Young Struggles

 I haven't felt much impetus to post lately as the normally strong spring push from the UT Arlington Athletic Department hasn't really materialized. However, I did want to mention a few things, starting with the baseball team.

First, they are putting up one of the worst performances as far as a win/loss in a generation. As of April 29, their winning percentage sits at .293. That would be a decent batting average, but sits as the second worse in the conference, ahead of Arkansas State, who conveniently comes to Clay Gould Ballpark this weekend. The last time UTA finished a season with a sub .300 winning percentage was 1977. The Mavericks sit at .222 in conference play, the worst of the 12 Sun Belt Conference teams. That could change depending on the Red Wolf series.

There's not much light at the end of the tunnel. UTA goes to College Station next week where Texas A&M is 26-14, then they go to Lafayette, where Louisiana is 23-16, 12-6, then a home series against Appalachian State (14-24, 5-13) and a road trip to Georgia Southern (28-13, 14-4).

There's two main issues with the team as I see it.

The first is a lack of star power. There is no ace pitcher and no feared slugger. One pitcher has pitched 20 or more innings has an earned run average under 4.00. That is Matt Novis, who sports an ERA of 2.61 with 20.2 innings logged. Two of the three conference starters are in the mid-fours while the other is high five. 

The bullpen isn't any better either. Overall, the team ERA is 6.10. The opponent ERA is 3.31.

Which segues nicely to the offense. Only three Mavs have a batting average over .300. Five Mavericks are at .250 or lower. As a whole, the team is hitting .241, compared to a .296 for the opposition. One player with the minimum number of at-bats has a slugging percentage at .400.

The second issue, which can indirectly cause the first, is the lack of experience. There are only five seniors on the team. Add in nine juniors to complete the upperclassmen. Compared to nine sophomores and 12 freshman, the experience void seems apparent.

A recent 11-game losing streak was broken earlier this week in a win over Tarleton. During that stretch, Head Coach Darin Thomas has dropped below .500 career. His win loss record is currently 401 wins and 402 losses. As baseball is the one sport that allows the University to be the most on a national level, due to myriad factors, that number hurts.

We have gone from the best Metroplex team, to last consistently. And it's been that way for a while. Dallas Baptist has surpassed us, despite their other sports being Division II. UTA has spent millions on upgrades to player amenities at Clay Gould, but the results have been rough.

While the COVID-shortened year looked promising, UTA has been mired in mediocrity. Maybe the switch to the WAC will help there too. Certainly the experience should be better next year.