MONTGOMERY, Ala. –
Carlos Tavera struck out nine batters to break the single-season strikeout record for the Mavs as the junior led UT Arlington to an 8-3 win over Arkansas State to win Pool D and secure a spot in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament
"We hadn't played in a while, but we came out and swung the bat well," said Head Coach
Darin Thomas. "Proud of the effort our guys gave and what Carlos [Tavera] gave us on the mound."
Tavera (W, 3-4) tossed 6.1 innings and fanned 9 batters in the process. He allowed three runs and gave up just four hits.
Michael Wong (1.2 IP) and
Tanner King (1.0 IP) threw the final 2.2 scoreless innings for the Mavericks, each allowing one hit and striking out a combined five batters.
The Mavericks came away with 11 hits on the day, five of which came in the first inning.
Boone Montgomery and
Andrew Miller finished with three hits, while
Connor Aube ended with two.
Josh Minjarez and
Connor Aube each connected on a two-run home run to lead the Mavs in RBI. Montgomery,
Dylan Paul,
Phillip Childs and
Cason Gregory each added one RBI.
After nearly a week off and being the last team to hit the field, the Mavericks were itching to play. In the first inning UTA exploded for five hits and six runs.
Josh Minjarez started the onslaught with a two-run home run as the second batter in the inning.
Dylan Paul used a double to score one run, while
Phillip Childs and
Boone Montgomery used singles to drive in one run.
Cason Gregory used a bases loaded sacrifice fly to push home a run.
The Red Wolves got one back in the fourth inning, using a solo home run to right field to score a run.
In the fifth inning,
Carlos Tavera recorded his six strikeout of the game and UTA record 114
th strikeout on the season, passing Jason Mitchell's record of 113 set in 2010.
Arkansas State added two more in the seventh inning to make it a 6-3 game. With runners on first and second, a single to right field scored the first run. A stolen base and wild pitch on the same play allowed the second run of the inning to score for the Red Wolves.
An inning later,
Connor Aube added two more runs for the Mavericks with a two-run no double homer to left field to make it 8-3.
UP NEXT
The Mavericks will play their second pool play game tomorrow against Troy and will look to sweep Pool D.
