​UT Arlington (12-11, 4-2 Sun Belt) vs. Georgia State (14-12, 3-3 Sun Belt)
March 27-29 | Clay Gould Ballpark | Arlington, Texas
Friday: |Live Stream ($) | Tickets
Saturday: |Live Stream ($) | Tickets
Sunday: |Live Stream ($) | Tickets

By Paul Watley | @WatP7

ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington looks to bounce back from a pair of midweek losses as it returns to Sun Belt play this weekend in a three-game series against Georgia State at Clay Gould Ballpark.

"We need to do what we had been doing up until this week," UT Arlington coach Darin Thomas said. "That's really been the only bump on the road we've had. There are no excuses this weekend. We need play good baseball and get some timely hits and pitch the ball well.

The Mavericks hope to rely on their pitching staff to take their third consecutive conference series against one of the league's most prolific offenses. The Panthers squad features the Sun Belt leader in home runs, RBI, hits and runs scored. GSU also leads the conference with 22 home runs as a team.

UTA's bullpen has stymied opposing batters, holding opponents to .271 in the box. Jacob Moreland (1-1) and Daniel James (1-1) have combined to be a force coming out of the bullpen. Moreland's ERA of 2.55 is best among relief pitchers who have gone more than nine innings. James has held batters to .233 hitting to go along with his 2.84 ERA and 12 strikeouts.

"Moreland and James both have come in and thrown strikes," Thomas said. "They've been able to move it in and out and have shown composure. To pitch at this level you have to have composure on the mound and that's something those two guys have shown."

Helping solidify the bullpen has been closer Colin Tornberg (1-0), who has registered a 1.12 ERA with seven saves and nine strikeouts in eight innings of relief. The senior right-handed pitcher also has held opponents to the lowest batting average in relief of any Maverick pitcher (.207) in his eight relief appearances.

The weekend rotation for the Mavs has performed well nearing the halfway point of the season. Chad Nack (2-1), Brad Vassar (2-2) and Joel Kuhnel (1-0) have combined for a 3.67 ERA while posting a 5-3 record.

Junior outfielder Matt McLean has helped pace the offense at the plate this season. McLean is hitting .364 with six RBI and a double. The Plano native has been the most effective Maverick in getting on as he reaches base at a clip of .482. McLean has been especially efficient in leading off as he hits .386 with a .485 on-base percentage from the lead-off spot.

Senior infielder Travis Sibley has made his own contributions offensively. Sibley leads the team in extra-base hits with nine and in runs batted in at 19. The Frisco native is hitting .326 with a slugging percentage of .457. Sibley is also the lone Maverick player who has seen action in each of UTA's 23 games this season.

The series opener is set to take place on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at UTATickets.com or by calling 817-272-9595.