BOONE, N.C. – The UT Arlington softball team swept Appalachian State during a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Mavericks took game one 5-0 before winning game two 7-3. The conference winning streak for UTA is now at eight games, the longest streak in program history.
 
Randi Phillips (13-12) started and picked up the win in game one. She pitched five shutout innings, allowing just two hits, while striking out three batters. Allie Gardiner finished the game, pitching two shutout innings while allowing no hits.
 
JoJo Valencia started in the circle in game two, lasting two innings before being replaced by Laura Henriksen in the third inning. After one inning, Gardiner came in to finish the final three innings of the game.
 
The Mavs combined for 24 hits in the two games. Laura Curry, Reagan Wright and Shelbi Court each finished with four hits. Whitney Walton scored her 45^th run of the season, breaking the single-season record for runs scored.
 
GAME ONE RECAP
 
Whitney Walton led off the game with a double to right field, advancing to third off a Krista Rude sacrifice bunt. Laura Curry scored Walton with an RBI single to put the Mavs on the board first.
 
After a scoreless second inning, the Mavericks got back to work in the third.  Melanie Mendoza reached with a leadoff walk before scoring when Krista Rude bunted and the App State second baseman mishandled the throw.
 
Following one hit in the first, Phillips kept the Mountaineers off the bases until the fifth inning.  App State got runners on first and second with no outs, but Phillips was able to get the next three batters out to escape the inning without surrendering a run.
 
The Mavs added security runs in the sixth inning. Reagan Wright singled up the middle to begin the inning.  KJ Murphy singled to right center, but an error by the right field allowed Murphy to advance to third, scoring Wright.  The next batter, Bri Burchianti, reached on an error by the third basemen, scoring Murphy along the way to push the score to 4-0.
 
Walton continued the scoring for the Mavericks, hitting a single to center field. Another error by the Mountaineers allowed the third run of the inning to score for UTA as they took a five-run lead.
 
Allie Gardiner entered the game for the Mavericks in the sixth inning, throwing two shutout innings to secure the game one win for UTA.
 
GAME TWO RECAP
 
Following a scoreless first inning, the Mavericks quickly loaded the bases with just one out on the board. However, back-to-back ground outs ended the UTA threat.
 
The first three innings resulted in a pitcher's duel between the two teams until the Mavericks opened up the game with a two-run fourth inning. Melanie Mendoza drove in the first run with an RBI single up the middle before Whitney Walton followed with another single up the middle to make it 2-0.
 
App looked to follow in the fourth, putting runners on first and second, but Allie Gardiner entered the circle and shut down any threat, forcing a fly out to end the inning.
 
UTA continued to score in the fifth inning. Following a Reagan Wright single, KJ Murphy drove her in with a triple to center field.  Shelbi Court singles as the next batter to push the score to 4-0.
 
Two singles for the Mountaineers set up App State to score in the fifth.  Another single that found its way to right field scored two runs, cutting into the UTA lead.
 
Walton and Rude both walked in the sixth inning, setting up runners on first and second for Laura Curry, who drove in Whitney Walton to increase the Mavs lead to three runs.
 
The Mountaineers stayed within striking distance, scoring one run in the bottom of the sixth with a single up the middle to make it 5-3.
 
Shelbi Court pushed the lead back to three runs with a solo shot to left field in the top of the seventh. Bri Burchianti was hit by a pitch as the next batter and eventually found her way home from a passed ball, bringing the score to 7-3.
 
Gardiner put the Mountaineers down in order in the seventh inning to give the Mavericks the win.
 
The Mavericks will wrap up the series against Appalachian State tomorrow at noon in North Carolina.