Senior pitcher Merek Sears prepares to pitch during a game against St. John’s University on March 22 at Clay Gould Ballpark. Sears allowed three hits.
UTA baseball (8-15) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 12-6 win over St. John’s University (9-13) in the final game of a home series at Clay Gould Ballpark.
Redshirt sophomore Ty Zahradnik, 7.02 ERA in 16.2 innings pitched, got the start for the Mavericks and sat down the first three batters he faced, setting the tone early.
UTA rewarded Zahradnik’s efficient work by driving in five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Junior shortstop Harold Laracuente got the scoring started with a home run to right field, his first of the season.
Despite the early lead, a win was anything but certain. UTA had lost three straight at home, two in the current series, and was without senior infielder Xavier Melendez, the team leader in batting average, on-base plus slugging percentage, hits and RBIs.
Junior pitcher Dylan Skolfield prepares to pitch during a game against St. John’s University on March 22 at Clay Gould Ballpark. Skolfield had seven pitches.
Head coach Mike Trapasso said that’s the nature of the game. He said you never know what can happen, but giving your pitcher early run support can only help.
“We go out there and put up [11], that’s the beauty of this game,” Trapasso said. “The ups and the downs and the craziness are the reasons you love and hate this game sometimes.”
Zahradnik felt the same way about pitching with a lead and said it gave him a confidence boost that allowed him to pitch freely and not have to worry about giving up a run.
In the third inning, the Mavericks continued playing winning baseball. Zahradnik stayed hot and held St. John’s scoreless for the third inning in a row. UTA chased St. John’s starting pitcher out of the game in the second inning, but it made no difference as the team put up four runs on two hits in the bottom of the third inning, pushing the lead to 9-0.
Sophomore catcher Ethan Ho prepares to catch the ball during a game against St. John’s University on March 22 at Clay Gould Ballpark. Ho had one strikeout.
St. John’s got on the board with a four-run inning, ending Zahradnik’s shutout in the top of the fifth. He gave up two earned runs before being pulled. Senior pitcher Merek Sears came into relief with inherited runners and gave up a two-run double to redshirt sophomore catcher Adam Agresti to make it a 9-4 game.
Zahradnik said the fastball and slider worked for him. He said it was an adjustment he made based on the hitter’s tendencies.
“I knew today I had to throw a lot of off-speed in the zone, because they’re really good at hitting singles and they’re really good at hitting the fastball,” Zahradnik said. “I knew if I just landed off speed, they weren’t going to do very much.”
The timely hits continued for the Mavericks. Senior center fielder Xander McAfee singled up the middle in the bottom of the sixth to score two runs, extending UTA’s lead to 11-4 and putting the game out of reach.
Sophomore catcher Ethan Ho attempts to hit the ball during a game against St. John’s University on March 22 at Clay Gould Ballpark. Ho had four at bats.
UTA went 7-for-19 with runners on and 6-for-16 with runners in scoring position, making the most of scoring opportunities.
Sophomore third baseman Austin Phillips played a big role in the crooked score. He went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, scored two runs and stole a base. He said he puts a lot of work into the game and, therefore, trusts himself and his approach when at the plate.
“Any pitch that looked good over the plate, I was hitting,” he said.
St. John’s tried pushing back into the game, scoring a run in the eighth and ninth innings to cut the deficit in half. However, the late-game scoring wouldn’t be enough as UTA closed the game to win.
UTA and St. John’s baseball players fist bump after a match March 22 at Clay Gould Ballpark. UTA won 12-6.
After an up-and-down start to the season, which included wins over ranked opponents but struggles against lesser competition, Trapasso said the team is still searching for consistency despite the win.
“It’s been a strange year, and hopefully we can find consistency in the next couple of weeks before conference,” Trapasso said.
The Mavericks will take on Sam Houston State University at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville, Texas.
@diegocllazo