MESA, Ariz. – The UT Arlington baseball team staved off elimination by defeating California Baptist in a thriller on day two of the 2023 Western Athletic Conference Tournament by a final score of 8-4.
A dominating pitching performance from
Gabe Starks and clutch at-bats proved to be the keys to victory for the Mavericks.
UTA used two pitchers for the game with Starks getting the start on the mound. Starks tied his career high, tossing 7 strong innings and giving up three runs on eight hits while punching out four on 100 pitches to pick up his sixth win of the season.
Gray Bailey pitched the final 2 innings, giving up one run on two hits and striking out one on 16 total pitches. Bailey picked up his fifth save of the season.
The Mavs offense pounded out 11 hits with eight of the nine starters recording a hit in the effort.
Tyce Armstrong,
Tyler Rice and
Cade Sumbler each finished with two hits for the game. Armstrong and Sumbler both knocked in one run while the hometown kid Rice finished with a double. Sumbler added a triple, the second triple of the game for the Mavs.
Ryan Black smacked his first triple of the year for two RBIs with two outs that gave the Mavs the lead.
Matt Cavanagh finished 1-5 with two RBIs that added key insurance runs for the Mavs late in the game.
Ben Lumsden drove in one run on one hit for UTA.
Tyson Pointer and
Garrison Berkley both finished 1-4 while scoring a run on the afternoon.
Wilson Galvan extended his team-high reached base streak to 42 games after being hit by a pitch. That marks the 16th time that Galvan has been hit this season, a new single season program record.
UTA threatened in the top of the 1st inning, getting runners on first and second but were unable to cash in. California Baptist would go on to plate two runs in the bottom of the inning on two hits to take a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the 2nd inning, UTA would take the lead by scoring three runs. The first run came via a wild pitch from the Lancers starter then Black delivered a two-strike bases clearing triple to put the Mavs up 3-2. Starks would settle in and retire CBU in order in the bottom half of the inning.
UTA would get a runner to third in the top of the 3rd inning but couldn't push the run across. In the bottom half of the inning, the Lancers would get runners on the corners with one out. Starks would go on to punch out a CBU hitter on a 93-mph fastball up in the zone for the second out and get the next batter to fly out to right center to strand the runners and maintain the Mavs one-run lead after three.
In the bottom of the 4th inning, Starks would escape another jam by throwing a beautiful off-speed pitch for a strikeout to strand the two CBU runners on base.
In the bottom of the 5th inning, the Lancers would tie the game up, 3-3 before the Mavs regained the lead for good in the top of the 6th inning by plating two runs thanks to a Sumbler RBI triple to score Rice and a Lumsden single to bring in Sumbler, making it 5-3.
The top of the 7th inning saw the Mavs get retired in order. In the bottom half of the inning, Starks would retire the first batter he faced via a groundout to second base. The second batter of the inning would single and try to extend it to a double to be cut down on the throw from Pointer in right field as the CBU runner over slid second and came off the bag while Cavanagh applied the tag to register the second out of the inning. A fly out to Pointer in right would end the 7th, ending Starks' brilliant outing.
In the bottom of the 8th inning, Bailey would relieve Starks and retire the first three batters he faced to bring us to the final inning.
In the top of the 9th, the Mavs would score three insurance runs thanks to an Armstrong RBI single and a 2 RBI Cavanagh single, effectively putting the game out of reach for the Lancers. In the bottom half of the inning, the Lancers would plate one run after the first two batters reached base safely due to a double and an RBI single. Bailey would shut the door, retiring the next three batters to pick up the save and the victory for the Mavs.
NEXT UP
The No. 6 seed Mavs are set to take on the No. 4 seed Redhawks of Seattle U in an elimination game on Thursday, May 25, with first pitch coming at 11 a.m.
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