ARLINGTON, Texas – The UTA baseball team will host Georgia Southern to open Sun Belt Conference play this weekend.

MATCHUP: Georgia Southern (7-8) vs UTA (11-6)
WHEN: March 15-17
WHERE: Arlington, Texas | Clay Gould Ballpark
GAME 1 (6:30 p.m.): LIVE STATS | VIDEO
GAME 2 (2 p.m.): LIVE STATS | VIDEO
GAME 3 (12 p.m.): LIVE STATS | VIDEO

PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, March 15
GS - RHP - Seth Shuman
UTA - RHP - Cade Winquest

Saturday, March 16
GS - LHP - Braden Hays
UTA - RHP - Ka'ikepono Anderson

Sunday, March 17
GS - RHP - Daniel Collins
UTA - RHP - David Moffat

SERIES HISTORY
- Georgia Southern leads the all-time series with UT Arlington 10-4 and took three of four last season.

UTA NOTES
• The Mavs are 11-6 overall and have won six out of the last eight, with the two losses coming in game No. 3 against Incarnate Word (March 3) and earlier this week at Oklahoma.
• UTA is currently third in the Sun Belt in batting average, hitting a combined .270 as a team before conference play begins.
• Connor Aube leads the Mavs in batting average (.365), hits (27), doubles (9) and triples (tied; 1).
• In 11 appearances of relief, Andrew Gross has been a terror for opposing batters. Batters are hitting just .133 against the senior and he has recorded the third most strikeouts on the team (15) despite pitching just 13.1 innings.
• Andrew Gross leads the nation in saves (7),

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | GEORGIA SOUTHERN EAGLES
• The Eagles enter with a league-best 3.59 ERA.
• The Eagles have won three of their four league-opening series since joining the Sun Belt in 2015. The road swing to open league play is the first since 2016 when the Eagles swept App State in Boone.
• Georgia Southern had an early lead over Georgia Tech on Tuesday night, but dropped the 7-6 result to the Yellow Jackets for their 10th straight loss against the Institute.
• Steven Curry has shown a knack for wearing pitches. In his 127 career games with the Eagles, Steven has been hit 50 times to rank fifth in school history, only eight behind J.R. Revere's career total. In 2019, Curry has been hit eight times with five coming in the finale of a weekend series.
• Georgia Southern hit three home runs in the seventh inning on Sunday against UNC Asheville. The Eagles got the big inning off seven hits, six going for extra bases. The last time the Eagles scored eight in an inning was March 2nd, 2014 against Ohio. The Eagles scored eight off four hits and just one home run. A freshman in 2014, Ryan Cleveland stole home in the game.

UP NEXT
The Mavs will face TCU at Globe Life Park on Tuesday, March 19 (7 p.m.), before heading to Atlanta for a three-game set at Georgia State (March 22-24).

LAST TIME OUT | SOONERS' HOT BATS DOOM MAVERICKS IN MID-WEEK MATCHUP (MARCH 12)
Oklahoma registered 13 hits en route to a 9-1 non-conference win over UTA on Tuesday night at L. Dale Mitchell Field.

With the loss, the Mavericks fall to 11-6 overall, while the Sooners improve to 14-3 on the year.

The Mavs were limited to just five hits on the night. Andrew Miller, Anthony Dominguez, Boone Montgomery and Aaron Funk each registered a single, while Zac Cook hit his fifth double season.

The Sooners jumped out to an 8-0 lead by the fourth inning and rolled past the Mavericks to secure their 14th win on the season.

UT Arlington scored its lone run in the fifth inning when an error to begin the inning led to a sacrifice fly by Boone Montgomery.

BARK IN THE PARK…ALL SEASON LONG
UT Arlington Department of Athletics officials announced that all 2019 home baseball games at Clay Gould Ballpark and softball games at Allan Saxe Field will be dog-friendly, thanks to a generous partnership with upstart Lone Star Friends of Animals to create 'Casey's Corner.'

Dogs which are leashed, at least six months old and with the proper vaccinations will be permitted at all UTA baseball and softball games throughout the season.
Casey's Corner is a grassy area between the baseball and softball fields, along the 3rd-base line of the baseball stadium. Multiple pet waste stations have been set up, and the space provides fans and dog owners an opportunity to walk and sit with their canine companions while taking in all the Maverick action.

OLSON ON A WATCH LIST
UTA redshirt senior catcher Will Olson was named to the 2019 Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List, the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation announced.

The award, created by the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation, was open to nominations from all Division I baseball programs in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico. This year's watch list consists of 30 players representing 26 programs in the five states. The BBCSA is based on performance at the plate, academics and personal integrity.

The Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award has had two winners to date, Hunter Hargrove (Texas Tech, drafted by the Oakland A's) and Devlin Granberg (Dallas Baptist, drafted by the Boston Red Sox).

Olson, a native of Sherman, Texas and a graduate of Sherman HS, hit .270 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs last season for the Mavericks. A 2017 Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection, Olson also drew a team-high 30 walks and registered 13 doubles and scored 23 runs.

The BBCSA will announce finalists for the award in May. The winner of the third annual Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award presented by SR Bats will be announced in June and honored at a gala in the fall.

PRESEASON POLL
The UTA baseball team was picked to finish fourth in the Sun Belt Conference West Division in the 2019 SBC Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released on Wednesday (Jan. 30). The Mavericks garnered 36 total points in the poll.

The reigning Sun Belt baseball regular season and tournament champions, Coastal Carolina, and the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana are the East and West Division favorites, respectively, in the SBC preseason coaches' poll.

Head coach Darin Thomas and the Mavs return three starters from last year's team that finished the season 22-35 overall and went 11-19 in Sun Belt play.

SEASON TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets are now on sale for the 2019 UT Arlington baseball season, beginning at just $75. All seating is general admission, and tickets can be secured by logging on to UTATickets.com.

FOLLOW THE MAVS
For the latest news on UTA Baseball, log on to UTAMavs.com or stay connected to the Mavs on social media. Follow the Mavericks on Twitter @UTArlingtonBSB and on Facebook at Facebook.com/UTABaseball.