LAWTON, OKLA. – UT Tyler Baseball got their series against Cameron started on the right foot with a decisive 7-1 victory on Friday evening with a balanced effort that saw strong pitching and timely hitting.
Dylan Blomquist got the start tonight just as he has in the first game of each series so far this season. After allowing a walk to leadoff the contest, Blomquist dug in and shut down the Aggies bats in the first inning by not allowing a runner to reach second. In the second inning, Blomquist quickly shut down the lineup in order with a groundout and two strikeouts.
The Patriots didn't wait long to give their left hander some run support. After a flyout to left field,
Jordan Gochenour doubled to deep left field to put a runner in scoring position. That brought up
Cade Watson, who came up clutch with a big single to right field to drive home Gochenour and give the Patriots the lead.
In the third, Blomquist returned to the mound and gave up a leadoff walk followed by a single, but let the defense behind him get to work with a double play to get two outs. A strikeout ending the inning and the threat from Cameron.
The only run the Aggies scored on the night came in the fourth inning. A leadoff single was followed by a triple to deep right field to drive in their only run. With a runner on third with no outs, Blomquist dug deep and sat the next three hitters down in order and ended the threat with the score tied 1-1.
Over the next two innings, Blomquist was nearly flawless as just two hitters reached base for the Aggies. That led to the top of the seventh, where the Patriots were able to score two more runs and regain the lead. A pair of singles from Gochenour and
Hayden Clearman put two runners on, and after a passed ball moved the runners up,
Tanner Roach reached on an error to score one runner. A wild pitch during the next batters at-bat scored another, and the Patriots were up 3-1.
After a pair of singles and a strikeout,
Easton Malin came on in relief for Blomquist. Malin set the next two hitters down in order and moved the Patriots to the eighth. Malin came right back out in the eighth and set the Aggies right back to the dugout in the order that they came as he got a strikeout and two straight groundouts to first base to end the inning.
A single from Clearman and a walk from
Carson Cox put two runners on in the top of the ninth as the Patriots looked to stretch the lead.
Edward Ortiz was called in to pinch hit, and reached on an error that scored Clearman from second and moved Cox to third.
Another walk loaded the bases for
Tommy van de Sanden, who came up clutch with a single to center to score another run.
Kyle McShaffry then stepped to the plate and delivered a sacrifice fly to center to score another run to make it 6-1. With runners on the corners, the Patriots put the double steal on, and it worked to perfection as van de Sanden was able to score on the throw to second.
After a striking out the leadoff hitter, Malin handed the ball over to
A.J. Irvin to finish off the final two outs. Irvin sat the first hitter down with a strikeout, and then gave up a single, but earned the final out of the game with a groundout to shortstop.
Jordan Gochenour and
Hayden Clearman were the two Patriots hitters with multiple hits on the night, but Watson, Roach, van de Sanden, and McShaffry each collected an RBI. Gochenour and Clearman each went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Dylan Blomquist picked up the victory on the night after going 6.1 innings and giving up just five hits and one earned run. Blomquist also struck out nine of the 27 batters he faced.
Easton Malin and
A.J. Irvin combined for 2.2 innings of relief while giving up just one hit and striking out four hitters between them.
UT Tyler will be back at it tomorrow afternoon for doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m. Game two of the doubleheader will begin approximately 35 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
