ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington softball team (8-11) will resume Sun Belt Conference play this weekend as UTA will host Coastal Carolina for the three-game series that is scheduled to begin Friday at 6 p.m.
Following a 6 p.m. start on Friday, the Mavericks will face the Chanticleers on Saturday at 2 p.m. with the final game of the series on Sunday at 12 p.m.
The Mavs are coming off a fresh 3-1 victory over No. 11 Oklahoma State Wednesday night at Allan Saxe Field. This was the first ranked opponent UTA has beaten since facing Louisiana last season.
OPPONENT: Coastal Carolina (12-11) (1-2, SBC)
WHEN: March 18-20
WHERE: Arlington, Texas | Allan Saxe Field
UTA NOTES (8-11) (0-3, SBC)
- The Mavs kicked off conference play last weekend (Mar. 12-13) as the team went 0-3 against the Jaguars.
- UTA bounced back as they picked up back-to-back midweek wins over Incarnate Word (Mar. 15) followed by a 3-1 victory over the Oklahoma State Cowgirls at Allan Saxe Field (Mar. 16).
- Senior Meagan Smith's bat has been key in the Maverick's lineup as she has batted .800 this week with a pair of home runs – now leads the team with 5 home runs. Smith has tabbed 5 RBI over the course of two games as her two-run home run against the Cowgirls gave the Mavs a 2-0 lead that was key to the 3-1 win.
- Freshman Aaliyah White continues to pace UTA's offense this season as she leads the squad with a .375 batting average.
- KJ Murphy leads the Mavericks with 12 RBI and a total of 19 hits so far this season with the third-highest batting average of .328.
- Freshman Adams tabbed her seventh complete game on the season as she moves onto a 6-7 record in the circle. Against the Cowgirls, the right-hander faced 28 batters while striking out two.
- Adams (6-7) has been UTA's go-to on the mound as she has spent 75.0 innings in the circle – most of the pitching staff. The right-hander has a 3.27 ERA with 40 strike outs across 16 appearances.
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT – Coastal Carolina (12-11) (1-2, SBC)
- Coastal Carolina has started off conference play 1-2 as the Chants picked up their lone win in the last game of the series against Troy, 4-3.
- The Chanticleers are coming off a doubleheader sweep against Charleston Southern at St. John Stadium in Conway.
- Freshman Keirstin Roose and senior Abbey Montoya have both started in every single game for the Chants this year as they also share a .304 batting average.
- Sophomore Payton Ebersole joins Roose and Montoya with a team-high .304 average.
- Roose leads with 7 home runs on the season with 21 hits. Montoya paces the Chant's offense with the second-highest number of RBI (17).
- Sophomore Riley Zana holds the most RBI across Coastal's lineup with 20 along with 6 doubles.
- In the circle, Kaitlin Beasley-Polko has been the Chanticleer's ace as the graduate student leads the pitching staff with a 2.59 ERA. Beasley-Polko has pitched 54 innings this year and has recorded 66 strike outs.
ON DECK
The Mavericks will head down south to Natchitoches, Louisiana for a midweek game against Northwestern State on Wednesday, Mar. 23 before facing Louisiana for the three-game Sun Belt series in Lafayette beginning Friday, Mar. 25 at 6 p.m.
FOLLOW THE MAVS
For the latest news on UTA Softball, log on to UTAMavs.com or stay connected to the Mavs on social media. Follow the Mavericks on Twitter @UTAMavsSoftball, on Instagram @UTAMavsSoftball and on Facebook at Facebook.com/UTAMavsSoftball
