EDMOND, Okla. -- Oklahoma Christian picked up a three-game series sweep over No. 24-ranked UT Tyler with 11-6 and 8-4 wins in Sunday's doubleheader sweep of the Patriots.
Oklahoma Christian opened the doubleheader with an 11-6 win in Sunday's opening game of the doubleheader, as the Eagles scored in the bottom of the first and led by a 4-0 margin before UT Tyler got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the fifth inning.
The Patriots scored a pair of unearned runs in the fifth, scoring first on
Tommy Tolve's sacrifice bunt and adding another on
Riley Jepson's run-scoring groundout. Oklahoma Christian added a run in the bottom of the fifth on an infield single, extending the lead to 5-2, but
Lukas Polanco's 2-run blast in the top of the sixth inning cut the margin to 5-4.
Oklahoma Christian answered with a 5-run sixth, extending the lead to 10-4, and the Patriots didn't score again until
Jordan Gochenour's ninth-inning 2-run double.
A trio of Eagle pitchers limited UT Tyler to 7 hits in the contest, as Jacob Mattox went 5 innings with 7 strikeouts to earn the win, while Ty Dudley notched a 3-inning save. Patriot pitchers
Nick Niebur,
Judson Schaper,
Keith Long, and
Josh Garza combined for 12 strikeouts.
In the second game, UT Tyler jumped out to the early lead on
Riley Jepson's 2-run double in the second inning, and a
Lukas Polanco solo home run in the third. However, Oklahoma Christian responded with 1 run in the second and 2 more in the third to tie the game at 3-3.
Jepson's RBI single in the sixth inning broke the 3-3 tie, but the Eagles plated one more in the bottom of the sixth to keep the game tied at 4-4 heading into the late innings. UT Tyler loaded the bases in each of the final four frames, but the Patriots' lone run in those opportunities was Jepson's sixth-inning infield single.
Jepson went 3-for-4 to lead the Patriots' offense in the nightcap, and
Hayden Clearman added a 2-for-4 performance.
Nolan Cox allowed 4 runs on 6 hits while striking out 6, and
Matthew McMillan notched 3 strikeouts in a 2-inning relief appearance. The Patriots left 16 runners on base in the nightcap.
After the sweep, UT Tyler drops to 21-12 overall and 20-10 in the Lone Star Conference, while Oklahoma Christian improved to 21-10 overall and 18-9 in the LSC.
The Patriots return to action for their final non-conference midweek matchup of the season on Tuesday, April 20, with a visit to Southern Arkansas. UT Tyler hosts St. Mary's in a 3-game LSC series April 23-24, before wrapping up the season on the road with a 3-game series at Lubbock Christian (April 30-May 2).
