Feb. 16, 2006
IRVING, Texas - The Tournament Schedule
Friday, Feb. 17 - 11 a.m., Prairie View vs. UTA
1:30 p.m., Wichita State vs. UTA
4 p.m., James Madison vs. Wichita State
6:30 p.m., James Madison vs. Prairie View
Saturday, February 18 - 10 a.m. Prairie View vs. Wichita State
12:30 p.m., James Madison vs. UTA
4 p.m., Semifinal Game #1
6:30 p.m., Semifinal Game #2
Sunday, February 19 - 10 a.m. Consolation championship; 12:30 p.m., Championship
Fresh from capturing the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Hawai'i Paradise Classic title, the UT-Arlington softball team will host the Worth/UTA Invitational at Southwest Park in Irving. The three-day tournament begins Friday and concludes, weather permitting, on Sunday.
UTA (4-4) won its first regular-season tournament since 1993 by defeating Southern Mississippi., top-seed Hawaii and second-seed Loyola Marymount on the final day of the Paradise Classic last Sunday.
UTA last won a regular-season tournament in February 1993 when the Mavs hosted the UTA Triangular Tourney with Oklahoma and New Mexico State. The last tournament win with a large field was the Rebel Classic in 1988.
CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION:James Madison will open the season this weekend. Now in their fifth season of Division I softball, the Dukes went 28-27 a year ago. Sophomore Jenn Chavez was named to the CAA Championship All-Tournament Team last season. Senior Briana Carerra was named second team all-conference after racking up 59 hits during the season.
Wichita State (1-3) is coming off a 5-2 win over 10th-ranked Baylor at the 2006 Getterman Classic in Waco last weekend. WSU dropped its first three games of the tournament. The Shockers dropped a 15-6 decision to Baylor, 4-0 to Tulsa and 8-7 to Illinois.
SOUTHPAW STARTING OFF WELL:The Mavericks got a solid pitching effort from senior lefthander Jill Garro (Bulverde, Texas). She shut down Loyola Marymount in the Mavs' 10-0 win in the championship game. Garro leads the Mavs' in earned-run-average with a 1.48 ERA after the opening weekend.
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES:UTA boasts not one, but two Joneses on the squad. Sophomore Katie Jones (Cedar Hill, Texas) started seven games last weekend in the field and sophomore pitcher Laura Jones (Rogue River, Ore.) went 2-0 last weekend with two complete-game performances.
MORE NAME GAMES: UTA has two Andersons on the squad - Courtni and Courtney. It is easy to separate them with Courtney being the Mavs' regular third baseman and Courtni behind the plate at catcher.
AUTUMN SPRINGS INTO ACTION:Senior outfielder Autumn Petrino (Rowlett, Texas) was named the Hawai'i Paradise Classic Tournament MVP after batting .462 with 12 hits and eight RBI. She was also named to the Southland Conference Player of the Week Honor Roll.
MORE ACCOLADES:Sophomore April Clougherty (Dallas, Texas) joined Petrino on the all-tournament team after batting .350 in eight games.
TAKING THE EXTRA BASE:UTA mustered just 45 extra-base hits in 2005. After eight games, the Mavs have 13 extra base hits. UTA averaged fewer than 3.0 runs per game in 2005 and through eight games are averaging 4.5 runs per game.
PITCHING IMPROVES:After allowing 15 earned run in the first two games of the season, the UTA pitching staff settled down and gave up two earned runs in the final 19 innings of work. Two pitchers - senior Jill Garro and sophomore Laura Jones have ERAs lower than two. Garro had a 2-2 record and a 1.48 ERA on opening weekend while Jones went 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA.
BY THE NUMBERS: UTA is 3-0 when leading after six innings... the Mavs are 4-0 when the opposition scores two or fewer runs... the 10-run outburst by the Mavs in the championship game at Hawai'i was the first time UTA has scored double-figures in a game since the 2004 season when the Mavs defeated Prairie View 13-0 and 16-0 in a doubleheader at Allan Saxe Field... UTA has scored 12 runs in the fourth inning and are outscoring opponents in the fourth inning, 12-5.
THE SERIES:UTA will meet James Madison for the first time. Wichita State leads the series between the Shockers and Mavericks, 3-5 and UTA has defeated Prairie View both times they have played.
UP NEXT:UTA will take a week off before facing fifth-ranked Texas in Austin on March 1.
