The Colonels baseball team ended a three-game series against the Texas-Arlington Mavericks on a good note with a 6-5 win last Sunday at Didier Field.
They used a balance of strong pitching from senior Matt Overman and an overall solid hitting performance to get their second conference win of the year.
The win broke a five-game losing streak for the Colonels (16-15, 2-7 SLC) and enabled them to avoid a series sweep.
“The guys played with something to prove today. Our first two games against Texas-Arlington did not work out for us, and we knew that we had to come to play today. I was very proud of the effort and the way we hung in there,” B.D. Parker, head coach, said.
The Mavericks (18-14, 7-2 SLC) seemed to be well on their way to a series sweep when they had a 3-0 lead throughout the top of the third inning. But the Colonels had other ideas.
Senior outfielder Brad Dantonio would get things started with a double in the bottom of the fourth inning. Senior outfielder Bryan James followed up with a single to advance Dantonio to third.
Thanks to a sacrifice fly by junior infielder David Tano, Dantonio scored their first run. Junior catcher Scott Wearne knocked a single up the middle to advance James to second. James and Wearne executed a double-steal.
That was followed by another sacrifice fly from junior infielder Jeremy Helton to score James. Senior infielder Jacob Carlson would tie the score with an RBI double that brought Wearne across.
“The guys came through with some clutch hits,” Parker said. “We did a good job of gathering some momentum early and not letting things get out of hand.”
The Mavericks would grab the lead right back with a run in the top of the sixth with an RBI single.
In the bottom of the seventh, sophomore infielder Jacob Naquin would blast a solo homer to tie things up once again. Senior shortstop Chuck Hickman scored courtesy of an RBI single from James for a 6-5 lead.
Those runs would be all the Colonels needed as Overman and the defense finished off the Mavericks in the final two innings.
“Overman really gave us a great chance to win the ballgame. He came in there and pitched the whole game with confidence. They got some hits off of him early on, but he showed his strength both mentally and physically by sealing the deal,” Parker said.
James had a hot bat as he led the Colonels with a 4-for-4 performance and another RBI that proved to be the game-winner.
“We just wanted to come out and redeem ourselves today,” James said. “Our performance from the previous two games were not acceptable. The offense really clicked today and Overman did a great job. We knew that we had stay focused and put the losses behind us.”
The Colonels scored six runs on 15 hits with two errors, while the Mavericks scored five runs on 11 hits.
Overman improved to 6-1 as he gave up 11 hits, five runs, three walks and struck out ten. Hickman went 2-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to 16 games. Texas-Arlington 17 Colonels 0
The Mavericks held nothing back as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning. The Colonels tried to get things going in the bottom of the first when Hickman got on with a leadoff single, but the Mavericks would quickly end the inning.
The Mavericks added one run in the third and fourth innings.
Eight runs over the next three innings would seal the deal for the Mavericks by way of the 10-run rule.
The Colonels’ senior Dave Bourg (2-4) got the loss as he pitched two-thirds of an inning giving up six hits, seven runs and walking one.
The Colonels went through three more pitchers for the game.
The Mavericks had 17 runs on 18 hits and made one error.
The Colonels could only manage three hits and one error.
Junior pitcher Ricky Stover for the Mavericks went (4-0) as he walked one and struck out six.
Hickman led the Colonels in hitting with a 2-for-3 performance.
Junior shortstop Kasey Baker led the Mavericks at the plate going 3-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI’s and scored two runs.

Texas-Arlington 10 Colonels 5
The Mavericks gave the Colonels too much to overcome as they had an 8-0 lead in the top of the sixth.
The Colonels scored three runs in the bottom of the same inning to start a comeback. But the Mavericks added two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth. The Colonels got two more runs, but it was too little too late.
The Mavericks finished with 10 runs on 13 hits and had one error, while the Colonels scored five runs on eight hits and committed two errors.
Aaron Pullin (3-1) got the win for the Mavericks giving up four hits, three runs, three walks and striking out two in 5.2 innings.
Colonels sophomore pitcher Robbie Hebert (2-3) pitched four innings. He gave up seven hits, walked four and struck out two.
Dantonio led the Colonels at the plate going 2-for-3 with a double, while Hunter Pence led the Mavericks going 3-for-6 with a triple and one RBI.