a strikeout to end the game. The 6-foot-4 sophomore from Idaho retired Ryley Johnson, who swung and missed a high fastball.
UTSA claimed the American Athletic Conference title outright Friday night with an 8-5 victory over the Pirates. But as the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader came down to the wire, the Pirates had the upper hand with a two-run lead going into the last inning.
Much to the dismay of fans in Greenville, N.C., the Pirates’ bullpen subsequently melted down with four straight walks to open the top of the ninth.
The fourth free pass brought in a run and pulled the Roadrunners to within one. With the bases still loaded, Mason Lytle doubled down the left field line off reliever Colby Wallace, clearing the bases to put UTSA on top, 6-4.
One out later, Andrew Stucky hit a ball off the end of his bat that squirted through the right side. The RBI single lifted the Roadrunners into a three-run lead.
Trailing 7-4 entering the bottom half of the ninth, the Pirates did not quit. Battling against Orloski, Michael Kalinich and Braden Burress opened the inning with singles. When Drew Downs walked, the bases were filled with East Carolina players — with nobody out.
Over the next few minutes, the Pirates scored two runs, and Roadrunners coach Pat Hallmark was ejected from the game following an argument with the home plate umpire.
After Colby Wallace’s RBI single to left field, the Pirates pulled to within 7-6, and the Pirates’ crowd started to cheer and clap. The Roadrunners’ coach had been tossed, and Johnson, who had homered earlier in the game, was at the plate.
Orloski, trying to meet the moment, recovered from being down 2-1 in the count to throw two straight strikes for his seventh save of the season and his second in two days.
Records
UTSA 39-10, 20-3
East Carolina 27-23, 11-12
Coming up
Game 3 of the series and the second game of the doubleheader will be played today.
Notable
UTSA has tied the school record for victories established in 1994 (39-18) and again in 2008 (39-19). The Roadrunners can break the record this afternoon if they can win the series finale against the Pirates.
UTSA clinched the series with its second win against East Carolina in two days, with the third game set for later this afternoon.
As a result, the Roadrunners are now eight for eight in series victories in the American Athletic Conference this season. They have played eight and have won all eight of them. UTSA also won its 10th game in a row and its ninth straight in AAC play.
The Roadrunners won 8-5 Friday night to clinch the AAC regular-season title outright. The win in the series opener also allowed them to claim the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.