Softball
Debbie Hedrick |
SOFTBALL FACES TOUGH TWINBILL TEST AT TULSA
April 15, 2008
ARLINGTON, Texas - Doubleheaders have been twice as nice lately for the UT Arlington softball team, which steps out of the conference to play two games Wednesday at Tulsa starting at 3 p.m.
The Mavericks (20-17) have swept their last three doubleheaders, including a twinbill at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Saturday. UTA has won eight of its last nine games and is 10-7 on the road this season.
UTA head coach Debbie Hedrick is two wins away from a major career milestone. She owns a 298-291-2 record in 12 seasons with the Mavericks.
Senior shortstop Amanda Swofford and freshman first baseman Rebecca Collom have been swinging the hot bats lately for UTA. They are tied for the team lead in home runs (nine) and RBI (24). Swofford and senior outfielder Katie Jones share the team lead with 39 hits and Jones and Collom have both scored a team-high 26 runs.
The 1-2 pitching punch of sophomore Cara Hulme (11-5) and senior Laura Jones (5-9) haven't given UTA opponents much to work with. Jones ranks second in the Southland Conference with a 1.43 ERA and Hulme ranks sixth in ERA (1.93) and fifth in strikeouts with 124 in 109 innings.
The Golden Hurricane (21-18) is currently third in the Conference USA standings and has an impressive 9-1 home record at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex. Tulsa has dropped three of its last four games this season, however, and is just 4-7 all-time against the Mavericks.
Sophomore slugger Lauren Lindsay powers the Tulsa offense. She is batting .376 and slugging .752 with nine homers, 18 doubles and 32 RBI. Senior first baseman Sara Dyer, one of 10 national finalists for the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, is hitting .325 with 14 doubles and 19 RBI.
The Mavericks will face a pitching staff that ranks third in C-USA with a 2.63 ERA, led by freshman Jordan Kinard (7-4) and sophomore Jackie Lawrence (9-7).
