UT Arlington turns sights to another Big 12 team in visit to TCU
It’s nothing new for UT Arlington to play some of the best teams in the Big 12.
So nothing changes Tuesday night.
The Mavericks meet Big 12 favorite TCU at Lupton Stadium, the first of three games scheduled between the Tarrant County schools this year. Already this year, UTA has split two games against Oklahoma State and won at Baylor in an 8-5 start.
“Geography puts us in a position where we’re kind of in the middle of everybody,” Mavericks coach Darin Thomas said. “There’s nobody that’s close to us that’s not pretty good.”
Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, TCU is 7-3 against UT Arlington.
Maintaining something like what they’ve got going on is hard to do. It’s hard to win in Division I baseball, and they’ve done it consistently.
UTA coach Darin Thomas on TCU
“The job he’s done over there speaks for itself,” Thomas said of TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle. “It’s been unbelievable, and not only has he done a great job, he’s maintained it. Maintaining something like what they’ve got going on is hard to do. It’s hard to win in Division I baseball, and they’ve done it consistently. He sets high standards, and year by year, they live up to it.”
This season, two of the three games are in Fort Worth. Next season, two of the three games will be in Arlington.
“It’s a really good program that’s 20 minutes away from us, and I have a lot of respect for Darin Thomas and the job they do there,” Schlossnagle said. “It only makes sense. College baseball mid-week games, you want to play the very best people you can, but you’re also somewhat limited by your geography. Between UTA and Dallas Baptist, those are normally good RPI games for us, and they’re almost like home games because we get home at a decent hour, and our fans are able to go there and watch.”
TCU is scheduled to throw left-handed freshman Dalton Horton (1-0, 0.00, two appearances). UTA will go with Dylan Schneider (0-0, 3.00, four appearances).
No makeup plan has been announced in case of rain.
Player of the week
TCU freshman Luken Baker was named the Big 12 newcomer of the week after hitting .538 with eight RBIs in four games last week.
He also had a no-decision in a pitching start against Gonzaga, allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
It’s the second conference honor for Baker this season. He was named newcomer of the week after the opening weekend.
Carlos Mendez: 817-390-7760, @calexmendez
UT Arlington at TCU
6:30 p.m. Tuesday
This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 2:36 PM with the headline "UT Arlington turns sights to another Big 12 team in visit to TCU."