Feb. 22, 2009
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
ARLINGTON, Texas - Two Southland Conference rivals met on the second day of the 16th Annual UT Arlington/Hilton Invitational as Texas State handed UT Arlington an 8-6 defeat on Saturday afternoon at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington. In the first non-conference meeting since 2005 between these two programs, Texas State used strong starting pitching and a three-run ninth inning to secure the road victory over the Mavericks.
UT Arlington falls to 1-1 overall while the Bobcats even their overall record at 1-1.
Texas State starting pitcher Zach Tritz pitched six innings while allowing six hits and two runs and recording seven strikeouts. Tritz, a SLC preseason first team All-Conference pick, faced only three batters over the minimum before entering the fifth inning when the Mavs scored their first run on a solo home run by Evan Raley to left field to cut the Bobcats lead to 3-1.
Texas State notched two runs in the second inning and one in the fourth before chasing UT Arlington starting pitcher Nathan Long in the sixth inning with one out. Long suffered the loss while giving up four runs on nine hits with five strikeouts.
Raley struck again in the sixth inning for the Mavericks, collecting a run-scoring double down the right-field line to plate junior first baseman Shane Hopkins, who made his NCAA Division I debut going 2-for-4.
The Bobcats offense continued to answer UT Arlington's rallies scoring a run in the seventh and three in the ninth to earn the non-conference victory.
The Mavericks cut Texas State's lead to 5-4 after scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on a two-run homer by senior designated hitter Andrew Kainer.
Raley picked up his second straight multi-hit game going 2-for-4. Shortstop Tim Steggall (2-for-5), center fielder Michael Choice (2-for-4) and right fielder Matt Otteman provided strength in the middle of the Mavs' order combining to hit 6-for-14 in the game.
UT Arlington will continue play at the UTA/Hilton Invitational on Sunday, Feb. 22, hosting Siena at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
The loss drops the Mavericks all-time record in the UTA/Hilton Invitational to 25-21 in its 16th season... UT Arlington falls to 31-46 all-time against Texas State, including a 15-18 record in Arlington... The Bobcats have won four straight and nine of their last 10 against the Mavericks since 2006... UT Arlington has tallied 21 base hits with a .304 batting average in its first two games... Both the Mavericks and Bobcats recorded 12 base hits on Saturday, marking the most by any team in this year's tournament... In 2008, Evan Raley was eighth on the team with seven multi-hit games, he already has two this season while batting .500 (4-for-8) in two games... UT Arlington held 2008 Southland Conference Hitter of the Year Paul Goldschmidt to an 0-for-6 day at the plate... Goldschmidt is now 1-for-10 in two games at the UTA/Hilton Invitational... Michael Choice is now batting .377 for his UTA career (204 at-bats), placing him second all-time on the UTA career list (Ryan Roberts - 02-03, .393)... Choice's .574 career slugging percentage ranks him seventh on the UTA career list.
UTA/Hilton Invitational Games:
Siena defeated Arkansas State, 5-1
Siena traveled 1,435 miles on a bus to arrive hours before their season opener and ended the day with a 5-1 victory over Arkansas State in game four of the UTA/Hilton Invitational. Neither team recorded a hit until the fourth inning, but it was Siena's three-run fifth inning which included two walks, a hit-by-pitch and two singles to start the frame that proved to be the difference while claiming the victory. The Saints later added an insurance run with a solo home run by right fielder Anthony Giansanti (2-for-5) in the home half of the seventh inning. Craig Chaput was the winning pitcher (5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 SO, 4 BB) and reliever Kyle Sumple earned the save by pitching 4.0 innings in relief while allowing only two base hits. Right fielder Derrick Coleman was the only Red Wolves player to record a multi-hit game.
