MAGNOLIA, Ark. -- UT Tyler produced its highest scoring game in 5 years on Tuesday, as the NCAA Division II No. 24-ranked Patriots exploded for 20 runs in a 20-17 non-conference victory over Southern Arkansas.
 
Seven different players registered multiple hits, with five players recording multiple RBIs, and all 9 of UT Tyler's offensive starters scored at least 2 runs each as the Patriots scored 14 of their season-high 20 runs in a 3-inning stretch spanning the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. UT Tyler's last game with 20-plus runs was a 21-7 win over University of Dallas on Feb. 7, 2016.
 
Jordan Gochenour broke the school record for walks in a game with 5, adding a base hit to finish 1-for-2 with 5 walks in his 7 plate appearances. The Patriots had 4 extra-base hits among their 19 hits, collecting 15 singles along with 15 walks, which was the fourth-highest single-game team walk total in program history (the school record is 17, set in 2005).
 
Lukas Polanco had 2 of the Patriots' extra-base hits, finishing 2-for-6 with a team-high 5 RBIs on a 2-run double in the sixth inning and a 3-run home run in the seventh. Hayden Clearman added 4 RBIs in a 3-for-6 performance, and he was one of three Patriot hitters with 3 hits as Ethan Bedgood and Corbin Geisendorff each went 3-for-5.
 
The Patriots did the most damage during the sixth inning, scoring 7 runs to erase a 12-8 deficit and take the lead for good. UT Tyler sent 13 batters to the plate in the sixth inning, as the first 7 hitters of the frame all reached base safely. Corbin Geisendorff drove in the game-tying run with an RBI single through the right side, tying the score at 12-12, and Kyler Bumstead drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI groundout. Lukas Polanco's 2-run double to left pushed 2 more runs across to give UT Tyler a 15-12 lead.
 
The offense wasn't finished there after leaving the bases loaded in the sixth. The Patriots added 4 more in the seventh, starting the frame with consecutive singles from Hayden Clearman and Geisendorff. Bumstead plated one on a sacrifice fly, and Polanco added a 3-run opposite-field home run, the Patriots' only home run of the contest, to extend the lead to 19-12.
 
Southern Arkansas answered with 4 runs in the bottom of the seventh, pulling to within 3 runs a 19-16, and after a scoreless eighth inning, UT Tyler added an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Matthew McMillan finished things off, limiting Southern Arkansas to just a single run in the bottom of the ninth.
 
Kameron Wheeler was credited with the win, tossing 1.1 innings of relief during UT Tyler's offensive explosion in the middle innings. Judson Schaper added 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to finish off the seventh and eighth innings before McMillan took over in the ninth. The Patriots' pitching staff racked up 14 strikeouts in the contest, with Wheeler, Schaper, McMillan, and starting pitcher Johnnie Krawietz tallying 3 strikeouts each.
 
UT Tyler scored in 7 of 9 innings, and Southern Arkansas pushed runs across in 6 of the 9 innings. The only inning which both teams went scoreless was the eighth inning.
 
Southern Arkansas answered the Patriots' early 5-1 lead with 6 runs in the bottom of the third to take a 7-5 lead, and the Muleriders added another run in the fourth to make it 8-5. The Patriots responded with 3 runs, all with 2 outs, in the top of the fifth inning, but Southern Arkansas reclaimed the lead with 4 runs in the bottom of the fifth with Kobe Morris' 3-run blast making it a 12-8 edge for the host Muleriders.
 
That set up the Patriots' game-turning 7-run outburst in the sixth inning, and UT Tyler led the rest of the way.
 
With the win, UT Tyler improved to 22-12 overall while Southern Arkansas dropped to 21-10 as the programs split the 2-game season series with each picking up a road win to split the series.
 
The Patriots return to Lone Star Conference action for the final 6 games of the 2021 season, hosting St. Mary's for a 3-game series which begins Friday night at 6 p.m. The series concludes with a Saturday doubleheader, and UT Tyler will finish the season with a 3-game series on the road at Lubbock Christian.