ARLINGTON – Coming off a 22-27 season, the UT Arlington softball team will commence the 2023 season under first-time head coach Kara Dill as the squad will host Texas Tech and Tulsa at Allan Saxe Field for UTA's Maverick Invitational.

UTA will open its season with two games on Friday starting at 3:00 p.m. to face Texas Tech before taking the field again at 6:00 p.m. to play Tulsa.

The Mavs will open Saturday's action with a 3:00 p.m. start against the Golden Hurricane followed by a 6:00 p.m. game against the Red Raiders.

Maverick Invitational play will come to a close Sunday with a single game between Texas Tech and Tulsa at 10:00 a.m.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
TOURNAMENT: Maverick Invitational
OPPONENTS: Texas Tech, Tulsa
WHEN: February 10-12
WHERE: Arlington, Texas | Allan Saxe Field
Game 1 vs Texas Tech: Friday, 3 PM | WAC International | Live Stats
Game 2 vs Tulsa: Friday, 6 PM | WAC International | Live Stats
Game 3 vs Tulsa: Saturday, 3 PM | WAC International | Live Stats
Game 4 vs Texas Tech: Saturday, 6 PM | WAC International | Live Stats
 
UTA NOTES

• UTA finished with an overall record of 22-27 in the 2022 season going 12-15 in conference play.
• The Mavericks are embarking in a new era in the Western Athletic Conference under first-time head coach Kara Dill. Since Dill was named head coach back in July of 2022, she has added assistant coaches Jo Koons and Fa Leilua to her inaugural staff. Combined, the trio brings an immense amount of knowledge and passion for the game.
• 5th year Meagan Smith and sophomore Jessica Adams earned postseason honors as the pair were named NFCA All-Region, Third Team.
• Smith was just shy of a .300 batting average as the Texas native tabbed an average of .294 across 136 at-bats. Not only did she lead with eight home runs, but she also put up 27 RBI on the season.
• Righty Adams paced the Maverick's pitching staff with a 3.22 ERA across 186.2 innings pitched. The sophomore logged 27 starts in the circle and tossed 77 strike outs.
• Senior utility player Jadyn Erickson and catcher Sophie Wideman finished among the top hitters as Erickson tabbed an overall average of .284 and Wideman with a .308 average.  

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | TEXAS TECH

• The Red Raiders ended the 2022 season with a record of 22-27 and 5-13 in Big 12 play.
• A season ago, senior Ellie Bailey played in all 49 games for TTU finishing with a .309 overall average. The infielder led the Red Raider's offense with 31 RBI, 42 hits and 13 doubles.
• Junior Carson Armijo trailed Bailey closely with a .308 batting average across 42 games. The outfielder compiled 32 hits on the year with 19 walks and 18 RBI.
• In the circle, senior Kendall Fritz logged a 3.12 ERA with 12 wins. She started 24 games on the mound for TTU and tossed 12 complete games – most on the staff. Fritz threw 121 innings and tabbed 80 strike outs leading to NFCA All-Region postseason honors.
• First year head coach Craig Snider added fifth year Texas A&M transfer Makinzy Herzog to the 2023 roster where Snider served as an assistant coach for the Aggies before he was named head coach for TTU in June of 2022.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE

• The Golden Hurricane concluded its 2022 season with an overall record of 18-30-1 and a conference record of 7-9-1.
• Junior Haley Morgan paced Tulsa's bats with a .315 batting average and showcased her speed on the bases with a team-high of 15 stolen bases. Across 143 at-bats, Morgan finished with the second most hits on the team with 45.
• Sophomore Celeste Wood logged 34 RBI and 39 hits throughout her freshman campaign with four long balls and 11 doubles.
• Former Tulsa softball player Samantha Pochop led the Golden Hurricane pitching staff with a 3.74 ERA across 172 innings pitched. Pochop tabbed 158 strike outs and 16 complete games.

ON DECK
The Mavs will look ahead to North Texas' Tracy Beard Tournament in Celina to face Sam Houston, McNeese, South Dakota, North Texas and Dill's alma mater, Kentucky. The squad will kick off tournament action Friday, Feb. 19 with a pair of games against Kentucky and host, North Texas.

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