ARLINGTON – The UT Arlington softball team (9-12) will open up Sun Belt Conference-play against Troy (14-4) this weekend at Allan Saxe Field beginning on Friday with a 5:00 p.m. first pitch.
 
UTA is coming off its most notable win of the season – and more memorable victories in the program's recent history – as the Mavs defeated #21 Baylor (17-5) this past Tuesday night in Waco, Texas.
 
In support of exceptional defense being executed behind her, freshman pitcher Kenedy Hines blanked the Bears to record her first-career complete-game shutout in the Mavs' 1-0 victory.
 
UTA will look to build on its big win when it opens up league-play with a three-game series against the Trojans this weekend – a program that currently sits atop the conference standings.
 
Friday's circuit-opener will feature Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day where university personnel can bring up to two people to the game for free with the use of the promo code FACSTAFF at UTATICKETS.COM/PROMO.
Watch the live-stream by clicking here.
 
The following two contests of the three-game set are scheduled for mid-day start-times with Saturday's matchup slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. The final game on Sunday will recognize International Women's Day and is penciled in for a 12:00 p.m. first pitch. To purchase tickets for the contest, use the promo code EACHFOREQUAL at UTATICKETS.COM/PROMO.
 
UTA NEWS & NOTES

• UTA's win over #21 Baylor marked the first this season against a nationally ranked top 25 opponent. The Bears will get a chance to even the score when they travel to Arlington to take on the Mavs for a second time on Tuesday, April 7 at 6:00 p.m.
• Along with #21 Baylor, the Mavs will face three more nationally ranked opponents this season including a matchup in Austin against #3 Texas (March 25) and home games versus #6 Oklahoma (April 22) and #8 Louisiana (April 24-26).
• Hines (2-2) leads UTA in innings pitched with 39.2 while both JoJo Valencia (3-6) and Allie Gardiner (3-0) lead the Mavs in wins with three apiece.
• The Mavs currently have five different members of the team who hold batting averages north of .300 which includes right fielder Madison Miller with a team-best of .365.
• Junior utility player Kimber Cortemelia leads the team in five statistical batting categories including RBI (17), hits (20), total bases (38), home runs (5) and slugging percentage (.667).
• Senior shortstop Whitney Walton heads into the weekend series having reached base in eight straight contests.
• The Mavs also have four different players who have recorded at least 19 hits on the season which include Walton, Cortemelia, Miller and Aileen Garcia. The first baseman Garcia has 18 hits over UTA's last 17 games, including five multi-hit performances – tied with Cortemelia for the most on the team.

 
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT – Troy Trojans (14-4)

• Troy leads the all-time series with a 13-9 record against UTA. The Trojans defeated the Mavs all three times the two programs faced last season in Troy, Alabama and have won six-straight dating back to 2018. The Mavs did take two of three in a three-game home-series against Troy in 2018.
• Before losing the second tilt of a doubleheader against South Carolina (14-4) on Sunday, Troy was riding a seven-game winning streak.
• Notable wins on Troy's schedule so far in 2020 include the aforementioned South Carolina squad, Villanova (12-9) and McNeese (15-7) – a team the Mavs split a two-game series against this past weekend.
• Other than South Carolina, some of the other more high-profile Trojan losses came against Clemson (16-7) and Western Kentucky (17-4) – a team UTA will face following this weekend series on Tuesday.
• The Trojans are led by its pitching as the staff holds a 2.20 team ERA. Leanna Johnson (8-2) can account for most of that as she leads the rotation with 73.0 innings pitched, 50 more frames than any other Trojan pitcher. So far this season, the sophomore has been striking out opposing batters at a 39.6% rate as she has recorded 108 punch-outs in 273 plate appearances. On top of that, she's has thrown nine complete-games, including six shutouts to go along with three saves this season.
• The Trojan offense is led by three underclassmen. Sophomores Katie Lively and Kelly Horne have hit three home runs apiece and have batting averages north of .365 while freshman Jade Sinness leads the team with four long balls.

ON-DECK
The Mavs will have another quick turnaround from its weekend series with a Tuesday tilt against Western Kentucky slated for a 5:00 p.m. first pitch in Arlington at Allan Saxe Field. The contest will mark the first time Assistant Coach Miranda Kramer will face her alma mater as the former Hilltopper spent her last collegiate season leading WKU to a Conference-USA championship in 2015 before becoming the program's first-ever NFCA First-Team All-American honoree.