BULLARD, Texas – UT Tyler jumped out to an 8-0 lead, scoring 5 in the first two innings, a and the Patriots cruised to a 9-1 victory over Eastern New Mexico to clinch the four-game series sweep.
Jordan Gochenour and Tanner Roach produced all five of the early runs with home runs, as Gochenour hit a two-run home run in the first inning while Roach added a three-run shot in the second to spot the Patriots an early 5-0 lead. Both players finished the game with a pair of hits to lead the offense, and starting pitcher Jacob Blatney tossed 6 shutout innings to pick up the win.
With the victory, UT Tyler claims the 4-game series sweep and improves to 9-1 overall and 9-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Patriots are tied with Texas A&M-Kingsville for second place in the conference standings, trailing only unbeaten Angelo State. Eastern New Mexico dropped to 1-9 on the year.
How It Happened: Tanner Roach reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the first for the Patriots, and he scored on Jordan Gochenour's two-run home run with two outs in the first to take an early 2-0 lead. Roach added a three-run home run to left with two outs in the bottom of the second, extending the early advantage to 5-0.
Roach hit a one-out triple in the fifth inning, sparking a three-run rally which gave the Patriots an 8-0 lead. Roach scored on a wild pickoff throw to third base, and Bowie Farris hit an RBI double before Jeffrey Padavick brought Farris home with a sacrifice fly which gave UT Tyler an 8-0 lead.
Eastern New Mexico scored its only run of the game in the seventh, scoring on Alex Kuhn's one-out bases-loaded single to right field. Josh Garza entered the game at that point with the bases loaded, and the next batter flied out to center, where Cody Windisch threw out the runner trying to score from third base for the inning-ending double play. The Patriots got the run back in the bottom of the seventh on Padavick's one-out RBI single which extended the lead to 9-1.
Jacob Blatney erased baserunners in the first and second innings with double-play grounders up the middle, and he turned in 6 shutout innings, scattering 3 hits and a pair of walks with 4 strikeouts to pick up the win and improve to 2-0 on the year. Josh Garza and Zach Fernandez each provided 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Tanner Roach went 2-for-5 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs to lead the offense, and Jordan Gochenour went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs.
Inside The Box Score: Bowie Farris ran his season-opening hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI double in the fifth inning… Jordan Gochenour's 2-for-3 performance extended his hitting streak to 9 games and was his team-leading sixth multi-hit game of the season… UT Tyler has scored first in 9 of 10 games this season, and the Patriots have scored in the first inning in 6 of 10 contests… In the series, Patriot pitchers registered 47 strikeouts in 32 innings of work, surrendering 17 hits and 11 walks with a 2.25 team ERA during the four-game series… The UT Tyler offense did not strike out in Sunday's series finale, and the Patriots produced a team batting average of .302 in the series… Gochenour batted .500 (6-for-12) in the series with 4 extra-base hits (2 doubles, 2 home runs) and 4 walks.
What's Next: UT Tyler heads back out on the road, taking on Oklahoma Christian University in a four-game Lone Star Conference series which begins with a single game on Friday, Feb. 21, at 2 p.m. The teams will play a Saturday, Feb. 22 doubleheader at 1 p.m. and the series will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 1 p.m.
Quotable: Tanner Roach, Jacob Blatney
