NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The UT Arlington baseball team (20-19, 10-7 WAC) dropped a heartbreaker to Stephen F. Austin (18-18, 11-9 WAC) as the Lumberjacks walked off the Mavericks 12-11 Saturday afternoon at Jaycees Field.
In a back-and-forth contest that saw five lead changes and two ties, there was plenty of offense on display, as the two teams combined for 33 hits and 23 runs. The Mavs finished with 16 hits on the afternoon, with eight of the nine starters recording a hit. Nine of the Mavs 11 runs came with two outs in the inning.
In his first game back from injury in nearly two weeks, freshman
Ben Lumsden made his presence known with two big home runs that came in the final two innings. He finished 2-4 with four RBIs while drawing a walk and scoring two runs.
Garrison Berkley went 3-4 for the game, smacking a double and driving in two runs. Berkley also drew two walks and scored twice while also swiping one bag.
Wilson Galvan,
Ryan Black,
Cade Sumbler,
Matt Cavanagh and
Tyler Rice all finished with two hits for the game. Galvan finished with two RBIs, while Cavanagh, Black and Rice each finished with one RBI.
UTA used three pitchers in the contest, with
Connery Peters getting the start on the mound. Peters went 5.0 innings, throwing 93 pitches and giving up four runs, two of them earned on eight hits. He punched out five batters of the 26 batters he faced.
Hunter Marshall relieved Peters, going 0.2 innings, giving up three runs, one earned, on three hits and striking out one. In relief of Marshall,
Zach Norris tossed the remaining 2.1 innings. Norris surrendered five runs, two earned, on six hits while striking out two. Norris was tabbed with the loss.
SFA jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the 1st inning and made it a 4-1 game after the 3rd. The Mavs were able to cut the Jacks lead in half after five innings of play, 4-2, thanks to a Black single to right center that brought in Berkley.
The Mavs took their first lead of the game in the 6th behind a four-run inning. The first lead came off the bat of Berkley, doubling down the left field line that scored Rice and Cavanagh to put the Mavs up 5-4. The top of the inning was capped off by a Galvan single to left that brought in Berkley to bring the score to 6-4.
The Lumberjacks retook the lead in the bottom of the 6th, plating three runs to go up one, 7-6.
Lumsden tied things up in the top of the 8th with a solo shot to right field. SFA responded with a four-run inning in the bottom of the 8th.
In the top of the 9th, the Mavs plated four runs, all with two outs, to tie the game back up 11-11. Lumsden hit his second home run of the game, a three-run shot to right center just out of reach of the outstretched arms of the center fielder.
In the bottom of the 9th, the Jacks loaded the bases before walking off the Mavs to take the victory and game two of the series by a final score of 12-11.
NEXT UP
The WAC series finale between the Mavs and Jacks begins at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 23, from Jaycees Field.
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