ARLINGTON – After securing a 2-1 series win in its conference-opener against Troy (15-6), the UT Arlington softball team (11-13) will shift back to its non-conference schedule when they play host to Western Kentucky (20-4) at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday at Allan Saxe Field.
 
Winners of three of their last four games, the Mavericks are coming off a significant win over #21 Baylor this past week before they wrapped up their conference-opener with two-straight wins against the Trojans this prior weekend.
 
Tuesday's contest will mark the initial encounter of first-year Assistant Coach Miranda Kramer facing off against 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.
 
As part of a season-long fan appreciation initiative for UTA softball, Tuesday will mark the first of three games this year in which admission will be complimentary. The other two games are Tuesday, Mar. 17, at 11:30 a.m. versus Columbia, and Wednesday, Apr. 1, at 6 p.m. against Sam Houston State.
 
MATCHUP: UTA (11-13, 2-1 SBC) vs Western Kentucky (20-4, 3-0 C-USA)
WHEN: March 10 | 5 p.m.
WHERE: Arlington, Texas | Allan Saxe Field
TICKETS: Complimentary Admission
WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
 
SERIES HISTORY
UT Arlington and Western Kentucky have met four times prior to Tuesday's matchup and those four games all took place in 2014 when the Mavs first joined the Sun Belt Conference. The following season, the Hilltoppers departed the SBC to become a member of Conference-USA. In the lone season the two programs were united within the SBC, WKU swept the regular season series against the Mavs before the Hilltoppers defeated UTA for a fourth time in the second round of the SBC Championship later that year.
 
UTA NEWS & NOTES

• KJ Murphy propelled the Mavs to victory over Troy in both wins this weekend as she hit a walk-off home run in the seventh inning on Saturday to help UTA defeat the Trojans 2-1 before going 2-3 at the plate on Sunday with a double, 4 RBI and her second long ball of the weekend.
• Reagan Wright is coming off a week in which the senior captain went 5-12 at the dish along with reaching base at least once in every game. She hit her first home run of the season to kick-off the series against Troy on Friday before capping the weekend off with a 3-4 performance on Sunday accompanied by an RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases.
• Pitcher Kenedy Hines has been locked-in of late in the circle as the freshman pitched a complete-game shutout against #21 Baylor this past Tuesday before holding the Trojans scoreless through the first three innings in each of the two games she pitched over the weekend.
• Junior pitcher RC Phillips followed suit as she threw seven innings of one-run softball against Troy on Saturday for her first complete-game of the season. The Jefferson, Texas, native has now thrown 24 complete-games in her three-year career at UTA.
• Eight Mavs have hit at least one home run this year while four of them have accounted for at least two, including Kimber Cortemelia who has recorded five four-baggers.
• Along with home runs, Cortemelia leads the team with 17 RBI, 12 walks and a .609 slugging percentage. She sits tied with Whitney Walton for the team-lead in runs scored with 14 while the senior shortstop Walton also has a team-best of 22 hits.
• Junior right fielder Madison Miller continues to lead the team with a .339 batting average.
• Wright is a perfect nine for nine on stolen base attempts and leads the team in the category while the catcher has thrown out six of the 13 base runners attempting to steal a base on her so far this season.
• Avery Grimes leads the team with five doubles while she's the only other player besides Cortemelia to have double-digit totals in both runs and RBI.

 
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

• WKU enters play on Tuesday winners of their last 10-straight games.
• The Hilltoppers defeated Troy earlier in the season by the score of 3-2 – the only team both WKU and UTA have faced this season.
• Western Kentucky entered the season with an RPI of 52 after finishing 2019 with a 37-13 overall record – UTA entered this season with an RPI of 61.
• Through 24 games, the Hilltoppers have a team batting average of .336 while their pitching staff has been holding opposing hitters to a .207 overall batting average.
• The Hilltoppers have a three-arm rotation as the trio of starters each have an ERA of 2.26 or lower. Having won six games across 49.1 innings pitched, junior pitcher Shelby Nunn leads the staff with a 1.14 earned run average. Kelsey Aikey leads the team in wins (10), saves (3), complete-games thrown (7) and in innings pitched with 78.1 as the senior holds a 1.52 ERA over her 17 appearances made.
• WKU's offensive attack is led by two underclassmen who hold batting averages north of .435. The first is outfielder Taylor Davis who leads the team with a .443 average and has stolen a team-best 15 bases. Outfielder/Pitcher Kennedy Sullivan leads the team with 35 total hits, seven doubles, 28 RBI, five home runs and a .713 slugging percentage. In the circle, the sophomore has accounted for four wins while holding opposing batters to a team-best .180 batting average.

 
ON DECK
UTA will jump back into its conference schedule when the team hits the road to square off against Louisiana-Monroe (10-13) this weekend for a three-game series slated to begin on Friday with a 6:00 p.m. first pitch. The second game will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday before the two programs wrap up the weekend with a final game on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.