TYLER, TEXAS – The Patriots jumped out to an early lead in the contest, but a big two out grand slam in the top of the fifth inning gave the Hilltoppers what they needed to come away with the victory in game one against UT Tyler.
Dylan Blomquist got the start for UT Tyler just as he has in every opening game of each series this season. He worked quickly in the first, getting a pair of flyouts and a strikeout while allowing just one hit. He turned it over to the offense who managed to jump out to a quick lead after the first inning.
In the bottom half of the first,
Tanner Roach led off with a walk.
Riley Lambert lined out on a hard hit ball to shortstop, but in the shortstops attempt to double off Roach, the throw sailed into the dugout and Roach advanced to third on the error. An RBI groundout from
Tommy van de Sanden gave the Patriots the quick lead.
Blomquist kept the momentum rolling in the second and third innings. In the second, he got a leadoff groundout and after a walk, got the next two hitters out on a flyout and a strikeout. In the third, Blomquist gave up a leadoff single, but then got the next batter out on a popup to second base. He then forced the next hitter into an inning ending double play to keep the lead at 1-0.
The fourth inning provided the first run for St. Edward's in the contest. A pair of outs started the inning via flyout and groudout. After a pair of singles, runners were on first and third with two outs. Davis Drewek was the man on third, and he managed to steal home after Josh Graham got caught up in a rundown but made it back to first safely. That led to the Hilltoppers tying the contest, and the inning ended on a popup to first base.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Patriots had a good chance to break the tie immediately but were unable to take advantage. After a lineout to right field on a diving play by van de Sanden,
Kyle McShaffry doubled down the left field line to put a man in scoring position with one out.
Lukas Polanco then singled deep in the hole to shortstop to put two on the basepaths and put pressure on the St. Edward's defense. The next two hitters went down in order after a strikeout and a flyout and the rally was over.
The top of the fifth inning was where the Hilltoppers seized momentum in the contest. A leadoff single was followed by a flyout, but the third hitter of the inning was hit by a pitch and that put two on with one out. After inducing another flyout, Blomquist walked the next hitter to load the bases. That brought up Stacey Bailey, who drove a ball on the outside half of the plate over the right field wall and cleared the bases. That gave the Hilltoppers a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom half of the fifth.
The Patriots were able to put a runner on base in both the fifth and sixth innings, but were unable to move them past first. In the seventh,
Jordan Gochenour led off with a hit by pitch.
Ethan Bedgood singled up the middle, and
Cade Watson drove in Gochenour on an RBI single and cut the deficit down to 5-2. After Bedgood was caught stealing and
Hayden Clearman grounded out to second, Roach stepped up and delivered an RBI single to left field and the lead was cut in half.
In the eighth inning, the bats stayed hot for UT Tyler. McShaffry led off with a double and came around to score on an RBI single from Gochenour. That cut the lead down to just one as both teams headed for the top of the ninth inning.
With the momentum of the game swinging in the direction of the Patriots, St. Edward's had to come up with an answer. The leadoff hitter reached on a throwing error, and was moved to second by a sacrifice bunt. A popup to first gave the Patriots two outs in the inning, but the runner moved to third on a passed ball, and then scored after Jake Hahn reached by an error. That made the score 6-4 heading to the bottom of the ninth.
The Patriots needed a rally in the bottom of the ninth but came up just short. A leadoff popup was followed by a walk from Clearman, but Roach flew out to center field and suddenly the Patriots were down to their last out. Lambert ripped a single into right field to bring the winning run to the plate, but van de Sanden grounded into a fielder's choice and ended the game.
Kyle McShaffry and
Jordan Gochenour were the two Patriots hitters with multiple hits in the contest. McShaffry had a 2-for-4 outing and Gochenour went 2-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI, and a walk.
Dylan Blomquist moved to 2-1 on the season with the loss after going six innings and giving up five earned runs on seven hits.
A.J. Irvin made his first appearance of the season, going for a flawless two innings with no hits and four strikeouts.
Garrett Arredondo pitched the ninth inning and had no hits and no earned runs against him.
The Patriots will be back at Irwin Field tomorrow for a doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m. They will look to snap their four game losing skid as the series is still up for grabs. The second game will begin approximately 35 minutes after the conclusion of the first game, and the series is set to conclude on Sunday with a 1 p.m. start.
