Senior Amanda Horton launched her conference-leading 15th home run of the year and sophomore Amanda Nikolenko picked up her 18th victory of the season as the UTSA softball extended its season-long winning streak to 13 games with a 4-1 victory over Louisiana-Monroe Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners complete the weekend sweep of the Indians and move to 29-11 overall and 19-5 in the Southland Conference. It marked the ninth straight win in the all-time series against ULM and the ninth consecutive league victory this year. The Indians fall to 25-30 and 8-16.
Horton turned in her second multiple-RBI game of the weekend, going 2-for-3 with two runs driven in. Horton and junior Stevi Simpson both had home runs as UTSA now has 77 in 40 games (1.93 per game). Simpson was 1-for-2 and extended her career-best hitting streak to 11 games, while senior Mel Torres collected two hits to help the UTSA offense.
Nikolenko was solid in the circle once again, fanning nine batters and allowing just one run on four hits in running her record to 18-5 overall. The Ashland, Mo., native boasts a 12-2 record and 1.67 earned run average in conference play as she finished the ULM set with two victories and a save.
UTSA grabbed a quick 3-0 lead after one at-bat. Horton drilled a Dillard offering deep over the left field fence for her 15th long ball of the season, scoring Torres, who had reached on a leadoff single and stole second. Simpson skied the next pitch over the same fence for her sixth homer of the year to make it 3-0 UTSA.
An RBI-single by freshman Brittany Cantu that plated junior Aimee Murray, who singled, made it 4-0 after three innings.
Meanwhile, Nikolenko cruised through the first four frames, fanning eight batters and allowing just three base runners, none past first base.
ULM finally got on the board in the top of the sixth on a two-out, solo home run by Heather Williams. Nikolenko did not allow another Indian to reach from that point en route to her eighth straight win.
Sammie Dillard allowed four runs on eight hits and struck out two in falling to 12-11.
The Roadrunners travel to Lubbock for a non-conference doubleheader at Texas Tech on Wednesday, April 26.
