Senior pitcher Merek Sears pitches during a game against Texas Christian University on April 29 at Charlie and Marie Lupton Baseball Stadium at Williams-Reilly Field in Fort Worth. Sears allowed six hits.
FORT WORTH, Texas — UTA baseball (16-27) lost 12-1 to Texas Christian University (29-15) in seven innings Wednesday at Charlie and Marie Lupton Baseball Stadium at Williams-Reilly Field.
The two teams faced off once earlier this season, an 11-8 Maverick victory at Globe Life Field that featured a nine-run UTA first inning. The matchup was the only time this season UTA won a midweek game.
UTA came to Fort Worth on a three-game losing streak, with a series loss to Abilene Christian University and a midweek loss to Baylor University on Tuesday. Texas Christian entered the day on a six-game winning streak.
Junior first baseman Caylon Dygert sprints to cover first base for an out during a game against Texas Christian University on April 29 at Charlie and Marie Lupton Baseball Stadium at Williams-Reilly Field in Fort Worth. Dygert had one run.
The Mavericks opened the scoring in the second inning, taking the early lead off a groundout to the shortstop by junior catcher Clark Springs. Texas Christian answered quickly, sending a second-inning pitch over right field for a two-run home run, and a third-inning pitch over the left field wall for a solo shot.
Including the RBI, Springs went 0 for 3 on the day with a strikeout.
“Just bad team outing. Collectively as a whole, we need to fight a little bit more,” Springs said. “Pitching staff wasn’t on point today, but that’s where we need to pick them up with the bats.”
Senior second baseman Xavier Melendez steals second base during a game against Texas Christian University on April 29 at Charlie and Marie Lupton Baseball Stadium at Williams-Reilly Field in Fort Worth. Melendez was at bat four times.
Texas Christian heavily added to the deficit in the fourth inning, bringing seven runs across the plate. Two Horned Frog solo home runs in the sixth inning put the differential at 11, allowing the game to end early when the Mavericks couldn’t score in the seventh inning.
UTA used four pitchers in the game, with the quartet combining to allow 12 earned runs on 14 hits, two walks and four home runs in their six innings of work.
“We’re not pitching; we haven’t pitched for about two weeks. We’re struggling,” head coach Mike Trapasso said. “We’re just having to come in and we’re not locating the fastball. We’re in a little bit of a panic mode.”
UTA baseball players gather in a postgame huddle after a game against Texas Christian University on April 29 at Charlie and Marie Lupton Baseball Stadium at Williams-Reilly Field in Fort Worth. UTA lost 12-1.
UTA will not play this weekend, having a bye week before its final home series of the season. The Mavericks will play three games against Utah Tech University, starting at 6 p.m. May 8 at Clay Gould Ballpark. The games will be available to stream on ESPN+.
“This break couldn’t come at a better time. We got a couple freshmen that have hit a wall, they need a break. We’ll use these next few days to look at Utah Tech,” Trapasso said. “We’ll start preparing for them, but our guys need to, as a pitching staff, make the choice to pitch again instead of throw, and we’ll just go from there.”
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