Red Wolves Fall To UTA in SBC Tournament
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (5/27/21) – Will Nash pitched a sparking 6 1/3 shutout innings of relief, but the Arkansas State baseball team could not overcome an early deficit, falling 8-3 to West No. 2 seed UT Arlington Thursday at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Riverwalk Stadium.
Nash entered in the first in relief of starter Brandon Hudson and kept the Mavericks from scoring any more after a six-run first. The Wheatley, Arkansas, native scattered four hits and kept the Red Wolves (19-30) in contention, as his offense managed to trim the 6-0 margin in half.
UTA (26-29) ultimately extended its lead with a two-run homer in the eighth, ending the Red Wolves’ season.
Hudson took the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) in two-thirds of an inning in the start. The Mavericks’ starter Carlos Tavera earned the win, striking out nine in 6.1 innings of work and allowing all three of A-State’s runs.
A-State tallied six hits, with Tyler Duncan reaching base twice including a solo homer in the fourth.
UTA struck for six runs on five hits in the bottom of the first off Hudson before Nash entered and ended the inning. A-State then got a run back in the fourth on a towering solo homer by Duncan – his 11th of the season, to make it 6-1 after four.
Nash continued to strand Mavericks, working out of a jam in the fifth and leaving runners at second and third.
A-State got two more back in the seventh, chasing Tavera after an RBI single by Jared Toler scored Jaylon Deshazier. After Michael Wong entered in relief and got a strikeout for the second out, Blake McCutchen scored from second on a wild pitch to cut the lead in half at 6-3.
The Mavericks threatened in the seventh, loading the bases with a single and a pair of walks, but Nash got a swinging strikeout of Cason Gregory to strand the bases loaded.
UTA tacked on two more runs in the eighth on a two-run homer by Connor Aube to round out scoring for the day.
