ARLINGTON, Texas - A ninth-inning rally pushed the UT Arlington Mavericks (3-5) to a 4-3 walk-off victory at Clay Gould Ballpark over the Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-7) on Friday afternoon.
 
Michael Wong (ND) started the game for UTA, registering five innings of work with five strikeouts and one walk. Jack Hagan (ND, 2.0 IP) bridged the middle innings of relief before turning the game over to Connery Peters (W, 1-0) who tossed the game's final two innings with four strikeouts and one hit.
 
The Mavericks continued their hot offensive start collecting four runs on ten hits which marks six of the opening eight games with double-digit hits.
 
Through the first four innings, starters Wong and Kyle Perry limited the opposition to three hits a piece with a scoreless tie heading into the fifth inning. 
 
In the visiting half the inning, Nebraska would string together leadoff singles followed by a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners to scoring position. After a wild pitch strikeout loaded the bases, Nebraska captain Griffin Everitt lifted a sacrifice fly into right field to score the game's opening run. Despite loading the bases a batter later, Wong would limit the damage to a 1-0 Cornhusker lead.
 
UTA would return in the bottom of the fifth with consecutive singles from Tanner Rice and Boone Montgomery. The Mavs would fail to cash in on the contributions from the bottom of the order due to a highlight-worthy stop on a sharp ground ball to the first baseman that ended the inning.
 
The Huskers would extend their lead to 3-0 in the sixth with a two-RBI sacrifice fly to right-center field after loading the bases via a pair of singles and a walk.
 
While the home bats were quiet through the eighth inning, junior Connery Peters held the opposing side at bay by striking out the side in the eighth and retiring the top of the Nebraska order after an inning-opening walk.
 
The Mavericks bats would come alive in the bottom of the ninth sparked by a Wilson Galvan first-pitch double to start the inning. After a popout to shortstop, Cade Sumbler would knock in Galvan with a double of his own bringing the tying run to the plate with a 3-1 score. After a Matt Cavanagh hit by pitch, Steven Saunders would step into the box as a pinch hitter and drop a full-count single to right field to load the bases.
 
Matt Lumsden would come in as a pinch hitter for his first collegiate at bat after transferring from Clemson this season. Lumsden lobbed a single into left field collecting his first hit and RBI, pulling the Mavericks to a 3-2 deficit with the bases still loaded. Another pop out to short, gave Nebraska a second out with Zach Henry then pushing a slow roller toward third base for an infield RBI single tying the game at 3-3.
 
The Nebraska-heavy crowd was silenced by the turn of events as Oscar Ponce stepped into the box with UTA fans cheering him on. Ponce would bring home the winning run with a four-pitch walk to seal the seemingly improbable Maverick victory.
 
"You get a ninth inning win on a Friday night, it does a lot for a team," head coach Darin Thomas said. "It does a lot for me and I'm not even playing so I can't imagine what it's like for these kids because they need that confidence."
 
UTA will return tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. for their final matchup against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on the back end of Nebraska's second consecutive double-header, first facing Northwestern State at 11 a.m. at Clay Gould Ballpark.

FOLLOW THE MAVS
For the latest news on UTA Baseball, log on to UTAMavs.com or stay connected to the Mavs on social media. Follow the Mavericks on Twitter @UTAMavsBSB, on Instagram @UTAMavsBSB and on Facebook at Facebook.com/UTAMavsBSB.