LAWTON, OKLA. – The University of Texas at Tyler baseball program kept the bats hot as they scored their most runs in a game since April 20, 2021 and broke out the brooms for their first sweep of 2022.
 
Neither team jumped on the board through the first inning, and it was UT Tyler who struck first, scoring two runs in the top of the second. After a walk and a double from Lukas Polanco, a sacrifice fly from Cade Watson and a Carson Cox single drove in the two runs and gave the Patriots the lead.
 
Nolan Cox was the man with the ball for the Patriots, and looked strong through two innings, giving the Patriots offense the chance to go to work and continue to build a lead. In the third inning, Tommy van de Sanden led off with a triple, and Kyle McShaffry drove him home with an RBI sacrifice fly to score another run.
 
In the bottom half of the inning, the Aggies struck back. A leadoff double put pressure on Cox, and Cameron was on the board after an RBI single. After a walk, Dominic Arellano drove a ball deep to left center field and over the wall for a three run home run to give Cameron the 4-3 lead.
 
Just as they did in both games on Saturday, the Patriots responded to Aggies runs with runs of their own in the next half inning. A steal from Tanner Roach forced an error by the catcher, and Watson was able to score and tie the game. A single from van de Sanden forced an errant throw by the third baseman, and Roach and van de Sanden were able to come all the way around and score after the throw from the right fielder bounced out of play. That make it 6-4 in favor of UT Tyler after the top of the fourth.
 
The scoring ceased until the bottom of the fifth, where Easton Malin took over for Cox on the mound. After a hit by pitch was charged to Cox, Jordan Harrison-Dudley doubled down the left field line and put two runners in scoring position. The next hitter smoked a two-RBI single to left, and the score was tied.
 
The bottom of the sixth saw the Aggies take their second lead of the game as they scored four runs in the frame. A single up the middle scored the first run of the inning, and the next two runs scored on two different wild pitches. The 10^th run of the game for Cameron came off of a double to left center, and the lead was now four in favor of the Aggies.
 
Responding to runs was the story of the series, and the Patriots did it again in the top of the seventh. A leadoff double from Polanco led to a Cox single to center field to score one. Van de Sanden struck again as he reached on an error and Cox was able to score from second to pull UT Tyler within two.
 
In the bottom half of the inning, a leadoff home run to left field extended the lead to three for Cameron, and the Patriots would have to continue to battle from behind.
 
In the eighth inning, the Patroits offense hit their stride, scoring six runs in the inning to retake the lead. A wild pitch scored Jordan Gochenour to start the scoring, and a double from van de Sanden cleared the bases for three more runs and regained the lead for UT Tyler. McShaffry stepped in and delivered a single to center to score van de Sanden, and he scored as Ethan Bedgood reached on a throwing error.
 
In the bottom half, A.J. Irvin stepped in and shut down the Cameron bats and kept the lead at three as the Patriots went back to work in the ninth to try and close out the game. After a single and a walk from Watson and Cox, Roach doubled both of them home to extend the lead. A hit by pitch and a walk loaded the bases again, and McShaffry jumped all over the pitch and homered to left field for a grand slam and the final four runs of the game for UT Tyler.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, Cameron needed nine runs to extend the game and tried to start a rally. The Aggies scored three runs, but ultimately did not come up with the nine necessary runs to continue playing and the Patriots took home the series sweep.
 
Six different Patriots hitters had multi-hit games in the contest. Kyle McShaffry and Cade Watson each collected a team-high four hits as they both went 4-for-5 on the day. Watson scored three runs and drove in another, while McShaffry scored two and drove in six.
 
Mitchell Lee collected the win for his first of the season as he pitched 1.1 innings in a crucial moment in the game. He gave up just one earned run on two hits while striking out two hitters and allowing just one walk.
 
Next up for UT Tyler will be a return to Irwin Field at the UT Tyler Ballpark as they will host UT Permian Basin for a four game series. The series will also double as the annual Alumni Weekend for the Patriots as all baseball alumni are encouraged to attend.
 
Game one of the series will be on Friday, March 25 at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the two programs will take part in a doubleheader with first pitch of game one at approximately 3 p.m. and game two will begin approximately 35 minutes after game one ends. The series finale will take place on Sunday, March 27 with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.