HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The UT Arlington softball team will travel to Huntsville, Texas to take on the Sam Houston State Bearkats for the third time this season after playing twice, and splitting with them, in the Getterman Classic earlier this season. There will be no stream of the game available.

MATCHUP: UTA (18-21, 6-9 SBC) vs Sam Houston State (19-19, 11-4 SLC)
WHEN: April 9
WHERE: Huntsville, Texas | Bearkat Softball Complex
LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM UNAVAILABLE

SERIES HISTORY
Sam Houston leads the all-time series 53-46. This will be the first game played in Huntsville since March 30, 2008 when the Mavs were victorious 9-2. The Mavericks and Bearkats have already played twice this season, splitting the games between the two teams.  SHSU beat the Mavs on a walk off in their first game in the Getterman Classic in Waco, but UTA bounced back to defeat the Bearkats to win the Getterman Classic Championship.

UTA NOTES
• Two seniors are on pace to be in the top ten in career batting average by the end of this season.  Krista Rude currently ranks sixth all-time, batting .346 in her four years in Arlington. Laura Curry is just behind her with a .342 batting average - good for eighth all-time. 
• Despite only starting three games this season, Freshman Laura Henriksen has picked up two wins over ranked-opponents.  In back-to-back games, she picked up wins against #13 Arkansas (3/26/19) and #13 Oklahoma State (4/3/19) the following week. 
• The Mavericks offense struggled offensively a week ago, batting just .176 at the plate (16-91).
• UTA is currently third in the Sun Belt in steals.  The Mavericks have racked up 57 stolen bases on the year, trailing only Louisiana (114) and Texas State (66). 

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | SAM HOUSTON STATE
• The Bearkats enter the game 19-19 overall and winners of three straight after sweeping Houston Baptist in a three-game series last weekend.
• Sam Houston is hitting just .242 as a team with no players batting over .300 on the season. However, the pitching staff is holding opposing batters to just .247 on the year.
• Lindsey McLeod and Regan Dunn make up the one-two punch for the Bearkats, both appearing in over 20 games on the season. McLeod leads the pitching staff with a 2.38 ERA, while Dunn is second on the team with a 3.01 ERA.
• Brooke Malia leads the Bearkat offense in RBI (21) and doubles (12).  While she is third on the team in batting average (.261), her slugging percentage leads the team (.496).

UP NEXT
UTA will begin a seven-game home stretch starting with a three-game Sun Belt series against UL Monroe on Friday, April 12 at 5 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT | Softball Comes Up Short of Upset Bid at #10 Louisiana (4/6/19)
The UT Arlington softball team battled tough, but couldn't pull off an upset in Lafayette, losing two games to No. 10 Louisiana on Saturday.  They lost 2-0 in game one of the double-header before falling 4-2 in game two.
 
Four pitchers combined to pitch the double header for the Mavericks.  JoJo Valencia and Allie Gardinereach went three winnings in game one, while Laura Henriksen and Randi Phillips tossed game two.
 
Offense struggled for the Mavs on Saturday, finishing with just seven combined hits in the two games. Reagan Wright and Laura Curry finished with a team-high two combined hits over the two games.
 
GAME ONE RECAP
Valencia picked up the start in the circle in the first game, pitching three innings before being replaced by Gardiner.  Valencia allowed one run, off three hits, while Gardiner gave up two hits in three innings and one unearned run.
 
In the box, Curry led the Mavericks with two of their three hits in the game.  Reagan Wright also came away with a hit, while Aileen Garcia reached base from a walk.
 
The Cajuns jumped on top in the second with an RBI single, as the runner at second beat the throw home from Curry in center field.
 
The Mavs threatened in the top of the fourth, getting two base runners, but with two outs, the threat was quickly erased as the Cajuns escaped the inning unharmed.
 
Louisiana added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.  After Raina O'Neal reached off an error, a single by Alissa Dalton brought her home to make the score 2-0 after five innings.
 
The Mavs kept the Cajuns off the scoreboard the remainder of the game, but were unable to bring home any runs, falling 2-0 in the first game of the doubleheader.
 
GAME TWO RECAP
Henriksen picked up the start for the Mavericks in game two, her third of the year. She went allowed two runs off three hits in two innings pitched. Phillips replaced Henriksen in the third inning, pitching the final four innings where she gave up two runs off four hits.
 
Louisiana got the ball rolling in the first inning, using a two-out triple down the first base line to score their first run of the game. With a runner on third, Henriksen got out of the inning, striking out the final batter.
 
The Mavericks joined the Cajuns on the board in the second inning.  The first three batters reached base for UTA before Wright crossed home plate from a wild pitch to tie the game. With two outs, Walton hit a line drive up the middle of the infield to score one more run and put UTA on top of the Cajuns 2-1.
 
The Cajuns returned the favor to the Mavs in the bottom frame, scoring off a wild pitch to tie the game at two.
 
After two scoreless innings, Louisiana scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out rally.  The first run crossed the plate with a hard ground ball, making its way through the six-hole, before a double on the next pitch score the next run as the Cajuns took a 4-2 lead.
 
UTA kept Louisiana off the scoreboard for the next two innings, giving themselves a chance to rally in the seventh. KJ Murphy led off the seventh inning with a double, but the Mavs were unable to pull off a late rally.

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.'
 
April 16th games (Softball vs. Texas, Baseball vs. TCU) no dogs will be allowed on that date only.

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.