? Box score
? Michael Rockett throwing runner out at the plate as heard on goUTSA.com (2.7 MB)
| Junior Michael Rockett went 3-for-5 and scored two runs on Sunday. |
SAN ANTONIO ? UT Arlington broke open a one-run game with seven two-out runs in the ninth and the Mavericks salvaged the final contest of this weekend's three-game series with a 14-7 victory against UTSA on Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners saw their eight-game winning streak at the Bird Bath come to and end, as they dropped to 18-10 overall and 6-3 inSouthland Conference play. Meanwhile, UTA snapped a five-game skid inimproving to 8-18 (3-6 SLC).
After junior right-hander J.P. Holton retired the first two hitters of the final inning on fly balls, it was beginning to look as though he would give the UTSA offense a chance to tie things up in its half of the inning or, better yet, win it. However, that's when the wheels completely fell off.
Back-to-back-to-back home runs by Michael Choice, Danny Slinkman and Matthew Otteman gave the Mavericks the all-important insurance tallies they needed. Choice and Slinkman's long balls came off Holton, while Otteman greeted sophomore righty Zach Calhoon with a bomb off the scoreboard in left center. A weak grounder to Calhoon off the bat of Justin McPherson appeared to limit the damage at three runs, but the Spring native could not handle the slow roller and the frame continued. Three consecutive walks by Calhoon pushed the UTA lead to 11-6 and Andrew Kainer followed with a bases-clearing single off the left-field wall to complete the seven-run explosion.
UT Arlington starter Andy Sauter (2-1) took it from there and he tossed his second complete game of the year. The right-hander scattered a dozen hits, walked three and struck out seven in the gutsy, 138-pitch performance.
Six UTSA pitchers combined to walk 14 Mavericks in the contest in addition to allowing 14 hits. That led to UT Arlington stranding 16 base runners, but it didn't come back to haunt the Mavs.
Sophomore starter Ryan Proudfoot (4-1) lost his first decision since April 24, 2007. The righty from Lindale allowed four runs on four hits and walked eight in 4.2 innings.
The Mavericks took an early 1-0 lead on Choice's sacrifice fly to center in the opening frame. After UTA pushed the edge to two in the third, the Roadrunners cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning when senior catcher Zach Etheredge came home on senior right fielder Phillip Allen's single to right that Otteman mishandled.
UTA appeared to put the game out of reach with five runs in the fifth, but the Roadrunners bats began to come alive one frame later.
Freshman third baseman Tyler Carpenter's two-out, sixth-inning triple, the first of his career, brought home junior center fielder Michael Rockett and senior first baseman Trent Lockwood to cut the deficit to four at 7-3.
UTSA then plated a trio of runners after the seventh-inning stretch to get within one.
Freshman second baseman Ryan Hutson led off the stanza with his fourth homer of the year and Lockwood dropped a bloop double between UTA shortstop Jay Pitschka and Kainer, who entered the game in left at the beginning of the inning, four batters later and that brought sophomore designated hitter Tim Palincsar and Rockett across the plate.
Unfortunately, the seven-run ninth by UTA dashed any hopes the Roadrunners had of claiming second league sweep at home this year and the ninth in the last 10 dating back to the 2006 campaign.
Junior shortstop James Keithley stroked a one-hit single to center in the ninth to extend his season-long hitting streak to 15 games and he came home on a Rockett base hit to left to end the scoring.
Rockett led the UTSA offense by going 3-for-5 with two runs and he now has hit safely in 11 consecutive contests. Lockwood was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and Hutson recorded his seventh two-hit game of the year.
The Roadrunners embark on a season-long nine-game road trip that begins on Wednesday night at No. 20 Baylor (16-10). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.