DURANT, Okla.—The University of Texas at Tyler Baseball (13-12) dropped a midweek afternoon matchup against NCAA Division II Southeastern Oklahoma University (13-14) Tuesday afternoon.
 
It was all offense from the early innings with the Patriots grabbing a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Senior infielder Blake Maddox (Jacksonville, Texas) got the scoring started with his second homerun of the season over the left field wall. The next two batters both reach base and put runners on the corners for senior catcher Zach Pavelock (Iola, Texas) who drove in another run with a bunt single.
 
Another UT Tyler run came around to score in the third inning with senior outfielder Josh Burns (Center, Texas) sending a pitch over the outfield wall for the first time this season. His first homerun of the year scored third Patriot run of the contest, but the Savage Storm plated three runs of their own in the home half of the inning to tie the contest.
 
Six Patriots runs came around in the fourth inning, all coming with two outs. The first two came on an SEU fielding error with the bases loaded and senior infielder Blake Wilson (Midlothian, Texas) at the plate. Later in the inning with two runners in scoring position, senior outfielder Graham Welch (Plano, Texas) sent a ball into the gap in left center driving in two more runs. Maddox followed with a base knock through the left side and put the UT Tyler ahead, 9-3, heading into the bottom of the fourth.
 
The Savage Storm trimmed away at the Patriot lead over the next two innings. They scored three runs in the fourth inning before exploding for eight runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 14-9 advantage. Another SOU run came across in both the sixth and seventh innings to give the Savage Storm a 16-9 lead.
 
In the top of the eighth inning, the Patriots got the lead off batter on with a walk to Welch. Looking to mount a comeback, Maddox followed with his second homerun of the ball game and third of the season to plate put two more Patriot runs on the scoreboard. The comeback would end there with UT Tyler unable to trim the 16-11 deficit over the final two innings.
 
It was the third multi-homerun contest for a Patriot this season with Maddox hitting his second and third of the season. He also drove in a season-high five runs in five plate appearances. He was the only Patriot with multiple hits in the contest while Welch also drove in a pair of runs.
 
Freshman right-hander Matthew McMillan (Pflugerville, Texas) got the start on the mound and lasted 2.2 innings. He surrendered two hits and three runs while also striking out three batters before being relieved by junior left-hander Max Page (Montgomery, Texas) who pitched 1.1 innings. Junior left-hander Ethan Chery (Dallardsville, Texas) took the loss after 0.2 innings of work while freshman right-handers Kasey Williamson (Madisonville, Texas) and Tod McDowell (Bridge City, Texas) worked the final 3.1 innings combined.
 
The Patriots will now get more than a week of rest before traveling to Belhaven University April 4-5. The series will begin April 5 with a single game at 4 p.m. in Jackson, Mississippi before a doubleheader at 1 p.m. concludes the series the following day.