ARLINGTON, Texas – The University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks baseball team beat the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 16-3 at Clay Gould Ballpark March 22 in their first matchup of the three-game series.

The first four innings of the game were close, with the Mavericks leading 3-1. Inning’s five and six were the most scored innings of the game and where the UT Arlington Mavericks extended their lead against the SFA Lumberjacks

In innings five and six, the Lumberjacks scored two runs, both of which happened in the fifth inning. The Mavericks scored 13 runs during those two frames, with five in the fifth inning and eight in the sixth inning.

This win broke the Mavericks three-game losing streak. Team members said the team hasn’t been where it wants to be offensively, but they have been working on it and trying to improve.

“I thought what you saw tonight was us putting the work and the time [in],” Mavs Coach Clay Van Hook said. “When you do that, you’re gonna reap the benefits, and it was a good way to start the weekend.”

Mavericks’ pitcher Zach Norris pitched all seven innings and allowed three runs off seven hits. He walked two batters. The Lumberjacks used three pitcher—Reid Boyett, Caleb Rutledge and Skyler Jaco.

“We had our horse on the mound, who always keeps us in the game no matter what,” Mavs catcher Parker Airhart said. “He’s been really doing well this year, and we’ve been working on our approach and we kinda stuck to it today, and I mean the score shows no doubt.”

Airhart helped the cause with a solo homerun to left center field in the bottom of the fourth inning, increasing the Mavericks’ lead to 3-1. Airhart finished the day 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI.

The game ended in the top of the seventh inning after the Lumberjacks had another scoreless inning. The Mavericks won the first matchup against SFA with a 13-run lead.

The Mavericks went on to sweep the three-game series with SFA with a 9-2 win Saturday and an 11-7 victory Sunday.

Following the conclusion of the series, SFA has a win-loss record of 3-22, 0-9 in the WAC. UT Arlington’s overall record is 10-14. The Mavs are 6-3 in the WAC.

To hear an audio interview with Mavs catcher Parker Airhart, click here.