UTSA sweeps Dartmouth
- Updated: February 24, 2019
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Host UTSA rapped out 32 hits and held Dartmouth to three runs during a Saturday doubleheader at Wolff Stadium as the Roadrunners cruised to 10-0 and 12-3 victories. Bryan Sturges had three hits in each of the contests to pace UTSA (4-3) at the plate while Joshua Lamb drove in a total of five runs.
The lone bright spot for the Big Green (1-2) was a solo home run by junior Michael Calamari in the fourth inning of game two, the first for Dartmouth this season.
In the seven-inning opener, Slater Foust (1-0) held the Big Green bats in check over six innings, yielding just two singles and a walk while fanning five. Dartmouth nearly pushed a run across the plate in the second stanza, but left fielder Shane Sirdashey fired a strike to the plate, gunning down senior Nate Ostmo trying to score on fly ball.
The Roadrunner offense, meanwhile, put six runs on the board in the first four frames against freshman right-hander Justin Murray (0-1), making his collegiate debut. Jonathan Tapia greeted the rookie by sending a 2-2 pitch over the fence down the left-field line to lead off the first with his first home run of the year, and Dylan Rock added an RBI single to give UTSA a quick 2-0 lead.
In the second, the Roadrunners pushed three more runs across the plate with the key hit a two-run double off the bat of Lamb. Back-to-back doubles in the third by Taylor Barber and Nick Thornquist made it a 6-0 game after three.
Murray only allowed one base runner in the fourth before departing, and the bullpen was roughed up for four more runs over the next two innings to put the game out of reach.
Zachary Griggs completed the shutout by getting the final three outs after walking the first batter he faced.
The nightcap started better for the Big Green as freshman left-hander Chase Jeter retired the first five batters he faced and had two outs and a man on first in the third when the wheels fell off. The next seven UTSA hitters all reached base — three on two-baggers — to suddenly make it a 6-0 game. Sophomore Jonah Jenkins came on to get the final out of the inning.
Calamari answered the outburst by ripping a 2-0 pitch over the fence in right to start the fourth, but that was all Dartmouth could do in the fourth.
The Roadrunners added two more in their half of the fourth, and Lamb ripped a three-run triple to highlight a four-run fourth for a 12-1 lead.
Dartmouth put a solitary run on the board in the sixth thanks to an errant pickoff attempt and a Calamari sacrifice fly, and another in the eighth when sophomore Ubaldo Lopez dribbled a run-scoring grounder to third with the bases loaded.
UTSA starter Hunter Mason threw 1.2 innings before being replaced with two on and two out in the second. But reliever Bradley Griggs (1-1) preserved the scoreless game at the time and eventually hurled five frames, yielding two runs, one earned, on two hits without a walk to go with six strikeouts.
Freshman Trystan Sarcone tossed the final three innings for the Big Green, keeping the Roadrunners off the scoreboard on three hits and a pair of walks while punching out four batters.
Dartmouth will attempt to salvage a series split on Sunday with first pitch slated for 11:30 a.m. local time (12:30 p.m. Eastern).
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Notes: Dartmouth is expected to go with a third freshman starter on Sunday in right-hander Nathan Skinner … the two hits in the first game of the doubleheader were the fewest for the Big Green in nearly three years.
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