DENTON – The UT Arlington softball team (7-8) ran into a buzz saw against North Texas (13-2) as it took the Mean Green just five innings to run-rule the Mavericks by a final score of 10-1 inside Lovelace Stadium on Tuesday night.
 
By the time the Mavs' pitching staff settled into a groove, UNT had already put 10 runs up on the scoreboard through the first two innings. JoJo Valencia was tagged with the loss after leaving the game haven given up five runs without recording an out. Two more runs were tacked onto her earned run average by the time the first inning ended.
 
Freshman Kenedy Hines came into the game and managed to get UTA out of the first inning before giving up three more runs in the second. The Spring, Texas, product settled in thereafter and pitched two scoreless frames to close out the ballgame.
 
Through the first three innings, the Mavs managed to get a runner on third base twice only to strand them each time. UTA finally broke through in the top of the fourth when Aileen Garcia led off the frame with a single before Avery Grimes knocked her in for UTA's first and only run of the game.
 
Still down by nine runs, the Mavs couldn't push two more runs across in the fifth to keep the game going, allowing the Mean Green to defeat UTA by the run-rule across five innings.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
UTA's six hits on the night marked the most UNT's starting pitcher Hope Trautwein have given up in a game this season. Her previous high was five hits, both times coming in games against Texas and Missouri State where she pitched eight innings compared to the five frames she threw tonight.
 
After going 4-4 in UTA's last game against UTSA on Sunday, Whitney Walton has now reached base safely in her last seven plate appearances after finishing 2-2 with a walk tonight against North Texas. The shortstop's double attributed to UTA's only extra-base hit on the night and her multi-hit game marks her third such effort on the season.
 
UNT scored 10 runs while recording only one extra-base hit in the game.
 
Although UTA only scored one run, the Mavs were able to reach base nine times across five innings after recording a .316 batting average in the game.
 
Avery Grimes recorded two singles and UTA's only RBI in the contest. Her multi-hit performance marks the second time she's done so in 2020.
 
Kimber Cortemelia's single in the top of the first kept her entrenched in the team-lead with 19 base-knocks on the season, four more than the next highest Mav.
 
After going 0-3, Madison Miller's five-game hit streak came to an end.
 
Tonight's game marked the first time all season the Mavs didn't steal a base in a game. UTA only attempted to steal one base and was thrown out in the first inning while doing so.
 
THE RUNDOWN
After getting thrown out on a stolen base attempt and leaving a runner stranded at third base to open the game, UTA took to the field and Valencia got herself in a jam she couldn't get out of. The lefty allowed the first eight Mean Green batters she faced to reach base, forcing Head Coach Peejay Brun to pull her from the game.
 
UNT wasn't hitting her hard as substantiated by all eight baserunners reaching base either by a single or walk, but by the time Hines was inserted into the circle it was already 5-0. Hines managed to get UTA out of the frame after giving up two more inherited runs to make the score 7-0.
 
The second inning didn't go UTA's way either as UNT jumped all over the Mavs again for three more Mean Green runs.
 
Looking to turn the tide, Grimes led off the top of the third by picking up her tenth hit of the season with a line-drive single to right field. Two batters later, Walton picked up her second hit of the game with a double to deep left field. For the second time in the contest, starting pitcher Trautwein got herself out an inning with a runner standing on third base as she induced Cortemelia into grounding out to end the inning.
 
UTA recorded its first scoreless frame in the bottom of the third inning when Walton made a nice play up the middle to turn a double play. The Mavs took that momentum heading into the top of the fourth as Garcia poked a single to center field to lead off the inning. Three batters later, Grimes drove a two-out line drive single to center field to knock in UTA's first run of the game.
 
After Hines pitched a quick fourth inning, UTA came back up in the fifth still trailing by nine runs. Walton got on base for the third time with a walk and Garcia followed suit by working a 2-out free-pass of her own. But it wasn't enough as Trautwein recorded her fifth strike out of the game to end the contest with a final score of 10-1.
 
ON DECK
The Mavs will head to Tuscaloosa, Alabama this Friday to take part in the Easton Crimson Classic. The four-team tournament will include host #10 Alabama and #5 Arizona – both are ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 poll. The Mavs will kick off its trip with a matchup against McNeese State slated for an 11:00 a.m. first pitch on Friday.