WACO – The UT Arlington softball team (4-5) bounced back in a big way after dropping its first two games of the Getterman Classic on Friday with a pair of wins – one coming via run-rule – against #16 Baylor on Saturday to advance to the championship game.
Reagan Wright went a combined 6-for-8 from the plate in the two games as she recorded three hits in both contests while also adding three RBI and three runs scored out of the 5th spot in the UTA lineup.
Whitney Walton also had multiple hits in both games from the leadoff position, scoring a run in each contest and earning two walks.
In the circle,
Randi Phillips started the first half of the doubleheader and picked up a complete-game victory. She didn't surrender any runs until Baylor scored two in the last inning.
JoJo Valencia picked up the win for the Mavericks in the semifinal game. She pitched 3 innings before
Allie Gardiner pitched the final three innings in relief without giving up any runs.
GAME 1
In the first half of the doubleheader, the Mavericks got the scoring started when
Krista Rude doubled off Baylor starting pitcher Regan Green. Rude's RBI double brought Walton home to give UTA a 1-0 lead in the top of the 3rd inning.
The UTA bats stayed hot in the 4th as
Melanie Mendoza started the inning with a single. Two batters later,
Avery Grimes reached base on an error and Mendoza scored from second base to give UTA a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the 5th inning,
Brittany Wyllie gave the Mavericks a 4-0 lead when she hit a 2-RBI single to bring Wright and
Megan Mitchell across the plate.
Phillips continued to keep Baylor in check, leaving Lady Bears' runners stranded on the corners to end the 5th.
Wright got on base again in the 6th inning with a single to left center. That was enough to score Rude and give UTA a 5-0 lead.
Phillips surrendered her first runs of the game when Baylor rallied with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 7th off a 2-RBI single by Kassidy Krupit. It was too little, too late for Baylor, though, as Phillips got the final batter to ground out to her and wrap up a 5-2 win over the 16th-ranked Lady Bears.
SEMIFINALS
In the Getterman Classic semis, UTA again started the scoring, this time in the top of the 3rd. The first two batters of the inning, Walton and Rude, reached base.
Laura Curry laid down a sac bunt, but advanced to second base on a throwing error. Walton crossed the plate for UTA's first run of the inning.
In the next at-bat,
Aileen Garcia doubled to right center to score both Curry and Rude. Wright then singled to score Mitchell, who pinch ran for Garcia.
That was enough for Baylor to bring Madison Lindsey in relief for starter Sidney Holman. That didn't slow down UTA much, though, as Grimes drove Wright home on a double and then scored on a passed ball before the top of the 3rd ended.
In the next inning, Wyllie came up with two runners on base and singled to score Wright. Mendoza scored from third on the next at-bat on a fielding error.
Baylor got on the board with a Krupit solo home run in the bottom of the 4th. Later in the inning, Hannah Thompson hit a sac fly to cut the deficit to 8-2.
With two outs in the top of the 6th, Wright doubled to score Rude. UTA scored its sixth two-out run of the game when Walton hit an RBI double to left field to drive
Bri Burchianti home.
Baylor couldn't score in the bottom of the inning, ending the game with the Mavericks up by eight runs after the sixth inning.
NEXT UP
UTA advances to play Sam Houston State in the championship game of the Getterman Classic Sunday at approximately 12:30 p.m. The Bearkats edged Southern Miss, 3-2, in the other semifinal on Saturday. The Mavs will be looking to bounce back from a 4-3 loss in the first game of the classic to SHSU on Friday.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets are now on sale for the 2019 UT Arlington softball season, beginning at just $50. All seating is general admission, and tickets can be secured by logging on to UTATickets.com.
