April 3, 2016
Final Stats
By Michael Eldridge | @DFWSportsMike
ARLINGTON, Texas - Appalachian State put together a two-run rally in the seventh to avoid the sweep by UT Arlington as the Mountaineers won 4-3 on Sunday at Allan Saxe Field.
The Mountaineers, trailing 3-2 going to the final inning, picked up just their second win in Sun Belt play by taking advantage of a UTA error and taking the lead on a two-out single. The Mavs stranded a runner at second to end the game. UTA fell to 25-7 overall and 4-5 in conference play, while App State moved to 8-29 and 2-10 in the SBC.
"We have a lot to learn from this situation," UT Arlington coach Kristie Fox said. "We left a lot of runners on base. We had a lot of opportunities to put them away and we didn't take advantage of them. We had to make some adjustments. The wind was blowing in today and we needed to get on top and we just kept popping up."
UTA left nine on base overall after putting up eight hits. Sandra Mendoza led UTA with two hits and a run, while Mallory Foster produced a team-high two RBI. Samantha Clakley was two outs from picking up her third win of the weekend in the circle. However, with the rally, Clakley fell to 14-5. The freshman struck out a season-high eight batters.
After Appalachian State opened scoring on a solo homer in the second, UTA pushed into the lead behind the bat of Foster. The junior lined a two-out single up the middle to score two.
The Mountaineers, leaving the bases loaded in the fifth, were finally able to break through to tie the game in the sixth on a hard-hit single that glanced off the glove of a diving Mendoza at second to bring a run home from second.
UTA regained the lead in the bottom half as Mya Anderson produced a pinch-hit double down the left-field line to score Krista Rude.
The Mavs had their chance to put the game away in the seventh. App State stretched out a single to a double with a close play at second that went against UTA. The Mountaineers tied the game in the next at-bat with a Maverick error and took the lead with a two-out, 3-2 count, single to left.
UTA returns to nonconference play when it takes the field Wednesday at Metroplex rival North Texas. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
