TYLER, Texas -- Serena Saldivar's second walkoff home run of the season put the exclamation point on a 2-1, 3-2 doubleheader sweep over #16-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce Friday night, as #3-ranked UT Tyler opened its Lone Star Conference schedule with a pair of impressive wins.
Although the Lions generated more hits than the Patriots in both games of the doubleheader, both games turned on big swings at the plate from UT Tyler's offense. Ashley Perez broke a scoreless tie in the opener with a fourth-inning solo home run, and Kylie Brown hit a two-out, two-run home run in the fifth inning of the nightcap to set up Saldivar's walkoff heroics in the bottom of the seventh.
Payton Foster and Sarah Gartman delivered strong starts in the pitching circle, and Miranda Leal closed out both games with a combined 3.1 innings of relief.
With the sweep, UT Tyler improved to 14-0 overall and 2-0 in the Lone Star Conference, while Texas A&M-Commerce dropped to 11-6 overall, 2-2 in the LSC.
How It Happened (Game 1): Ashley Perez broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with a leadoff solo home run to straightaway center field to give UT Tyler a 1-0 lead. Later that inning, Haleigh Swinney beat out a bases-loaded infield single on a slow roller back to the pitcher, bringing in another run after the Patriots loaded the bases, all with two outs.
Payton Foster delivered five scoreless innings to start the game, allowing just three baserunners in the first five innings. After the first two Texas A&M-Commerce batters in the sixth reached on a single and a walk, Miranda Leal entered the game in relief and retired three straight batters on groundouts to shortstop. The groundouts did produce one run, cutting the Patriots' lead to 2-1.
In the top of the seventh, Leal retired the first two batters by groundout, but the Lions got the next two on base by an error and an infield hit. With runners at first and second, Uxua Modrego hit a chopper to the left side of the circle and beat out Leal's throw to first for another infield hit. Ta'Lyn Moody rounded third, but Serena Saldivar's throw to the plate was on target, and catcher Ashley Perez applied the tag at home for the final out.
Ashley Perez finished the game 2-for-2 with her fourth home run of the season to lead the Patriots' offense. Uxua Modrego went 3-for-4 to lead the Lions. Payton Foster scattered one run on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks in five innings as she improved to 5-0 on the season. Miranda Leal notched her second save of the season, extending her program career saves record to 14.
How It Happened (Game 2): The second game started with three scoreless innings, but Texas A&M-Commerce took the early lead on a Madison Schaefer solo home run in the top of the fourth inning. UT Tyler got that run back plus another in the fifth inning, as Mak Dominguez collected a two-out single before Kylie Brown ripped a 2-1 pitch over the center field fence to give the Patriots a 2-1 advantage.
The Lions answered in the top of the sixth, when Alyssa LeBlanc tied the game at 2-2 with a two-out solo home run. Miranda Leal replaced Sarah Gartman in the circle for the final out of the sixth after Gartman scattered a pair of runs on five hits with seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Leal got out of the sixth with a groundout and notched another shutout frame in the seventh to five the Patriots a chance to walk off with a win in the bottom of the seventh.
UT Tyler's leadoff hitter in the bottom of the seventh was Serena Saldivar, who already had one Friday night walkoff home run this season in a 3-2 win over Arkansas-Monticello, and she delivered the victory with one swing again. She fouled off the first pitch, then drilled a solo home run over the fence in left-center to produce her second walkoff home run of the season and the Patriots' fourth victory in walkoff fashion this year.
A&M-Commerce pitcher Alyssa LeBlanc struck out 6 batters in 6 innings, surrendering three runs on three hits, and she also helped her cause at the plate, batting 2-for-3 with the game-tying home run in the sixth inning. Miranda Leal picked up the win, improving to 6-0 with 2 saves this season.
Inside The Box Score: Including two nonconference games earlier this year against Texas A&M International and Texas Woman's University, UT Tyler has been outhit in all four of its games against Lone Star Conference opponents this season… Haleigh Swinney's RBI single in the first game extended her hitting streak to 13 games before she was held without a hit for the first time this season in the second game… Serena Saldivar's season-opening hitting streak also ended at 12 games when she was held without a hit in the opener… UT Tyler scored first in the opener, but the Patriots rallied from a 2-1 deficit in game two to register their 10th come-from-behind win in 14 games this year.
What's Next: UT Tyler continues Lone Star Conference play by hosting Texas Woman's University on Sunday, March 1, at 2 p.m. The teams met previously this year in nonconference action, and the Patriots posted a 5-2 win in that meeting on Feb. 8.
Quotable (head coach Mike Reed): "We definitely were not surprised with the quality of Texas A&M-Commerce; we're familiar with their program over the years, and we knew coming in the challenge that awaited us. I'm proud of how the team answered that. There was some extra energy being in our first Lone Star Conference games, and you could definitely feel that, but I thought we responded to that with a couple of well-played, well-pitched games. To be in those moments and see how they responded; being able to get two wins at home to start our Lone Star journey makes me proud of this team."
"Those big swings are important when you're up against quality pitching like we saw tonight. It's hard to string a lot of hits together, so the home runs were big tonight. We didn't get discouraged, and I'm really proud of our pitching. We're throwing better, and to get that kind of pitching was a real bright spot today. As they get into a groove, you can see their confidence growing."
Quotable: sophomore RHP Payton Foster, senior 1B Serena Saldivar
