April 21, 2008

ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington travels to Lubbock on Tuesday to face the red-hot Red Raiders in a non-conference softball doubleheader at Texas Tech. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Rocky Johnson Field.

The Mavericks (20-19) are trying to snap a three-game losing skid. They are 3-4 all-time against Texas Tech and this is the first meeting in Lubbock. Head coach Debbie Hedrick needs two wins to reach 300 for her 12-year career with UTA.

The Red Raiders (17-32) have an eight-game home winning streak. Last weekend, Texas Tech recorded its first regular-season sweep against Baylor since 1998 with 4-1 and 4-3 victories in Waco. The Red Raiders are 4-0 this season against members of the Southland Conference courtesy of doubleheader sweeps against UT San Antonio and Texas State.

Junior Montana Patin leads Texas Tech with six home runs and 34 RBI. Sophomore Leah Legler leads the team with a .335 batting average, 36 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. The likely starting pitchers for the Red Raiders are sophomore Ashly Jacobs (8-13) and freshman Tye Coats (6-12). Jacobs has a 2.27 ERA and recently completed a string of 22 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

After scoring just one run in their doubleheader at Tulsa last week, the Mavericks hope to provide more offense on Tuesday. Senior Amanda Swofford leads UTA in batting (.336), slugging (.664), hits (40), doubles (seven), homers (10) and RBI (25) and is tied for the team lead in runs (26).

The Mavs have launched 42 home runs this season, compared to 20 by their opponents. Freshman Rebecca Collom has hit nine and sophomore Brittany Washington has gone deep eight times.

Look for sophomore Cara Hulme (11-5) and senior Laura Jones (5-10) inside the circle for UT Arlington. Jones ranks third in the SLC with a 1.61 ERA and Hulme ranks fifth in the conference with 133 strikeouts.