SAN ANTONIO – Saint Mary's Baseball dropped a pair of slugfests against UT San Antonio on Saturday, losing the first game 11-8 and the second game 9-4.
 
GAME ONE
The Gaels struck first in the first game, when Bill Ralston blasted a three-run shot to deep right field in a lefty-lefty match up, as SMC took advantage of a UTSA error to make it 3-0 Saint Mary's.
 
After the Roadrunners cut it to 3-2 in the second, Saint Mary's extended the lead right back to three runs when a sac fly from Coleman Schmidt and a balk by UTSA made it 5-2 SMC in the third.
 
But the Roadrunners would answer right back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third and score three more in the fourth to take a 7-5 lead.
 
So it was the Gaels turn to answer back, and they did just that when Christian Almanza launched a two-run homer to left center to tie the game at 7-7 in the fifth on the big lefty's second home run to left center this season.
 
Just two batters later Saint Mary's would reclaim the lead when Schmidt smacked a home run to left field to make it 8-7 Gaels. But that would be the last time SMC would lead.
 
The Roadrunners would answer immediately in the bottom of the fifth, with pair of singles and a pair of walks followed by a hit by pitch, and they were back on top at 9-8. They would get another run that inning on a sac fly, and tack on one more in the sixth with another sac fly to seal the 11-8 win.
 
GAME TWO
The Gaels were on the comeback trail right away in game two, which was scheduled to go seven innings. UTSA would get a run in the first and three more in the third to jump out to a 4-0 lead.
 
Saint Mary's would get on the board when freshman Jared Mettam hit a no doubter to deep left for his first collegiate home run to make it a 4-1 game in the fourth.
 
A two-run double by the Roadrunners in the fourth made it 6-1, but Gavin Napier would hit his first home run of the season to make it 6-2 in the fifth.
 
The Gaels trailed 9-2 going into the seventh, when freshmen Nathan Kirpatrick and Matteo Bellisimo both made their first appearances of the season when they came in as pinch hitters. Kirpatrick reached on an error and Bellisimo walked before Schmidt drove them both in with a double to right center to make it a 9-4 deficit. UTSA would get Mettam to ground out to third to end the threat -- and the game -- to sweep the double header.
 
UP NEXT
The series finale Sunday is scheduled for an 11:00 a.m. first pitch Pacific Time.