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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Coming off a pair of midweek wins, including an 18-inning win at No. 6 Texas A&M, UTA baseball will host its conference opening three-game series, welcoming Georgia State to Clay Gould Ballpark for a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch on Friday.

The series will resume on Saturday at 2 p.m. and conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on UTAMavs.com, with the Voice of the Mavs, Josh Sours, calling the action. Saturday will serve as UTA's annual Bark in the Park Day, in conjunction with a softball matchup next door at Allen Saxe Field.

The Mavs are coming off a pair of stellar wins in midweek play, including winning a 5-1 game at No. 6 Texas A&M on Tuesday in an Aggie record 18 innings, the first 17 of which were scoreless. UTA got 17 straight shutout innings from four pitchers to open the marathon, including a career-high 4.1 from freshman Carlos Tavera in his first career start, a key lefty out from Jake Wilcox, and career-best outings from Logan Austin (5.2 shutout) and Andrew Gross (6.2 shutout). UTA then busted out offensively on Wednesday with a season-high 13 runs, including homers from Christian Hollie and Jakob Nunez, and a pair of triples from centerfielder Noah Vaughan. Freshman David Moffat earned his first career win with four one-run innings in relief.

UTA will turn to the starting rotation of senior southpaw Brad Vassar (1-1, 3.38 ERA) on Friday and senior righty Trae Patterson (0-1, 5.82 ERA) on Saturday. Georgia State counters with star sophomore right-hander Hunter Gaddis (4-0, 0.64 ERA) on Friday, junior right-hander Jake Rogers (3-1, 2.22 ERA) on Saturday and senior right-hander Jordan Lee (2-0, 4.03 ERA) on Sunday. The Mavs have also started David Moffat (1-4 (3.71 ERA), Daniel James (0-2, 6.23 ERA) and Ka'ikepono Anderson (0-1, 9.00 ERA) in weekend games in 2018.

The Mavs have hit .231 as a team through 15 games, belting 17 doubles, nine triples and nine homers, scoring 77 runs and reaching base at a .340 clip. Defensively, UTA has fielded .967, turning 20 double plays and throwing out six would-be basestealers. The Mavs have a 5.49 team ERA in 142.2 innings, walking 73 and striking out 88.

Centerfielder Noah Vaughan leads the Mavs at the plate, hitting .305 with two doubles, five triples, three homers and 11 RBI. Outfielder Phil Berthiaume has hit .280, Omar Salinas has hit .276 with a .389 on-base percentage, shortstop Josh Minjarez has hit .268 with a homer and seven RBI, outfielder/second baseman Christian Hollie has batted .259 with a homer and six RBI and catcher Jakob Nunez has hit a homer and driven in seven. Catcher Will Olson has cranked a pair of homers. In relief, Ryan Buss (1-0, 2.79 ERA), Logan Austin (0-0, 5.79 ERA), Drew Gooch (1-0, 8.10 ERA), Jordon West (1-0, 9.64 ERA), Dylan Schneider (0-0, 10.50 ERA) and Jake Wilcox (0-0, 13.50 ERA) have each appeared in at least four games in relief.

Georgia State (11-6) enters the series winning seven of its last 10 games, claiming each of their first four weekends. The nation's leader in double plays, Georgia State is boosted by a combined weekend rotation with a 9-1 mark and a 2.16 ERA, led by Team USA veteran Hunter Gaddis. The Panthers are led at the plate by catcher Nick Gatewood, who has hit .300 with three homers and nine RBI. Jake Thompson has hit .354 with a homer and seven RBI, with shortstop Justin Jones hitting .259 with a homer and nine RBI.

The Panthers have hit .240 as a team in 2018, with 82 runs in 17 games, belting 11 homers and reaching base at a .339 clip, stealing 19 bases. Defensively, GSU has fielded .973 and have thrown out eight of 14 would-be basestealers. GSU has a 4.21 team ERA in 151.2 innings, allowing 134 hits and walking 85, striking out 123 and sporting five saves. Jansen Acton as three saves in six outings, with Brandon Baker making a team-high seven appearances.

The series with Georgia State is tied, 6-6, with three of the first four meetings in the series coming in Atlanta. Last year, the Mavs won two in Atlanta, falling behind a sterling performance from GSU's Hunter Gaddis on Friday but bouncing back to win Saturday and Sunday.

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