CONWAY, S.C. – The UTA baseball team will open its postseason run with a matchup against No. 5 seed and tournament host Coastal Carolina on Wednesday afternoon (May 22) at Springs Brooks Stadium. The matchup, which is set for a 3:00 p.m. CT first pitch, will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and have an audio only broadcast via UTAMavs.com with the Voice of the Mavericks Josh Sours on the call.

MATCHUP: #5 Coastal Carolina (30-23-1, 15-13 SBC) vs. #4 UTA (31-24, 17-12 SBC)
WHEN: Wednesday, May 22 | 3:00 p.m. CT
WHERE: Conway, S.C. | Springs Brooks Stadium
LINKS: LIVE AUDIO | LIVE VIDEO (ESPN+) | LIVE STATS

PROJECTED STARTERS
CCU – LHP Anthony Veneziano (5-2, 4.39 ERA) vs. UTA – LHP Drew Gooch (3-3, 3.74 ERA)

*In Game 1 of their series with Coastal Carolina less than two weeks ago, UTA faced CCU's projected starter. The Mavs got four hits and five runs (four earned) off of Veneziano, who only tossed 4.1 innings before being pulled.

UP NEXT
With a win... UTA will face the winner of #1 Texas State/lower seeded 1st round winner.
With a loss... UTA will face the loser of #1 Texas State/lower seeded 1st round winner.

UTA NOTES
• The Mavericks picked up the 1,400th win in program history on Saturday, March 30, defeating South Alabama 9-7 at Clay Gould Ballpark.
• UTA won 30+ games for the 25th time in program history.
• The Mavs are 31-24 overall.
• The Mavericks are 17-14 on the road this season.
• Connor Aube (.337 batting avg.), Anthony Dominguez (.309) and Will Olson (.290) lead the Mavs at the dish.
• UTA is currently sixth in the Sun Belt in batting average, hitting a combined .276 as a team.
• Andrew Gross leads the Sun Belt and is second in the nation in saves (17).
• Andrew Gross is closing in on Sun Belt single-season records for saves. Gross became UTA's leader in single-season saves with his save in UTA's 6-3 win over No. 19 TCU on April 16. The SBC record for saves in a season is 18 (Hugh Adams - FAU, 2013).

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | COASTAL CAROLINA
• For the fifth-straight season, the Chanticleers have posted 30 or more wins, as Coastal enters the tournament at 30-23-1 overall on the season.
• CCU leads the Sun Belt with a .300 team batting average.
• Jake Wright leads the squad with a .340 batting average.
• The Chants have 7 players hitting .300+ on the season.
• 11 Coastal Carolina players have multiple HRs on the season (69 total), led by Zach Biermann's 12 and Parker Chavers' 11 homers.
• The Chanticleer pitching staff currently owns a 5.46 ERA and has struck out 491 batters in 484.1 innings pitched.
• Opposing hitters are hitting .275 against Coastal Carolina.
• The Chants have lost 3 of their last 5 games.
• CCU is 19-11 at home this season.

SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIP TIX
2019 Sun Belt Baseball Championship tickets are on sale now. Coastal Carolina will host the conference championship tournament this year at Springs Brooks Stadium from May 21-26.

Both All-Tournament passes and single game tickets can be purchased by calling the Chanticleer Athletics Ticket Office at 843-347-8499, by going online HERE.

All-Tournament passes are $75-$110 and are the most cost-effective way to enjoy all six days of the conference championship event at Springs Brooks Stadium.

Single game tickets start at just $10 per game and can be purchased ahead of time by contacting the ticket office or by going online. Tickets can also be purchased during the tournament at the baseball ticket window located next to Gate 2 at Springs Brooks Stadium.

SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Mavericks are making their sixth straight Sun Belt Championship appearance. UTA is 6-8 all-time in SBC Tournament action.

UTA and Coastal met in the conference tournament in 2018, with the Chanticleers defeating the Mavs 12-2.

SBC POSTSEASON HONORS
UTA senior right-hander Andrew Gross earned conference recognition for helping lead the Mavericks to a 31-24 overall record (17-12 SBC) and the No. 4 seed in the Sun Belt Baseball Championship (May 21-26). Gross was selected to the All-Sun Belt Second Team the league announced on Monday (May 20).

Gross, who was named to the Midseason NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Watch List earlier this year, finished the regular season with a 2-3 record in 34 appearances with a conference-leading 17 saves (2nd in nation), posting a 2.70 ERA, .263 opponent batting average and 46 strikeouts in 43.1 innings. In Sun Belt play, Gross had 17 appearances, going 2-2 with nine saves and a 2.40 ERA.

This season, Gross became UTA's leader in single-season saves with his 15th save in UTA's 6-3 win over No. 19 TCU on April 16. The senior is closing in on the SBC single-season saves record of 18 (Hugh Adams - FAU, 2013).

LAST MEETING | MAVS PICK UP BIG WIN ON SENIOR DAY (MAY 12)
UTA scored three runs in the eighth to take down Coastal Carolina, 6-3, in Sunday's series finale at Clay Gould Ballpark.

With the win, the Mavericks improve to 30-21 overall and 16-10 in Sun Belt play, while the 2016 NCAA National Champs fall to 28-21-1 on the season and 13-12 in SBC action.

Anthony Dominguez (3-for-4, BB, 2 RBIs, run), Zac Cook (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) and Will Olson (1-for-2, SF, BB, 2 RBIs) all had two RBIs on the day.

UTA starter David Moffat had a solid outing for the Mavericks. He tossed 6.1 innings, gave up five hits  with one earned run and racked up eight Ks. Reliever Wyatt Divis (4-0) pitched a clean eighth inning and picked up the win, while closer Andrew Gross secured his 17th save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Just like in the series opener on Friday, the Mavericks got on the board first on a base hit from Dominguez, who slapped a single through the left side to score Connor Aube (1-0).

The Mavs got a two-out RBI single from Olson in the bottom of the fifth to double their lead (2-0).

CCU finally broke through in the top of the seventh. A two-run single through the right side of the infield tied the game at 2-2. On the very next pitch, a wild pitch allowed another run to cross and the visitors took their first lead of the day (3-2).

UTA responded quickly in the bottom of the frame as a lead-off walk and a double to left field set up a sac fly for Olson to even the score at 3-3.

After Divis pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the eighth, the Mavs retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run double by Cook to put the home team in front at 5-3. Dominguez followed with an RBI-single to plate Cook and give the Mavs a 6-3 advantage heading into the ninth inning.

The Mavs called on the Sun Belt's leader in saves in Gross who sent the Chants down in order in the ninth in the win.

WATCHIN' THE WATCH LISTS
UTA has had a trio of student-athletes named to Watch Lists for Postseason Awards.

UTA senior right-hander Andrew Gross has been named to the Midseason Watch List for the 15th Annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award. The NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award is given annually to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball.

Gross was one of 45 players named to the list. The midseason list includes five players who were on the preseason watch list released in February, including Stanford's Jake Little, who is the only returner among last year's five finalists for the award.

Redshirt senior Will Olson and junior Connor Aube were named to the 2019 Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List. The Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award is presented by SR Bats.

The BBCSA, created by the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation, was open to nominations from all Division I baseball programs in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma.  The award 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 was also selected to the watch list for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award (formerly the Johnny Bench Award).

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