DATES: Feb. 12-13
TIME: Feb. 12 – 11 a.m. | Feb. 12 – 1 p.m. | Feb. 13 - 1 p.m.
OPPONENT: Texas A&M International  
LOCATION: Laredo, Texas | Jorge Haynes Field
PATRIOT'S RECORD: 1-2 (1-2 LSC)
DUSTDEVIL'S RECORD: 2-1 (2-1 LSC)
LIVE STATS LINK: https://godustdevils.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary


TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler baseball team will head to Laredo, Texas for a three-game series at Texas A&M International this weekend.
 
Game times are set for a Friday doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. and a Saturday single game at 1 p.m. as the Patriots enter the series with a record of 1-2 following last week's series against #3 Angelo State. UT Tyler picked up a huge win over the Rams last Saturday night in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth inning, and will meet a Texas A&M International squad that was selected to finish 12^th in the 2021 Lone Star Conference Preseason Baseball Poll.
 
OPENING WEEKEND
 
UT Tyler opened up their 2021 campaign last weekend at Irwin Field by welcoming preseason Lone Star Conference favorites and no. 3 nationally-ranked Angelo State. The Patriots plated the first run of the 2021 season before Angelo State responded with 10 runs over the final five innings to take the season opener with a 10-1 victory.
 
Austin Schneider toed the rubber for the first time in 2021 and kept one of the league's best offensive clubs at bay, going five innings while allowing just two earned runs, striking out seven Rams along the way. Schneider was ultimately credited with the loss despite the strong outing.
 
Jacob Blatney continued to work quality innings for the Patriots in game number two on Saturday night, going 5.2 innings as the starter, striking out nine. Blatney ran into trouble in the sixth inning with a 1-0 lead, as Riley Jepson put UT Tyler on the board in the bottom of the first inning for the second night in a row with a solo homer, allowing a run before Keith Long took over for Blatney and worked out of a bases-loaded jam.
 
Long got a quality bullpen effort for the Patriots started with that one out in the sixth inning as the Patriot's relievers shut down the Ram's offense, allowing just two hits in a combined 3.1 innings pitched. That effort held a 1-1 score all the way into a ninth inning in which Riley Lambert played the hero role for the Patriots, scoring Alex Bruce on an RBI walk-off single with two outs.
 
The exciting Saturday night finish did not translate into success for the Patriots in Sunday afternoon's series finale, as UT Tyler fell by a 15-1 final in seven innings.

TAKING THE POSITIVES AND MOVING FORWARD
 
UT Tyler will now shift their attention to the 2021 road opener with a Texas A&M International squad that finished the 2020 season with a record of 5-17 prior to the season's shutdown last March. The Dustdevils did take down UT Permian Basin in their 2021 season opening series two games to one, but will provide a far different challenge level than the Patriots #3 nationally-ranked opening opponent Angelo State.
 
Schneider and Blatney proved to be a formidable one-two punch as the first two starting options for the Patriots, giving up just three earned runs in over 10 innings of combined work. Both combined to strike out 16 batters for the weekend.
 
The Patriot's primary bullpen options also proved to be among the league's best as Long worked a quality set of middle innings prior to giving way to the setup-closer combination of A.J. Irvin and Matthew McMillan for the eighth and ninth innings. Those three arms gave up just two hits and proved to be effective even when inheriting runners on base.
 
The Patriot offense will need to get rolling in weekend number two against Texas A&M-International as UT Tyler will look to improve on a team batting average of .215 against a Dustdevil staff that will present far less firepower on the mound than Angelo State.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
 
This weekend's series will be the first ever meeting between UT Tyler and Texas A&M-International as the two club's did not meet in the shortened 2020 season.
 
SCOUTING THE DUSTDEVILS
 
Texas A&M International won both game two and three against UT Permian Basin on opening weekend to ride a two-game winning streak into this weekend's meeting with UT Tyler. Those 10-6 and 12-3 wins on Saturday and Sunday negated a 6-5 extra innings loss on Friday afternoon to take the series victory.
 
The Dustdevils pitching staff will enter this weekend with a 3.95 ERA, ranking fourth in the Lone Star Conference, allowing opponents to hit .239 off of them. Jerry Villareal was responsible for eight of the team's 23 RBI's against UT Permian Basin and posted a .538 batting average in the first weekend of action for the LSC.