ST. GEORGE, Utah – The UT Arlington softball team looks to embark in a new era in the Western Athletic Conference as the Mavericks are slated to begin conference play against Southern Utah with a three-game series beginning Friday, Mar. 17.
UTA and the Thunderbirds were originally supposed to play on SUU's home turf of Kathryn Berg Field, but due to weather, the location has been changed to Utah Tech's facility in St. George.
The Mavs sit on an overall record of 9-12 after suffering a tough loss to the ranked Longhorns back on Mar. 8 at Allan Saxe Field. However, the program logged a record-breaking attendance of 810 in head coach
Kara Dill's first season at the helm.
OPPONENT: Southern Utah (3-12) (0-0, WAC)
WHEN: Mar. 17-18
WHERE: St. George, Utah | Karl Brooks Field
Game 1 vs Southern Utah (3/17/23) at 2:00 p.m. CT
Game 2 vs Southern Utah (3/17/23) at 4:30 p.m. CT
Game 3 vs Southern Utah (3/18/23) at 1:00 p.m. CT
SERIES HISTORY
UTA leads the overall record with the Thunderbirds, 5-1 as their last meeting was in 2013 at a neutral site in San Diego, Calif. where the Mavs beat SUU 1-0.
UTA NOTES (9-12) (0-0, WAC)
- The Mavericks will take the field Friday, Mar. 17 at Southern Utah after nine days off from competition as UTA's last matchup was a 3-12 loss from #10 Texas at Allan Saxe Field.
- UTA was originally scheduled to face Utah Valley as a non-conference game on Wednesday, Mar. 15 but was canceled due to weather.
- Sophomore Paris Brienesse leads UTA's offense with a .360 batting average and 18 hits on the season. Across 19 games played, she has a .500 slugging percentage and nine stolen bases.
- Fifth year Sophie Wideman is the only other Mav who holds above a .300 batting average as she is hitting .315. The catcher has tabbed 11 RBI so far this season - one behind senior Lindsey Franklin - with 17 hits.
- In the circle this year, sophomore Jessica Adams leads the rotation with 67 innings of work. The righty leads with 30 strike outs and a 2.09 ERA. Adams recently tabbed her 100th career strike out in UTA's 5-4 win over Kansas City in the 4th Boerner Invitational in early March.
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT – Southern Utah (3-12) (0-0, WAC)
- Southern Utah is off to a 3-12 start to the 2023 season after two preseason tournaments were canceled.
- The Thunderbirds' three wins have come from UNLV (6-4) back in the UNLV Classic in Las Vegas followed by Saint Mary's College of California (4-3) and Alabama State (9-5) at Sacramento State's Capitol Classic Tournament.
- Infielder Emily Gonzalez leads SUU with a .390 batting average after starting in all 15 games so far this season. Gonzalez holds a team-high of 16 hits, 10 RBI, 3 home runs and a .659 slugging percentage.
- Josey White is the other Thunderbird who currently holds a .300 average or higher as she is batting .303. The redshirt junior has started in 11 games and has two multi-hit games under her belt.
- Across the five-player pitching staff, freshman Riley Neilson leads the rotation with over 30 innings of work and sits on a 6.46 ERA. The staff holds an ERA of 7.39 altogether as Neilson has allowed 28 earned runs off 52 hits.
ON DECK.
The Mavericks will be back home at Allan Saxe Field next Wednesday, Mar. 22 for Kids Day to face the ranked Baylor Bears at 11:30 a.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 @UTAMavsSB, on Instagram @UTAMavsSB and on Facebook at Facebook.com/UTAMavsSB.
