TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler leaned on a pair of gritty pitching performances in the circle from Payton Foster and Erin Hill to reclaim a two-game advantage in the Lone Star Conference standings with 2-1 and 3-0 wins over St. Mary's on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Foster and Hill combined to strike out 14 St. Mary's batters in the two games, while Hill tossed a complete game shutout in game number two after picking up the save in relief of Foster in game one. The wins in a rescheduled doubleheader against the Rattlers put UT Tyler two games clear of #10 Oklahoma Christian with a record of 23-1 in league play heading into a showdown in Edmond, Okla. with the Eagles on Friday afternoon.
 
UT Tyler needed just eight hits between the two games to plate the five runs on the day. Foster went 6.1 innings in game one, allowing just a single earned run on seven hits.
 
She worked around a bases loaded situation with just one out in the top of the fourth in that 2-1 game one win for the Patriots, retiring the final two Rattler batters of the inning after a leadoff double and a one-out single loaded the bases. St. Mary's continued to pressure Foster in the ensuing inning, scoring the lone run of the day with an RBI single to jump out to a 1-0 lead.
 
UT Tyler immediately responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame to flip the one-run deficit into a 2-1 advantage. Shae Harris finally put the first hit on the board for the Patriot offense with a one-out single, and then stole second to get the first Patriot in scoring position on the afternoon.
 
Mak Dominguez made the opportunity count with an infield single that scored Harris on the throw in and advanced herself and Tristin Anders over to second and third on the throw. Shelby Houston scored Anders on the next at bat with a sacrifice fly to right field to put the Patriots up 2-1.
 
A pair of singles to start off the top of the sixth for St. Mary's threatened to make it three innings in a row with a run after neither offense managed to plate any runs through four complete innings. A sac bunt from the Rattlers on the ensuing at bat moved the runners over to second and third, before a game-changing fly out to rightfield for the second out of the inning proved harmless as the Rattler runner at third base was called out for leaving early attempting to come home.
 
That out ended the threat for Foster and the Patriots and proved to be the difference maker in the ball game. St. Mary's looked to rebound from that mistake at third with a leadoff single in the seventh, but couldn't manage to plate the tying run after Hill came on in relief with one out and retired the final two St. Mary's batters.
 
Hill worked around a single in each of the first three frames of game number two for the Rattlers without conceding a run, and finally got some offensive support from her comrades with a Courtney Plocheck solo homer to dead center in the bottom half of the third. That homer broke the scoreless tie and started a string of three innings for the Patriots in which they generated a run.
 
Avery Farr got the second of those three runs on the board with her second hit of the afternoon in the fourth, scoring Haleigh Swinney with two outs to move the lead to 2-0. UT Tyler then capped off their scoring in game two by generating their own run as Hanna Fradkin came home on a double steal in the fifth.
 
Hill once again stood strong despite singles in the sixth and seventh, keeping the shutout in tact to give the Patriots their eighth straight win with the 3-0 victory. Hill struck out nine in her seven full innings of work, stranding all five Rattlers that produced singles throughout the contest against her.
 
The pair of wins in the final home doubleheader of the 2021 season for the Patriots will now set up a crucial final three series against #10 Oklahoma Christian, Cameron and #6 Texas A&M-Commerce to close out the 2021 season. UT Tyler is not eligible to compete in the 2021 LSC Softball Championship Tournament as the school hopefully finishes up the final year of the Division II transition period, but will be eligible to claim the 2021 Lone Star Conference Regular Season Title.
 
The quest for that title will begin Friday afternoon in Edmond, Okla. with a meeting between first-place UT Tyler and second-place Oklahoma Christian beginning at 4 p.m.