ARLINGTON – With its home opener against nationally top-ranked Tennessee, the UT Arlington softball team dropped its first game of the season Thursday from Allan Saxe Field.
The Mavericks will move on to their first of four preseason tournaments as the team will gear up for Southeastern Louisiana's Mardi Gras Mambo beginning Friday, Feb. 9.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: vs. No. 2 Tennessee (L, 15-0) 5 Innings
UTA pieced four hits together against the power five pitching staff of Tennessee as Texas transfer
Camille Corona, freshman
Cameron Cooper, returners
Jessica Adams and
Lindsey Franklin all contributed with one hit each.
In the circle, junior Adams earned the first start of the 2024 season as she went on to face 12 batters, allowing four earned runs off five hits. Head coach
Kara Dill made the first pitching change in the top of the second by putting in senior
Gracie Bumpurs.
Bumpurs came in for just over an inning and faced eight batters before freshman lefty
Abi Gutierrez saw the mound for the very first time as a UTA Maverick. The freshman's collegiate debut featured six earned runs off seven hits while facing 15 batters.
With the team unable to answer back, Adams was given the loss.
KEY MOMENTS: vs. No. 2 Tennessee (L, 15-0) 5 Innings
- Top 1: Tennessee scored in its first at-bats as Sophia Nugent ripped an RBI-double to plate the Lady Vols' first run.
- Bottom 1: Junior Adams was responsible for the Mavericks' first hit of the game as she smacked a line drive to center field.
- Top 2: KiKi Milloy scored two Lady Vols - who reached off a walk and single - off an RBI-double that extended UT's lead to 3-0. Shortly after, Nugent cleared the bases with a three-run home run.
- Top 3: A Tennessee single, home run and a Maverick error allowed for the Lady Vols to plate three additional runs, making it a 9-0 ball game.
- Bottom 4: Aside from a single from Franklin – her first of the season – UTA struggled to get anything going.
- Top 5: A six-run fifth inning broke things out for UT as the ranked team scored its final runs off five hits. A ground out to Franklin ended the top-half of the inning, leaving UTA with work to do.
- Bottom 5: A hit-by-pitch from Morgan Westbrook led things off before getting out on a fielder's choice from Emma Lopez. However, back-to-back singles from Cooper and Corona caused a little commotion as the Mavs had bases loaded for the first time in the game. Unfortunately, that momentum came to a halt after a strike out ended the game.
ON DECK
The Mavericks will pick back up with Southeastern Louisiana's three-day Mardi Gras Mambo beginning Friday, Feb. 9 where UTA will face Eastern Illinois, SE Louisiana, ULM, Nicholls and Southern from Youngsville Sports Complex.
MARDI GRAS MAMABO INFO
OPPONENTS: Eastern Illinois, Southeastern Louisiana, ULM, Nicholls, Southern
WHEN: February 9-11
WHERE: Youngsville, LA | Youngsville Sports Complex
Game 1 vs Eastern Illinois: Friday @ 2 PM
Game 2 vs Southeastern Louisiana: Friday @ 4 PM
Game 3 vs ULM: Saturday @ 3:30 PM
Game 4 vs Nicholls: Saturday @ 5:30 PM
Game 5 vs Southern: Sunday @ 11 AM
-- #BuckEm --
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