ARLINGTON, Texas - The UT Arlington softball team will begin a six game home-stretch on Wednesday (March 20) when they host the Houston Baptist Huskies for a midweek game at Allan Saxe Field. The first pitch is slated for 5 p.m.

MATCHUP: UTA (14-12, 4-2 SBC) vs Houston Baptist (12-9, 3-3 SLC)
WHEN: March 20 | 5 p.m.
WHERE: Arlington, Texas | Allan Saxe Field
TICKETS: BUY HERE
WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS | UTA GAME NOTES

SERIES HISTORY
UT Arlington and Houston Baptist have met five times prior to today, all coming since 2009.  The Huskies won the first three games of the series - 6-1 (2009), 2-1 (2009), 6-4 (2012). The last two meetings have fallen in favor of the Mavs - 4-1 (2012) and 9-1, 5 inn. (2017). The two teams have played all five games in Arlington.

UTA NOTES
• Two Mavericks have a streak of reaching base in the double-digits. Laura Curry has the season-long on base streak at 15 games and counting, while Whitney Walton has reached base in 12 straight games, all coming from hits to tie the team-high hit streak.
• When it comes to waiting for a pitch, junior Aileen Garcia is one of the best.  The Houston native has only been struck out once during her 79 at-bats. She is currently ranked at the 4th toughest strikeout in the NCAA, trailing only Sara Jubas (James Madison), Janae Jefferson (Texas) and Kelbi Fortenberry (Texas A&M).
• Midway through the season, the Mavs offense has been clicking on all cylinders. If the season ended today, their team .303 batting average would be tied for the second best team batting average in program history.
• Surprisingly, the Mavericks have a better record on the season when they commit one error, than they do when they play mistake free defense. When making one error, UTA is 8-5, while they are just 5-6 when they are errorless.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | HOUSTON BAPTIST
• Houston Baptist enters Wednesday's contest on a two-game losing streak, falling to Southeastern Louisiana twice over the weekend. However, the Huskies are 7-3 in the month of March.
• The Huskies have hit 10 home runs on the year, led by Caitlyn Brockway's five long balls.  Brockway is also tied for the team lead with 11 RBI.  Demi Janak and Autumn Sydlik also have 11 RBI on the year.
• In the circle, the Huskies use three pitchers - Elliot Estes, Emma Guindon and Jessica Patak.  Patak (4.06 ERA) has started nine of the games, while Estes (2.23 ERA) and Guindon (2.74 ERA) have split the remaining 12 games, both starting six games a piece.

ON DECK
The Mavs return to Sun Belt play with a three-game series against Georgia Southern this Friday through Saturday (March 22-24) at Allan Saxe Field. The games are slated to begin at 5 p.m. (Friday), 1 p.m. (Saturday) and 12 p.m. (Sunday).

LAST TIME OUT | Mavs Unable to Overcome Costly Errors (March 17)
A big fifth inning was the difference for the UT Arlington softball team (14-12, 4-2 SBC), as they fell to the Georgia State Panthers 3-2 in the final game of the series on Sunday.
 
JoJo Valencia (3-2) started for the Mavs in the circle, tossing 4.0 innings while allowing three runs off two hits, though only one run was earned. Allie Gardiner finished the game, allowing just one hit in two innings pitched.
 
Neither team could get the bats going until the Mavs ended the scoreless streak in the third inning when Shelbi Court grounded out to second base to score Whitney Walton.
 
The Mavs extended the lead by one run in the top of the fifth when Walton scored again, this time coming off the bat of Laura Curry.
 
The bottom of the fifth would be the downfall for UTA.  Two errors kept the inning alive for the Panthers.  A sacrifice fly brought home the first run of the inning, before the second error of the inning allowed the game tying run to score.  Moments later, another sacrifice fly scored the go-ahead run for the Panthers.
 
UTA got base runners in the sixth and seventh innings, but were unable to bring them home as Georgia State held on to the win 3-2.

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.

TICKET INFORMATION
Individual and season tickets are now on sale for the 2019 UT Arlington softball season. 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 Softball log on to UTAMavs.com or stay connected to the Mavs on social media. Follow the Mavericks on Twitter @UTASoftball.