May 8, 2015
By Paul Watley | @WatP7
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington came away with a split in Friday's doubleheader against Appalachian State, winning 2-1 in Game 1, before falling in the nightcap 5-2 at Clay Gould Ballpark.
"Overall I was happy with the first game," UT Arlington coach Darin Thomas said. "Obviously we beat a good arm and got two in the seventh to get the win, but the second game we were flat. We've played a lot of doubleheaders and we have yet to put together a good doubleheader. We've got to do a better job of getting them ready between games."
Matt McLean and Travis Sibley paced the Maverick offense in the two games, going 4-for-7. Sibley recorded three doubles on the day to go along with a pair of RBI.
"Tomorrow's a big day," Thomas added. "It's a must win, no doubt about it and we'll see how we respond."
The rubber match between UTA and App State will take place on Saturday. Eight Maverick seniors will be honored prior to the 1 p.m. game.
Game 1: UTA 2, App State 1
Final Stats
An outstanding performance on the mound from UT Arlington senior Chad Nack propelled the Mavs to a 2-1 victory over Appalachian State in game one of Friday's doubleheader.
Nack was exceptional in the start, allowing five hits and no earned runs in his 7.2 innings of action. He also struck out three and walked two in his 105-pitch outing. The Sanger native was able to etch his name in UTA history with his 87th career appearance which is the third most by a Maverick player.
Sibley was key for the UTA offense with his 2-for-4 performance that included a pair of RBI.
The Mountaineers took an early lead in the opening frame when a Maverick fielding error cleared way for one run to cross.
McLean came up with a single through the right side in the fifth inning in an attempt to knot up the game. App State attempted to throw out McLean stealing second, but an errant throw by the catcher resulted in McLean advancing to third. However, the efforts came up empty as a fly out to right field ended the inning with the Mavs trailing by one run.
UTA pushed through in the seventh with a two-run inning that was aided by a double to right field by Sibley. Singles by Darien McLemore and Brady Cox set the stage for Sibley to step into the box with runners on the corners and two-outs. Sibley came up big with his two-out, two-RBI double to right field that gave the Mavs their first lead of the game.
Game 2: App State 5, UTA 2
Final Stats
After jumping out to an early one-run lead, UT Arlington gave up four straight runs to Appalachian State as it fell 5-2. The Mavericks left 12 on base compared to just eight left on for the Mountaineers.
McLean held his own from the leadoff spot for the Mavericks, going 3-for-4 with one run scored. Levi Scott also chipped in with his 2-for-5 effort that included a pair of RBI.
UTA jumped out to an early lead with a first-inning RBI fielder's choice by Scott that pushed across the first run.
App State took its first lead in the second inning with a groundout RBI and a RBI single through the left side to go on top 2-1. The Mountaineers extended their lead in with a pair of one-run innings in the sixth and seventh to put the Mavs behind 4-2.
A infield fly to the shortstop by Scott brought in one run for UTA in the seventh, but a strikeout ended the inning with two runners left on base.
Appalachian State added an insurance run in the ninth with a solo shot over the right-field wall, setting its final margin of victory at three runs.
McLean's lead-off double to left-center field coupled with a Sibley walk in the bottom of the ninth, brought the tying run to the plate with no outs. However, the Mavericks came up empty as they recorded three straight outs to end the game.
