BATON ROUGE, La. - The Mavericks' offense struggled Saturday as UTA dropped a pair of games against Top 25Â Virginia Tech and Northwestern in LSU's Purple & Gold Challenge, moving on to an overall record of 4-6.
UTA vs. #18 Virginia Tech
Junior Sophie Kleiman and junior Cassie Grizzard combined to toss a shutout on Saturday as the No. 18Â Virginia Tech Hokies blanked the UT Arlington Mavericks 6-0.
Freshman Kynlee Bowlin (0-1) got the ball to start for UT Arlington (4-5) and took the loss. Freshman Madi McDonnell was a bright spot for the Mavericks, coming out of the bullpen and throwing 1.1 shutout innings, allowing no hits, with no walks and one strikeout.
Offensively, the Mavericks were led by freshman Talia Maldonado, who went 1-1 on the day with a walk.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UT Arlington did not advance a runner past second base in the game. The Mavericks went 0-2 with runners in scoring position, last placing a runner as far as second in the sixth, when senior Emilie Hoelscher made it into scoring position with two outs.
GAME NOTES
» UT Arlington pitchers limited Virginia Tech to just 0-4 with runners in scoring position.
» UT Arlington pitchers faced 34 Virginia Tech hitters in the game, allowing five ground balls and 13 fly balls while striking out one.
» Maldonado led the Mavericks at the plate, going 1-1.
» Virginia Tech was led offensively by senior Bre Peck, who went 2-4 with two home runs and three RBI.
» Kleiman led the Hokies pitching staff, throwing six shutout innings.
UTA vs. #21 Northwestern
The Mavs struggled on Saturday, falling to the No. 21Â Northwestern Wildcats 6-1 despite the efforts of sophomore Mia McNulty, who went 1-3 with an RBI.
Senior Emilie Hoelscher (1-2) started and took the loss in the circle for UT Arlington (4-6). Freshman Jaycee Knighton was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going 1.2 shutout innings while allowing one hit, walking one and striking out one.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Mavericks got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the top of the first inning. UT Arlington got an RBI single from McNulty, scoring junior Kailee Bautista from third base. The Mavericks were unable to hold the lead, as Northwestern scored six times over the remaining six innings to grab the 6-1 win.
GAME NOTES
» UT Arlington's highest scoring inning was the first, when it pushed one run across.
» UT Arlington pitchers faced 32 Northwestern hitters in the game, allowing three ground balls and 12 fly balls while striking out two.
» McNulty led the Mavericks at the plate, going 1-3 with an RBI.
» Northwestern was led offensively by senior Grace Nieto, who went 3-3 with two RBI.
» Sophomore Signe Dohse led the Wildcats pitching staff, throwing five innings of one-run ball.
ON DECK
UTA will wrap up action in Baton Rouge with a 9 a.m. Sunday match up against the Wildcats.
-- #BuckEm –
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