SAN ANTONIO (Interstat) — UAB erupted for eight runs in the fifth inning and overwhelmed Texas-San Antonio 23-11 on Saturday in an American Athletic Conference baseball game at Roadrunner Field.

The Blazers raised their record to 31-24. The Roadrunners fell to 36-19.

Wesley Helms led UAB with a 4-for-5 performance that included a home run and six runs batted in. Brady Waugh went 3-for-3 with a homer and six RBIs. John Paul Head was 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs. Landon Beaver had two hits and an RBI.

For Texas-San Antonio, Lane Haworth went 4-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Drew Detlefsen went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Caden Miller doubled and drove in three runs. Diego Diaz homered and had two RBIs. Jordan Ballin hit a two-run homer.

The game seesawed early. UAB struck first in the second inning when Waugh and Helms hit back-to-back solo home runs. The Roadrunners answered in the bottom half as Ballin homered with a man on and Detlefsen doubled in a run to give UTSA a 3-2 lead.

UAB regained control in the third, scoring four times. A wild pitch brought in a run, then Waugh walked with the bases loaded to force in another. Hunt also walked with the bases loaded, and Helms added an RBI fielder’s choice. The Blazers led 6-3 after three.

Each team added a run in the fourth. UAB’s Beaver doubled home a run and Waugh singled in two more for a 9-5 edge. Haworth homered in the bottom half to cut the lead to 9-6.

Then came the decisive fifth inning. UAB sent 11 batters to the plate. Helms scored on a fielding error by shortstop Eshelman, and Head crushed a three-run homer to left that drove in Pierzynski and Hall. Later, with the bases loaded, Helms doubled to the right-center gap, clearing the bases. Roberts added a sacrifice fly. When the inning ended, UAB led 17-6. The Blazers added a run in the sixth on Waugh’s sacrifice fly.

UTSA mounted a comeback in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four times. Miller doubled with the bases loaded, driving in three, and Detlefsen singled home Miller to make it 18-11. But UAB answered with four more in the eighth. Waugh singled up the middle to score Head, Helms singled home Beaver, a wild pitch scored Waugh and an error by first baseman Miller allowed Helms to score, pushing the lead to 22-11. The final run came in the top of the ninth when UAB added a run on a sacrifice fly or error, though no play details were recorded for that frame.

UAB used five pitchers. Riley Miller tossed 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing no hits and striking out one. The Blazers drew 10 walks and took advantage of three UTSA errors, including two by shortstop Eshelman.

Haworth was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate and scored three runs. Helms finished with a double, a home run and two singles. Waugh walked twice and was hit by a pitch.

The win evened the weekend series after the Roadrunners won 19-9 on Friday and UAB won 7-6 on Thursday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of UAB 3, Texas-San Antonio 7. Interstat’s ELO system gave Texas-San Antonio a 74.1 percent probability to win.