Sikes lifts UTA to a pair of walk-off wins
ARLINGTON, Texas - A pair of walk-off wins lifted UT Arlington softball to a sweep of Cleveland State on Thursday at Allan Saxe Field.
The Mavericks improved to 21-2 for the year as it returned to the win column after the first two losses of the season in their last time out. Shelbi Sikes proved to be the hero on the day, knocking the winning hit in each game.
"Cleveland State came in and gave us a good game and that's what we need in these midweeks to prepare us for the weekend," UT Arlington coach Kristie Fox said. "Our girls did well. I'm so proud of their class and their character at all times. There was some weird things that happened today and they didn't allow that to affect their game. I'm really proud at the way they presented themselves today."
Sikes' heroics included a double in extra innings in Game 1 and a two-run walk-off homer in Game 2. The junior had three hits on the day, producing three RBI.
"It feels pretty great," Sikes said. "I haven't been doing the best at the plate this year so the last couple weekends I have been focusing on doing my part and whatever I can do, score runs and generate for this team. I think it's finally starting to pay off."
UTA opens its Sun Belt schedule when it hosts No. 5 Louisiana for a three-game series. The teams open the slate with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Game 1: UT Arlington 4, Cleveland State 3 (8)
Runs were at a premium in the opening game of the doubleheader as each team was scoreless through the first five innings. However, seven runs crossed the plate in the final three frames as UTA won on a walk-off hit from Sikes in extra innings.
Mallory Foster, the game's winning run, was paired with Sandra Mendoza to lead the offense as each had two hits. Foster had two RBI, including the tying run in extra innings. Samantha Clakley improved to 10-1 after giving up just two earned runs. Clakley struck out three in eight innings pitched.
Cleveland State was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position before back-to-back hits pushed two runs across the plate in the top of the sixth.
UTA, entering the bottom half 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, worked quickly to tie the game right back up. Britnea Barilli doubled to right centerfield on the first pitch of the inning and came around to score when Mallory Foster singled to center in the next at-bat. After Foster was pushed to third, UTA tied the game at two apiece on a sacrifice fly from Kacey Everett.
After the Vikings plated a run to start extra innings, UTA again made a quick response.
With two outs, Foster sent a single up the middle to tie the game on a 3-1 pitch. She'd come around to score just one batter later as Sikes sent a liner to the left-centerfield wall to help Foster round the bases, edging out the throw at home for the winning run.
Game 2: UT Arlington 9, Cleveland State 7
Sikes lifted the Mavericks once again, knocking the game winner in the seventh inning to walk UTA off in style.
The junior sent an 0-2 pitch over the right-field wall with one out to clinch the sweep of the Vikings.
"Shelbi did a really good job of tricking everybody early in the game saying go ahead and pitch to me and then came up clutch," Fox said. "That says a lot about her maturity, staying mentally ready and not letting her previous at-bats affect her. That shows a lot of maturity and a lot composer. That's something that we're looking for in our program going forward so that's a great example to set."
Sikes was one of two players with two hits in Game 2, joining Krista Rude who was 2-2 at the dish. Clakley earned her second win of the day as she pitched 1.1 innings in relief. The freshman moved to 11-1 for the year.
The Mavericks wasted little time putting runs on the board as it put together a two-out rally to score four in the second. After a bases-loaded walk opened scoring, Mendoza produced a three-RBI double that bounced out of the glove of the diving Cleveland State left fielder.
Following the Vikings getting on the board for its first run in the third, Britnea Barilli extended the lead to five on her second homer of the season, a liner over the left-field fence.
UTA answered another Cleveland State run in the fourth as the Mavs took advantage of a CSU error. Krista Rude singled and advanced to second on a throwing error. After being pushed to third on a sac bunt, Mendoza brought her home on a sacrifice to left.
Cleveland State was finally able to push runs across the plate without a UTA response as it made a comeback. The Vikings scored four in the fifth and tied the game in the sixth off a controversial run with the bases loaded. The Mavs were able to get out of the jam after interference was called on the play, however, CSU was awarded the run to tie the game at 7-7.
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Weeks Homers, Georgia Southern Comes up Short To Red Raiders
LUBBOCK, Texas – In the top of the seventh inning, redshirt freshman Macy Weeks came into the game to pinch hit for Georgia Southern and immediately delivered a towering home run. Unfortunately, it was not enough of an offensive spark as the Eagles fell 4-1 to Texas Tech in the opening game of the Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic Thursday afternoon.
The game between the Eagles (14-11) and Red Raiders (11-15) started off with the first four and a half innings passing by scoreless as each pitcher and defense found ways to deal outs to the opposing offenses, despite opportunities by both teams.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Texas Tech broke through with the go-ahead run as Camaury Washington scored off a sacrifice bunt by Kiani Ramsey. The Red Raiders carried the momentum over into the bottom of the next inning, plating three more runs – two unearned – to push their advantage to 4-0.
Weeks then broke up the shutout in the top of the seventh with the second round tripper of her career, but that was as close as the Eagles would get.
Sophomore Kierra Camp (5-6) pitched five innings for the Eagles and was the pitcher of record while Mattison Maisel (4-5) earned the win for the Red Raiders, pitching the complete game.
UP NEXT
Georgia Southern will next face Boise State in a single game at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Mar. 18. GS will close out the tourney on Saturday, Mar. 19 with two games, one against Boise State at 1:30 p.m. ET and then the finale against Texas Tech at 4 p.m. ET.