March 18, 2009
Box Score
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington finished its series sweep over No. 25 Minnesota with a 12-5 victory on Wednesday night at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington. The Mavericks were led by a season-high 20 base hits and six doubles as all nine starting position players recorded a hit. The series sweep marks the first for UT Arlington over a top 25 opponent in over 25 years.
The win gives the Mavericks (9-10) their third in a row, marking their longest winning streak of the season. The Golden Gophers have now lost three straight games falling to 10-6 overall.
"We really swung the bats well against a good pitching staff," head coach Darin Thomas said. "There were a lot of guys in our lineup that helped us today. We also had solid outings out of the bullpen with Brian Watson and Adam Boydston."
The Mavericks scored multiple runs in three innings, posting two runs in the first and four in the second to grab a 6-0 lead before sealing their victory with four runs in the eighth frame.
Junior left-handed pitcher Brian Watson recorded his first collegiate win pitching 2 1/3 innings in relief, allowing two hits with two strikeouts. Watson came out of the bullpen for the Mavericks in the top of the fifth inning with two outs for Mavs' starter Drew Clementz.
"I just worked on spotting my fastball down in the zone," Watson said. "I'm not a strikeout pitcher, so I just have to work on keeping my pitches down, getting groundballs and fly balls and letting my defense work behind me."
Sophomore left-handed relief pitcher Adam Boydston tallied his second save against Minnesota in as many days pitching two innings while picking up a strikeout and giving up three base hits.
Seven Mavericks posted multi-hit games, including senior third baseman Evan Raley who led all players going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Junior shortstop Tim Steggall had a season-high three base hits (3-for-5) while driving in two runs. Catcher Chad Comer went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and RBI.
"I've been working really hard with K.J. (Hendricks) on my hitting and I think that has really helped," Raley said after ending a 2-for-26 slump with a career-high four hits. "I just came out swinging and trying to be aggressive and not think about so much at the plate."
Senior right fielder Matt Otteman was the last Maverick to record a base hit, collecting his 34th hit of the season with a single to right field in the eighth inning to extend his hit streak to 19 games. Sophomore center fielder Michael Choice notched his 10th multi-hit game of the season going 3-for-5 with a run scored and RBI.
The Mavericks will be off Thursday before opening a three-game Southland Conference series against Northwestern State (10-6, 4-1) on Friday, March 20, with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch at Clay Gould Ballpark. Saturday's game is scheduled for 2 p.m. with the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
