Final Stats

By Paul Watley | @WatP7

STATESBORO, Ga. - UT Arlington looked to shake off its offensive rust at J.I. Clements Stadium on Saturday afternoon, but was unable to do so in an 8-1 loss against Georgia Southern.

"We have got to find a way to score," UT Arlington coach Darin Thomas said. "We're not hitting it over anyone's heads, we're not getting any balls to fall and we're giving away at-bats. We're getting behind where you can't do some stuff on the bases and that's the biggest thing. We're always behind."

The struggles at the plate continued for the Mavericks (14-19, 5-9 Sun Belt) as they went 4-of-32 in the game, scoring just one run. The Eagles (21-15, 11-6 Sun Belt) continued to swing the bats as they recorded eight runs off 12 hits.

After recording three hits in the first two innings of play, UTA notched just one over the last seven innings of the game.

The loss was tagged to starter Brad Vassar (2-3), who ended the day with three hits and three earned runs allowed in 0.2 innings on the mound. Kyle Laberge helped in relief as he went 4.1 innings with seven hits and three earned runs allowed. Laberge was able to keep Georgia Southern off the board in three straight innings before making his exit in the sixth.

The Mavericks got on the board early when a Levi Scott single through the right side cleared the way for Matt McLean to cross the plate.

The Eagles responded with a three-run inning to take control of the game in the bottom half of the first. A one-out double down the left-field line capped off the scoring outburst by Georgia Southern.

UTA made a push to tie up the game in the second inning, but ultimately came up empty. Christian Hollie's single to left field loaded up the bases with one out on the board, but a McLean ground ball resulted in a double play to end the inning with no runs for the Mavs.

Georgia Southern added to its four-run lead in the sixth when a single and a sacrifice bunt resulted in a pair of runs, putting the Eagles ahead 6-1. GS tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run shot over the right field wall that cemented the final score.

"We just need to find a way to win a game," Thomas added. "We can't worry about anything, but that we just need to win a game to get something positive going because it's just snowballing on us right now. That's our job as coaches is to try and find a way to generate something."

The Mavericks will wrap up their three-game series against the Eagles on Sunday afternoon with an 11 a.m. (CT) game.