EDMOND, Okla. -- Five different players hit solo home runs to lead UT Tyler to a series-opening 10-7 win over Oklahoma Christian Friday afternoon.

The Patriots erased Oklahoma Christian's 2-1 lead in the fifth inning with back-to-back solo shots from Riley Jepson and Bowie Farris, and a three-homer inning in the seventh broke a 5-5 tie to give UT Tyler the lead for good. Tanner Roach hit a leadoff home run in the top of the seventh for a 6-5 edge, and Jordan Gochenour and Lukas Polanco hit back-to-back two-out solo shots later in the seventh to extend the lead to 8-5.

Oklahoma Christian got two runs back in the bottom of the seventh, cutting the lead to 8-7, but the Patriots picked up insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings as Matthew McMillan finished off the game with two perfect innings to claim his third save of the season.

With the win, UT Tyler improves to 10-1 overall and in the Lone Star Conference. The Patriots moved into sole possession of second place in the conference standings, trailing unbeaten Angelo State. Oklahoma Christian dropped to 3-8 on the year.

How It Happened: Oklahoma Christian third baseman Grant Lake gave the Eagles an early 1-0 lead against senior RHP Austin Schneider with a two-out solo home run. Jordan Gochenour drew a leadoff walk in the top of the second and came around to score the tying run on Corbin Geisendorff's two-out single to left.

Oklahoma Christian edge back in front, 2-1, in the bottom of the fourth inning after capitalizing on Michael DiFiore's leadoff double with a sacrifice fly. Again, the Patriots answered in their next turn at bat, as Riley Jepson and Bowie Farris hit back-to-back solo home runs off the Eagles' lefthander Gabe Rodery.

UT Tyler added two runs in the sixth, extending the lead to 5-2 on another Geisendorff RBI single, and later, a rundown that allowed Geisendorff to score from third. Oklahoma Christian tied the game in the bottom of the sixth with a three-run frame, but the Patriots took the lead for good in the seventh. Tanner Roach led off the seventh with his second home run of the season, and with two outs in the seventh Jordan Gochenour and Lukas Polanco went back-to-back to give the Patriots an 8-5 lead.

Errett Edwards hit a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the seventh, cutting the lead to 8-7, but Zach Fernandez got the final out of the frame to strand the potential tying run in scoring position. UT Tyler pushed across an unearned run in the eighth inning on an Oklahoma Christian error, and Kyle McShaffry hit a leadoff single in the ninth and later scored when Cade Watson got hung up between second and third after a groundout to give the Patriots a three-run cushion.

Matthew McMillan entered the game with two runners on base and no outs in the bottom of the eighth, but he immediately induced a pair of infield groundouts before notching an inning-ending strikeout, and he slammed the door with a perfect ninth inning to preserve the victory.

Inside The Box Score: Bowie Farris' first home run of the season extended his hitting streak to 11 games… Jordan Gochenour's solo homer gave him a 10-game hitting streak… Oklahoma Christian's early score was the first run allowed by the Patriots in the first inning all season… UT Tyler pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts, its 10th time in 11 games with double-digit strikeouts as a pitching staff… After starting the season without a home run in the first four games, the Patriots have homered in seven consecutive games.

What's Next: UT Tyler continues the four-game Lone Star Conference series at Oklahoma Christian with a pair of seven-inning games in a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m. before wrapping up the series on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 1 p.m.

Quotable (UT Tyler head coach Brent Porche): "When you play in Oklahoma with the wind blowing hard out, you can expect a lot of runs to be scored. Our offense did a phenomenal job taking advantage of opportunities and driving the baseball. Their starter (Rodery) is a great pitcher; he throws a ton of strikes and mixed his pitches well. Our guys did a great job of having good at-bats and getting his pitch count upon some innings and taking advantage the second and third time through the order. Then we were able to some damage when they went to the bullpen."

"On the flip side, from the pitching standpoint, you can expect to give up some runs in those conditions. We got great performances out of the bullpen from Max Page and Matthew McMillan, and overall it was a great team win. We have a lot of room to keep progressing and getting better, so we just need to get ready to go out tomorrow and do it again."