TYLER, TEXAS – It was a tale of two contests for UT Tyler and UT Permian Basin on Saturday afternoon as both programs split the doubleheader in the four game series.
 
Nick Niebur got the ball to start the first game of the day and went to work with two strikeouts and a lineout while giving up just one walk in the top of the first. That gave the offense a chance to get themselves going, but could not take advantage of a Tommy van de Sanden triple and the score remained 0-0.
 
In the second inning, the Falcons began to unsettle Niebur. After a single and a strikeout, UT Permian Basin followed with a walk and a hit by pitch to load the bases with just one out. However, Niebur got himself out of the jam with a popout to catcher and a groundout to shortstop to end the inning with no damage done.
 
In the bottom of the second, it took just two hitters for the Patriots to take the first lead of the game. Jordan Gochenour led off the inning with a single to right field, and that brought up Lukas Polanco for the first time in the game. He stepped in and deposited a pitch deep over the left center field wall for a two run home run and a 2-0 lead for UT Tyler.
 
After he got out of a tight jam in the second, Niebur went back to work in the third, and worked around a leadoff double and a walk to retire the next three hitters in order and end the inning. In the fourth, he started the inning with a strikeout, but a single and a walk forced coach Brent Porche to go to the bullpen with Easton Malin.
 
Malin induced a fielder's choice, but after a stolen base the Falcons had two runners in scoring position with two outs. A single in the next at-bat plated both runs, and after another single Malin was able to strike out the final hitter of the inning after allowing two runs.
 
In the bottom half of the fourth, the Patriots saw their first two hitters of the inning go down quickly. That brought in Dylan Blomquist to the box, and he laced a double to right center to put a runner in scoring position. Carson Cox came through with a clutch single, and gave the Patriots the lead.
 
Malin worked quickly in the fifth, giving up just one walk while striking out two hitters and inducing a popup. Mitchell Lee came in to the game in the sixth inning for Malin, and after a leadoff single, got a huge ground ball double play to allow no damage done.
 
A.J. Irvin stepped onto the mound in the seventh inning as he looked for his fourth save of the season. Irvin got the first hitter of the inning to fly out to center, and then allowed a single. Irvin dug in and struck out the next hitter, and Cade Watson threw out the runner trying to steal and ended the game.
 
Lukas Polanco was the only Patriot with a multi-hit game in the early contest after going 2-for-3. Polanco had the big hit of the game with his second inning home run and led the Patriots with two RBI's.
 
Easton Malin got the win after going 1.2 innings while allowing just two hits and one walk. Malin struck out three in the game while holding the Falcons in check.
 
A.J. Irvin earned his fourth save of the season after pitching the seventh inning and allowing just one hit while also striking out one hitter.
 
GAME TWO
 
Game two saw a slightly different contest than the first two games of the series as the Falcons jumped on top quickly for their first lead of the series. Garrett Arredondo got the start for UT Tyler and gave up a pair of singles and a walk to the first three hitters of the game. The next hitter flew out to center for a deep sacrifice fly to plate the first run, and two more singles plated two more runs to make it 3-0 after one half inning.
 
In the bottom half of the first, the Patriots struck back after a leadoff double from Riley Lambert. Lambert moved to third on a single from van de Sanden, and then scored on an RBI fielder's choice from Kyle McShaffry.
 
In the second inning, the Falcons went back to work, and chased Arredondo from the game after a walk and a single. Porche turned to Hayden Collins, who gave up a single to right field that scored another run. Collins responded quickly, and struck out the final two hitters of the inning to limit the damage to just one.
 
Collins came back out for the third, and after a hit by pitch, sat down the next two batters with a flyout and a strikeout. Another single from the Falcons put two runners on with two outs, but Collins induced a popout to shortstop and ended any threat.
 
In the fourth, the Falcons managed to put another runner on second with two outs, but Collins struck out the last hitter of the inning and put the Patriots back in action.
 
A.J. Yamaguchi came to the mound in the fifth inning for UT Tyler but was lifted quickly after a double followed by two walks. Porche turned to Nick Oslovar to stem the Falcons offense. Another sacrifice fly scored a run, and a single to shortstop reloaded the bases. Another single scored one run, and a groudout to second scored the seventh run of the game for UT Permian Basin.
 
The Patriots offense could not quite get anything going in the game, as they managed just four baserunners from the second to the fifth inning. One of those reached on an error, one hit by pitch, a walk, and a single, but the Patriots could not break the seal created by the Falcons pitching.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, the Patriots needed a last gasp effort to keep the contest rolling but managed just one run on one hit in the inning. That gave the Falcons their first win of the series by a score of 7-2.
 
Tommy van de Sanden and Carson Cox each totaled two hits in the nightcap to lead the Patriots. Van de Sanden went 2-for-4, and Cox went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
 
Garrett Arredondo got the loss on the night and falls to 1-3 on the year. He gave up five hits and four earned runs over 1.1 innings pitched while also allowing two walks and three strikeouts.  
 
Next up for UT Tyler will be the final game of the four game series against UT Permian Basin on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. as the Patriots will look to win their second consecutive series.