TUSCALOOSA – After jumping out to an early lead, the UT Arlington softball team (8-12) fell in six innings to the seventh ranked team in the country as the Arizona Wildcats (17-3) defeated the Mavericks 9-1 in its final game of the Easton Crimson Classic on Sunday inside Rhoads Stadium.
 
Second baseman Avery Grimes launched her first home run of the season in the first inning to give UTA an early 1-0 advantage. The Mavs looked to add on to its premature lead in the second inning when UTA had runners on first and second with Reagan Hukill stepping to the plate.
 
The freshman laced a single to left field to drive in Reagan Wright, but the inning abruptly ended with a collision at home plate. UTA was originally awarded a run due to obstruction called on the catcher, but after the umpires got together, the call was overturned and the run was nullified.
 
Wright was subsequently ruled out for running into the catcher. Consequently, the umpire crew ejected both Wright and Head Coach Peejay Brun from the game.
 
"In games such as this one, emotions can run high," said coach Brun. "The collision was extremely unfortunate and a player was injured. It's a scary situation and we hope there is no major injury."
 
In the aftermath, the Mavs were able to quiet Arizona's bats in the bottom half of the inning, but the call appeared to have taken the wind out of UTA's sails as the team didn't record another hit the rest of the ballgame.
 
JoJo Valencia (3-6) was handed her sixth loss of the season after giving up two runs in the second and another in the third. She finished with two punch-outs over her three innings of work.
 
The Wildcats went on to score four runs in the third before finishing the game off by pushing another three baserunners across home plate to run-rule UTA in the bottom half of the sixth inning.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
UTA recorded just two hits and three walks, tying its season-low of reaching base five times originally set against Kansas on February 22.
 
Avery Grimes finished this past week with a .500 batting average after she went 8-16 at the dish. She recorded two doubles, four runs, four RBI and capped her big week off with a home run in today's game.  
 
After recording just one hit through the first two frames, the Wildcats finished the day with 11 total base-knocks, including six that went for extra bases – two of which left the yard.
 
Kimber Cortemelia's has now reached base in seven of her last eight games after walking in the sixth inning. The Blinn College transfer has reached base safely in 16 out of the 18 games she has started this season.
 
Wright stole a bag in the second inning today and is now in sole possession of the most stolen bases this season with seven. The senior is a perfect seven-for-seven on such attempts.
 
Grimes' home run today marked the sixth Mav to have recorded a least one long ball on the season. Cortemelia leads the team with five while Whitney Walton and Madison Miller have two apiece.
 
THE RUNDOWN
On a full count, Grimes drove the seventh pitch of her at-bat to deep center field to put UTA on the scoreboard first in the opening frame. Valencia took to the circle and allowed two Wildcats to reach base in the bottom half of the inning, but she induced a fly out to keep the lead intact.
 
After Wright reached on a fielding error to lead off the second inning, the senior remained at first as #7 Arizona recorded two outs. She then took off and stole second base before Brittany Wyllie eventually worked a walk.
 
On a 1-2 count, Hukill struck the ball to left, advancing both runners two bases. After Wright was originally called safe at home, the call was overturned to end the inning.
 
Valencia shut the Wildcats down again in the second, but after UTA was held scoreless again the top of the third, the lefty allowed #7 Arizona's first three batters to reach base. The San Antonio, Texas, product eventually got out of the inning but not before the Wildcats took a 2-1 lead.
 
The floodgates broke open in the fourth as #7 Arizona led off the frame with a solo shot to right center. Freshman Kenedy Hines was inserted into the circle and after striking out the first batter, she couldn't find the strike zone and walked the next two Wildcats on eight straight pitches.
 
Arizona shortstop Jessie Harper promptly drove in those two runners with a double to right field before catcher Izzy Pacho singled her in for the Wildcat's fourth run of the inning.
 
Allie Gardiner came into the circle for UTA in the fifth and ended the inning on an eight-pitch strikeout. #7 Arizona would go on to hit another four-bagger in the sixth frame before tacking on two more runs to end the game by account of the run-rule.
 
ON DECK
The Mavs will have a quick turnaround as the team will travel 100 miles down south to take on its third nationally ranked team in a week when they square off against #23 Baylor (17-4) in Waco, Texas on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. inside Getterman Stadium. The Bears lead the all-time series at 6-2, but those two UTA wins came last season when the Mavs won back-to-back games in Baylor's home tournament The Getterman Classic.