SAN MARCOS, Texas – Fresh off an exhilarating series win over Texas State, the UT Arlington softball team travels to San Marcos to compete in the Sun Belt Championship as the #3 seed.  They will have to wait until Wednesday morning to see who they play between #6 Coastal Carolina and #7 Georgia Southern. The tournament will last May 8-11 with the champion earning an automatic bid to an NCAA Regional.

MATCHUP: #3 UTA vs #6 Coastal Carolina/#7 Georgia Southern
WHEN: May 8
WHERE: San Marcos, Texas | Bobcat Softball Stadium
WEDNESDAY (3 p.m.):  WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS | BRACKET

MAVS IN SUN BELT TOURNAMENT
The best finish in the Sun Belt Tournament that the Mavericks have had was in 2017 when UTA came in third place, after entering the field as the #5 seed. The No. 3 seed in the Tournament is the best since joining the league in 2014. UTA has never played Coastal Carolina or Georgia Southern in the SBC Tournament.

UTA NOTES
• This season was a historical season for the Mavericks, both individually and as a team. UTA finished with a program-high 17 wins in the Sun Belt, besting their previous mark of 15 wins, set two seasons ago.  They also finished in third place, tied for the highest finished since joining the league.
• Six Mavericks were named to the All-Sun Belt Team - Whitney Walton (1st Team), Laura Curry (1st Team), Randi Phillips (2nd Team), Reagan Wright (2nd Team), Aileen Garcia (2nd Team) and Krista Rude (2nd Team). The six selections is the most for the Mavericks program since 1987.
•  Senior Laura Curry has exploded onto the scene this season. She has 74 hits on the year and needs just three more to break the record for most hits in a single-season. Not only does she lead the Mavs and Sun Belt, but her hit total is also the 7th best in the nation.
• As a team, UTA is hitting .302 - the third best mark in program history. This team also has the third most runs scored (263), RBI (227) and hits (432) in a season for the Mavericks.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | #6 COASTAL CAROLINA
• Coastal Carolina finished the season 35-19 overall and 13-14 in Sun Belt play.  The meeting between the Mavs and Chants earlier this season went in the favor of the Mavs as UTA swept Coastal in Arlington.
• The Chants lead the Sun Belt in the long ball, hitting 81 home runs on the season. That number puts them as the 7th best team in the country in home runs.
• Coastal has the 4th best pitching staff ERA, allowing just 3.41 runs per seven innings.  However, that number rises to 4.50 in conference play, the 4th worst in the league.
• The two top home run hitters in the conference are on Coastal Carolina.  Kassidy Smith has hit 14 home runs, while Courtney Dean has hit 13.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | #7 GEORGIA SOUTHERN
• Georgia Southern finished the season 23-27 overall and 7-19 in Sun Belt play. The Mavericks got the best of the Eagles earlier this season, defeating Georgia Southern two games to one in Arlington.
• Hannah Farrell leads the Eagles at the plate, hitting the second best mark in Sun Belt at .403. She also has the second most hits in the league with 62.
• The Eagles have the fourth worst pitching staff ERA in the league at 3.69. Rylee Waldrep has the most starts for Georgia Southern this season with 20.
• Georgia Southern has the fifth best batting average in the league. As a team the Eagles are hitting .263.

ON DECK
With a win, the Mavericks will advance to play Troy on Thursday, May 9 at 10 a.m. With a loss, they will play Thursday May 9 at 5:30 p.m. in the elimination bracket.

LAST TIME OUT | Five Run Seventh Powers Softball Past Texas State (May 4)
A five-run seventh inning lifted the UT Arlington softball team (29-24, 17-10 Sun Belt) over the Texas State Bobcats and into third place in the Sun Belt standings. KJ Murphy's two-run single completed the rally for the Mavericks.
 
The Mavericks finished with 12 hits on the day, led by Murphy's three.  Whitney Walton, Krista Rude and Laura Curry each finished with multi-hit days.  Murphy also led the Mavericks with three RBI, while Aileen Garcia and Curry finished with two each.
 
Three pitchers combined to pick up the win.  Randi Phillips earned the start, allowing four runs off six hits while tossing 3.1 innings.  Allie Gardiner replaced Phillips in the fourth, allowing two runs off six hits in one inning, before JoJo Valencia replaced her in the fifth.  Valencia tossed 2.2 innings, allowing just run hit off two runs.
 
Scoring had to wait until the third inning, but once the teams got rolling, there was no stopping them.  The Bobcats scored first, hitting a two-run home run to take the early 2-0 lead.
 
UTA responded in the bottom of the third as Curry drove home Walton from second base to make it a one run game.
 
Texas State continued to displayed the long ball in the fourth inning, hitting another two-run home run to push their lead to three runs.  A double and a single put runners on the corners for Texas State before scoring the runner at third with a sacrifice fly, making it a 5-1 ball game.
 
Murphy led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to dead center.  Brittany Wyllie followed with a single, eventually advancing to third off a wild pitch.  Walton drove in Wyllie with a single past second base to cut the deficit to two runs.
 
The Bobcats got one back in the top of the fifth, using their second sacrifice fly of the day to score their sixth run. They held the Mavericks scoreless in the fifth and sixth inning and extended their lead one more in the seventh, scoring when a runner tagged up at third base on a fly ball caught in foul territory.
 
With the score at 7-3, the Mavericks pulled out their rally cheese.  A quick foul out began the inning, but Walton followed with a double down the left field line. Krista Rude beat out a bunt attempt to put runners at the corners for the Mavericks.
 
Curry followed Rude with an RBI single that made its way through the right side of the infield to score Walton and push Rude to third base.  After Curry stole second, Garcia smashed a two-run double to right field to make it a 7-6 ball game. 
 
Reagan Wright followed Garcia with a double, hitting the left field wall to put runners at second and third, before Murphy finished the game with a two-RBI line drive back at the pitcher, bouncing off her into the outfield to give the Mavericks the 8-7 come-from-behind win.


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.