UTA pitchers shut down hot-hitting No. 10 Oklahoma

By Sam Morton

Special to the Star-Telegram

Last season, the UT Arlington baseball team beat all four Big 12 teams on its schedule. Although the Mavericks won’t repeat that after losing to Texas two weeks ago, they got right back to work by shutting down No. 10 Oklahoma 6-1 Tuesday at Clay Gould Ballpark.

“It all starts and ends on the mound. Couldn’t have asked for more out of those guys,” coach Darin Thomas said. “We scored when we needed to and took advantage of mistakes.”

Starter Chase Weaver was outstanding against the hot-hitting Sooners (11-2), who came into the game batting .311 as a team. The spot starter held the Sooners to just a pair of singles and a walk through 5 1/3 innings.

“The best thing he’s got going for him is he’s competitive,” Thomas said. “He can pitch in a lot of roles and that’s what you want in a reliever.”

He did run into trouble in the fourth inning when UTA (8-4) committed two errors — one on Weaver — that put two Sooners on base, but he struck out the next two hitters, ending the biggest threat Oklahoma would muster until the ninth.

The left-hander mixed his pitches and commanded the strike zone, handcuffing a powerful lineup that couldn’t put anything solid into play.

“I had all three pitches working for me,” said Weaver, making his fourth career start. “You always want to come in with two, but sometimes you have one of those special days where you have all three.”

Andy Scott and John Beck, two starters who’ve struggled lately, finished Weaver’s night with 3 2/3 innings of shutout baseball. When the Sooners got runners on the corners in the ninth, Beck struck out Kolbey Carpenter to end the game.

While the Mavericks belted out 11 hits, only one of them went for extra bases. Matt Shortall’s RBI double in the fifth inning scored Darien McLemore, who’d just driven a liner into right field that Sooners right fielder Max White misplayed, scoring two runners.

“A lot of teams might short-cut us, but then they have a game on their hands,” Shortall said. “We’re going to fight for every game and try to come out with some wins.”

Shortall led the UTA attack by going 2 for 4 with two RBIs.

The Mavericks notched their first two runs on three identical liners to center field in the second inning that ended Oklahoma pitcher Ethan Carnes’ night after two innings.

The Mavericks have won two straight against Oklahoma after beating the Sooners 10-3 in Norman, Okla., last year.

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