ARLINGTON – KJ Murphy launched a walk-off home run to lift the UT Arlington softball team (10-13) over Troy (15-5) by a final score of 2-1 on Saturday at Allan Saxe Field.
Junior starting pitcher
RC Phillips kept the Mavs within striking distance of a win after she gave up one run through her seven innings pitched to finish with her first complete-game of the season.
UTA struck first off the bat of senior shortstop
Whitney Walton when she doubled to the right-center field gap in the opening frame to plate
Kimber Cortemelia standing on first base.
The Mavs held onto their one-run advantage through the first three innings until Trojan second baseman Kelly Horne led off the top of the fourth with a home to left field to tie the game up at one apiece.
With the help of stellar defense being played on both sides, the score remained tied into the seventh inning.
Trojan starting pitcher Kynsley Balsingame gave up only five hits through the first six and one third innings until Murphy stepped to the dish in the bottom of the seventh. The Baytown, Texas, product crushed a no-doubter to left field to send UTA home with its first conference-win of the season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
RC Phillips finished with three strikeouts while holding Troy to a .240 batting average in the game. The home run she gave up was the only extra base hit of the six base-knocks she allowed and the complete-game marks the 24th of her three-year career in a Mav uniform.
Six different Mavs recorded one hit in the game to finish with an overall team batting average of .300 for the contest.
Walton was the only Mav to reach base more than one time in the game after she finished with an RBI-double and one free-pass.
Murphy's home run marked her first of the season and the ninth of her career. Twelve of the thirteen home runs UTA has hit this season have come at Allan Saxe Field.
After today's win, the Mavs remain undefeated when the score has been tied after six innings of play.
Coming into the game, the Mavs had turned eight double plays in 2020. The two the team recorded today were the most they've turned in a single game all season.
THEY SAID IT – HEAD COACH PEEJAY BRUN
"We really talked to the pitching staff about needing to throw some strikes and to really go after the batters and hit their spots. RC was fantastic on the mound. She's been sick and out for the past couple weeks and for her to make her debut back to the circle like this was amazing."
"It felt good because Troy's a really good team; they're scrappy. With a 1-0 lead the whole game is scary because they can hit the ball well and their pitchers can go deep in the circle, so to be able to come back and win in that fashion against them is a great feeling."
THE RUNDOWN
UTA got on the scoreboard first in the bottom half of the opening frame after Cortemelia hit a rocket-shot off the glove of the third baseman to allow herself to reach first base with a lead-off single. Walton promptly delivered a pitch into the gap of right-center field. The ball bounced all the way to the warning track and off the outfield fence, allowing Cortemelia to speed around the bases and slide head-first into home for the first run of the game.
The Mavs' starting pitcher Phillips started the game off with a strike out and the Jefferson, Texas, native continued with her hot start as she didn't allow a run through the first three innings of the game.
Trojan second baseman Kelly Horne changed that when she led off the top of the fourth inning with a home run to left field to tie the game at 1-1. Phillips used her second double-play of the game to help herself get out of the inning without giving up any further damage.
On the part of great defensive execution behind her, Phillips was able to get through the next two innings unscathed. Unfortunately for the Mavs, Blasingame gave up only three more hits after the first inning for a total of five UTA base-knocks through the first six innings of the game.
After Phillips rung up the first batter she faced in the seventh, she recorded the next two outs to send UTA in the final frame still tied up at 1-1.
With one out, Murphy stepped to the dish and on the fifth pitch of the at-bat, she ripped the ball deep out into left field to win the game in walk-off fashion.
ON DECK
UTA will wrap up its conference-opening homestand with a deciding-game three against Troy slated for a 12:00 p.m. first pitch on Sunday at Allan Saxe Field.
