TYLER, Texas -- UT Tyler landed its most impressive win of its season-opening winning streak with a 17-15 victory over No. 23-ranked Arkansas Tech before claiming a 5-2 win over Texas Woman's University to remain unbeaten through nine games to start the 2020 campaign.
The Patriots, who are in their first season of NCAA Division II provisional membership, answered Arkansas Tech's four-run first inning with a six-run second, just the first of five lead changes in the 3-hour, 5-minute battle. When the dust settled, UT Tyler's seven-run sixth inning provided enough cushion to survive another three-run Arkansas Tech rally in the seventh before closing out the 17-15 victory.
Serena Saldivar provided the early fireworks, blasting a grand slam in the second inning to cap a six-run frame which erased the Golden Suns' early 4-0 lead. Kylie Brown and Tristin Anders each homered to highlight the Patriots' seven-run outburst in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead for good as UT Tyler produced 17 runs on 16 hits to pick up the win.
After UT Tyler burned through six pitchers in order to survive its extended battle with Arkansas Tech, starting pitcher Whitney Romero delivered a seven-strikeout performance to pick up the win with 5.1 innings of work in the 5-2 win over Texas Woman's University. Miranda Leal, who claimed the win in relief against Arkansas Tech, added a save with 1.2 scoreless innings of relief to close out the victory over TWU.
UT Tyler improved to 9-0 on the season with Saturday's victories, while Arkansas Tech dropped to 3-5 overall and Texas Woman's is now 3-6.
How It Happened (UT Tyler def. #23 Arkansas Tech, 17-15): Arkansas Tech made some early noise when Ashton Sangster led off the game with a solo home run on the second pitch of the contest, and Brooke Prewitt kept the pressure on with a three-run shot later in the first to give the Golden Suns a 4-0 lead.
It didn't take long for the Patriots to answer, as Kylie Brown opened the scoring with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly before Tristin Anders drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs to plate another run. Serena Saldivar, fresh off a dramatic walkoff home run in a victory over Arkansas-Monticello Friday night, delivered an opposite-field blast on a 1-1 pitch to give UT Tyler a 6-4 lead after the grand slam. Kylie Brown's two-out RBI single in the third extended the lead to 7-4, but Arkansas Tech promptly loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fourth. A wild pitch scored one run, and a walk loaded the bases for Paty Laredo, who smashed an 0-2 pitch down the left field line for a grand slam and a 9-7 lead in the fourth inning.
The Patriots tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth, and they scored again in the bottom of the fifth with a double steal that flipped the lead back into UT Tyler's hands, 10-9. Makenzie Goins hit a two-run double to right, and Prewitt brought Goins home with a double down the left field line to give Arkansas Tech a 12-10 lead. The first five UT Tyler hitters in the bottom of the sixth inning reached safely, as Mak Dominguez hit an RBI double before Shea Smith's grounder to the pitcher yielded another run on the fielder's choice to tie the game at 12-12. Kylie Brown delivered a 3-run home run to left to break the 12-12 tie, and Tristin Anders added a solo shot to straightaway center, extending the lead to 16-12. Dominguez added an RBI single, her second run-producing hit of the inning, as 12 batters came to the plate in a seven-run sixth inning to give UT Tyler a 17-12 lead heading into the seventh.
Sangster kept the Golden Suns alive with an RBI double that cut the lead to 17-13, and Laredo drew a bases-loaded walk which trimmed another run off the Patriots' lead with no outs in the top of the seventh. Katy Burris struck out Goins and Prewitt, both on called third strikes, before Mendoza drew another bases-loaded walk which cut the lead to 17-15. However, Burris got Tymber Riley to line out to right to end the game and preserve the Patriots' eighth consecutive win.
All nine of UT Tyler's offensive starters collected a hit, with Kylie Brown finishing 3-for-3 with 5 RBIs while Mak Dominguez went 3-for-4 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs. Payton Foster delivered the longest outing of the Patriots' six pitchers, lasting 3 innings. Miranda Leal picked up the win in relief by getting the final two outs of the sixth inning before UT Tyler took the lead for good, and Katy Burris notched the save with a pair of strikeouts after entering the game trying to protect a four-run lead with the bases loaded with no outs.
How It Happened (UT Tyler def. Texas Woman's, 5-2): Whitney Romero put three zeroes up on the board to start the game, giving her offense time to generate a 3-0 lead before Texas Woman's scored its only runs of the game in the top of the fourth. Serena Saldivar hit a one-out RBI single in the bottom of the first to bring the first run across, and a TWU error allowed another run to score to give UT Tyler a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, another TWU error allowed Dominguez to score from third, giving the Patriots a valuable insurance run as they extended the lead to 3-0. Texas Woman's University cut the lead to 3-2 in the top of the fourth inning with a couple of two-out run-producing hits. Paige Tamayo hit an RBI double, and Sydney Johnson added an RBI single, although she was thrown out trying to advance to second for the final out of the inning.
That was all the lead Romero needed, as she delivered another shutout frame in the fifth before turning the game over to Miranda Leal with one on and one out in the top of the sixth. Texas Woman's did not hit a ball out of the infield against Leal, who surrendered an infield single before notching four consecutive groundouts and a game-ending strikeout to preserve the victory. Romero notched the win, the first decision by a UT Tyler starting pitcher this season, scattering 2 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks with 7 strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
Inside The Box Score: Whitney Romero's victory was the first pitching decision recorded by a UT Tyler starting pitcher this season after the first eight victories were credited to relief pitchers… Miranda Leal improved to 4-0 with her fourth relief win against Arkansas Tech, and she posted her first save of the season against Texas Woman's… Leal already owns the program's career saves record with 12 saves in her first three seasons, and she extended her mark to 13 career saves with Saturday's decision… Kylie Brown became the fifth different UT Tyler hitter with a home run this season.
What's Next: UT Tyler wraps up the TAMUC/UT Tyler Invitational on Sunday, hosting a neutral-site contest at 10 a.m. between #14 Southern Arkansas and Texas Woman's University before the Patriots take on Southern Arkansas at 12:15 p.m. in the final game of the three-day tournament.
