TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler completed a 6-4 win in game number two and dominated Texas A&M International in a 13-3 win in game number three to complete the weekend series sweep.
 
Matthew McMillan retired all three batters that he faced in the bottom of the ninth inning in game number two that was suspended due to darkness on Friday and resumed prior to game number three on Saturday afternoon. The Patriots then wasted no time in compiling their third straight win immediately after that game, finishing with a 13-3 win in just seven innings to move to 4-2 on the season.
 
The Patriots scored eight runs in the second inning alone to negate a three-run bottom of the first inning from the Dustdevils to cruise to the series sweep. Riley Jepson hit his second homerun of the season in that second inning, a grand slam that broke the game open for the Patriots by a 6-3 margin and led Jepson to finishing with five RBI's for the afternoon.
 
Game three starter Jacob Blatney was solid for the Patriots once again, going five full innings while striking out five and conceding just a pair of earned runs. Blatney has worked 10.2 innings so far through his first two starts of 2021 and has posted a 2.53 ERA.
 
UT Tyler's three wins this weekend puts the club right back into position to make a charge back to the top of the conference standings as they welcome Texas A&M-Kingsville to Irwin Field next weekend for a three game homestand.
 
How it Happened: Texas A&M International plated three runs in the bottom of the first to jump out to a 3-0 lead in the series finale. That advantage wouldn't last long, however, as an eight-run bottom of the second for the Patriots set the tone for the remainder of the contest.
 
Hayden Clearman put the first run on the board after driving in Ethan Bedgood on an RBI single to right field with no outs. After a pop-up out by the Patriots to tally the first out of the inning, Tanner Roach was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and still just a single out to move the score to 3-2. Jepson's grand slam on the next at bat cleared the base paths and gave UT Tyler their first lead of the ballgame with a 6-3 advantage. Jordan Gochenour walked with two outs in the inning a few minutes later and came all the way around to score on a Bedgood double to right center. He would come around to score on the next at bat as Kyle McShaffry reached on an error, scoring Bedgood to complete the eight runs for the Patriots in the frame.
 
Jepson recorded his fifth RBI of the contest in the third with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Carson Cox, who advanced on a walk with one out. An Edward Ortiz walk and an ensuing stolen base put runners on second and third for Gochenour, who continued the offensive onslaught for the Patriots with a single to left field that scored both Roach and Ortiz to move the Patriot lead to 11-3.
 
UT Tyler would continue with their third straight frame with a run scored in the fourth on yet another fielding mistake for the Dustdevils. Roach cashed in Clearman, who hit a one-out double earlier in the inning, on a fielding error to move the score to 12-3. Bedgood would give the Patriots the ten-run advantage they needed to end the game in seven with a double down the right field line that scored Gochenour.
 
By the Numbers: UT Tyler had nine hits for the game, five of which were for extra bases… Roach, Gochenour and Bedgood all had multiple RBI's while Gochenour's five led the team… Bedgood and Clearman led UT Tyler with two hits… Four different Patriots crossed home plate twice… Edward Ortiz had two stolen bases… Bedgood had two doubles… Nathan Holmes went two full innings and gave up just a single hit, issuing no walks and striking out two… Holmes hasn't conceded a single run in his two appearances of relief this season.
 
Up Next: UT Tyler is set to host Texas A&M-Kingsville on Feb. 19-21 for a series set for a single game each day. Game times for those contests will be Friday at 7:00, Saturday at 6:00 and Sunday at 1:00.