April 19, 2009
Box Score
CONWAY, Ark. - UT Arlington defeated Central Arkansas 11-10 in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon to finish its three-game Southland Conference series sweep over the Bears in Conway at Bear Stadium. Michael Choice hit a grand slam - his third homer of the series - to tie the game at 8-8 and UT Arlington won the game in the 10th inning on an RBI single to right-center field by Matt Otteman. The Mavericks (22-17, 14-7) have now swept two straight SLC road series while the Bears (16-20, 8-13) suffer their first conference sweep of the season.
It is the first time the Mavericks have swept two straight conference road series since 1994, when UT Arlington swept consecutive league series at Texas State and Louisiana Monroe.
History was made for UT Arlington in the third inning when Andrew Kainer tied the all-time school record for hit streak with a single up the middle giving the senior a 26-game hitting streak. Kainer ties the record that was set previously this season by Otteman and by the late Clay Gould in 1993.
The final game of the three-game series was a back-and-forth battle. The contest lasted three hours and 29 minutes as both teams' tallied 29 base hits with nine pitchers making an appearance.
The Mavericks jumped into the lead scoring four runs on five base hits in the second inning. The Bears answered immediately with eight unanswered runs the following three frames to take an 8-4 lead going into the sixth inning.
Choice brought UT Arlington back with one swing, sending his third home run of the series over the center field wall for his second career grand slam. Choice's home run was the only hit for the Mavericks in the sixth inning as Central Arkansas issued four walks and made one fielding error. The error committed by the Bears was on a ground ball to shortstop Bobby Pritchett hit by Jeff Storms with two outs, allowing Storms to reach base, Tim Steggall to score and brought Choice to the plate.
The Bears scored a run in the seventh inning to take a 9-8 lead into the ninth inning where the Mavericks would tie the game on a bases loaded walk by Collin Garner to score Otteman, who also walked in the inning. The game-tying run was also unearned as a fielding error by Bears' third baseman Jonathan Yerby kept the Mavs' rally alive in the ninth. UT Arlington sent seven batters to the plate in the ninth inning without recording a base hit.
After Otteman scored Jay Pitschka for the game-winning run in the top of the 10th, sophomore Adam Boydston nailed down his first win of the season as he escaped a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the 10th on a fielder's choice to Pitschka at second base to end the game.
Otteman went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Pitschka went 2-for-5 with two runs and one RBI.
UT Arlington will host Northwood University (NAIA) on Tuesday, April 21, for a 6:30 p.m. non-conference game at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington.
