March 17, 2009

Box Score | Photo Gallery

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Senior left-handed pitcher Ryan Robinson pitched eight innings and at one point retired 17 straight batters while leading UT Arlington to a 6-2 victory over No. 25 Minnesota on Tuesday night at QuikTrip Park in Grand Prairie, Texas.

"I thought we played really well," head coach Darin Thomas said. "That is the first time in awhile that on a Tuesday we came out and played well. We got some momentum over the weekend and we needed to keep it. Everything always starts on the mound and it was no different tonight."

After allowing the first two batters of the game to reach base and score on a single and walk respectively, Robinson settled in facing only three batters over the minimum the rest of his eight innings. He finished with a career-high 10 strikeouts and allowed two walks while scattering seven base hits.

"Robinson did a great job after giving up those two early runs," Thomas said. "He really worked the kinks out and that's the same guy we saw on the mound last year for us."

The UT Arlington offense scored four of its six runs on a pair of two-run singles by seniors Matt Otteman and Ryan Davis in the third inning.

That would be all Robinson would need as he cruised to a victory over the No. 25 Golden Gophers, who entered this series after winning two of three games from nationally-ranked TCU. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Adam Boydston picked up the save throwing a scoreless inning in the ninth.

"I had to get the jitters out, definitely," Robinson said. "It was my second start since coming back after having surgery in October and I just tried to get the jitters out and get in a groove and not look back."

The Mavericks added two runs in the seventh inning on a two-run blast by Otteman. He finished the game leading all players going 2-for-4 with four RBI. Otteman now has a career-high 18 game hit streak.

"Their pitchers did a good job of keeping us off balance at first," Otteman said. "In the third inning the hitters knew we had to get something going to do our part because we knew Robo was going to keep throwing up zeros for us."

The Mavericks and Golden Gophers' contest marked the first collegiate game played at one-year old QuikTrip Park, an independent league field for the Grand Prairie AirHogs.

"It was a great experience," Robinson said. "It is a great ballpark and a beautiful field. You can't beat it, playing on a great field against a top-25 ranked opponent. It was great."

UT Arlington and Minnesota will conclude their two-game series on Wednesday, March 18, at 6:30 p.m. at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington.