TYLER, TEXAS - #10 UT Tyler swept #17 West Texas A&M to get their Lone Star Conference schedule started with 8-1 and 10-3 victories on Friday afternoon at Suddenlink Field.
The Patriots (8-4, 2-0 LSC) totaled 19 hits between the two games and struck out just four times as a team in the dominant wins over the previously undefeated Lady Buffs (12-2, 0-2 LSC).
Amanda Marek hit a pair of homeruns in the 8-1 opening victory for UT Tyler and was one of three Patriots alongside
Mak Dominguez and
Serena Saldivar to total four hits on the day.
Payton Foster picked up the win in that game one winner for the Patriots, allowing just four hits in her 7.0 innings of work. Foster totaled a season-high seven strikeouts in the outing and moved her season record to 3-2 on the year.
Marek homered in both the second and third inning in game number one to open up a 6-1 lead for the Patriots after three. She totaled five RBI in that contest thanks to a two-run homer in the second and a three-run homer in the third.
Serena Saldivar put an emphasis on the opening LSC victory for the Patriots with a two-RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to help lead the Patriots to nine hits in the opening victory.
UT Tyler reached double-digits in the hit column in game number two's 10-3 victory, once again jumping out to an early advantage with two runs in the first and three in the third. Marek opened up the scoring once again for the Patriots in the first with a two-RBI single to once again put UT Tyler in control early.
Dominguez, Saldivar and Marek all recorded two hits as the Patriot offense proved relentless against the Lady Buffs with five more runs in their final two trips to the plate in the fifth and sixth innings.
Erin Hill struck out six in the circle in that 10-3 win to close out the doubleheader sweep for the Patriots, going all 7.0 innings while allowing just three earned runs and conceding just a single walk.
The two wins gives the Patriots their second and third wins over Top-25 nationally-ranked opposition on the year and marked the fourth straight game for UT Tyler against a nationally-ranked foe.
The Patriots will look to remain perfect in Lone Star Conference play on Sunday afternoon with a doubleheader against Eastern New Mexico. First pitch for that doubleheader is schedule for 11 a.m.
