CANYON, TEXAS – The Patriots took control of the game with a momentum-swinging nine run fourth inning and never looked back as they handed #2 West Texas A&M their first loss of the season and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
 
UT Tyler showed no signs of the bats cooling off from the big 8-1 victory on Monday against St. Edward's as they jumped on the Buffs in the first half of the contest tonight.
 
The top of the first inning saw back to back singles from Tanner Roach and Kyle McShaffry and then a walk from Ethan Bedgood load the bases with just one out. That brought up Jordan Gochenour, who was able to reach on a fielder's choice and drive in the first run of the game.
 
That one run first inning gave starter Dylan Blomquist the run support every pitcher craves as he hit the field and shut down a hot scoring offense in the bottom of the inning. Blomquist was able to get a pair of flyouts to right field before surrendering a walk, but allowed no damage as he struck out the next hitter swinging.
 
A three up, three down second inning kept things moving for Blomquist but the #2 West Texas A&M bats couldn't be held quiet for long. They jumped out to the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third. After the first two hitters reached base, a bad throw on a pickoff attempt moved the runners into scoring position, and a double from Eddy Savoie drove in two runs. A pair of singles scored another run, and the Buffs were up to three runs after the third inning.
 
The Patriots have been a resilient team throughout the season, and they showed that yet again as they responded to a big third inning by the Buffs. Lukas Polanco got the fourth inning rally started with a solo homer to left center field. Cade Watson followed with a double, and Hayden Clearman walked his way on base. Riley Lambert dropped in a bunt single, and the bases were loaded with no outs.
 
After Roach went down swinging, McShaffry stepped up and drilled an opposite field shot right down the left field line that just slipped over the wall and cleared the bases for a grand slam to slingshot the Patriots right back into the lead.
 
With just one out in the inning, Bedgood kept the rally going with a double into left center field. Gochenour was able to move him to third with a sacrifice fly, and Tommy van de Sanden ripped a double into the right center field gap and scored another. With the offense batting around, Polanco stepped back in, and was able to reach via an error and drove in yet another run. After a Watson walk, Clearman stepped up for the second time in the inning and doubled down the left field line to drive in two more runs to stretch game out to 10-3 in favor of the Patriots.
 
With the big run support behind him, Blomquist came right back out in the bottom of the fourth and shut down the threat from the Buffs. In the fifth inning, #2 West Texas A&M grounded into a pair of fielder's choices before loading the bases with two outs. Blomquist answered the call however, inducing a flyout and ending the scoring threat.
 
The Buffs managed to keep putting pressure on the Patriots, this time scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Johnnie Krawietz took over for Blomquist, but after a pair of walks he was pulled for Mitchell Lee. Lee got to work with a strikeout, but a wild pitch and a walk loaded the bases.
 
A pair of singles drove in all three runs for the Buffs in the inning, and after a lineout to center field the inning was done with the score now 10-6.
 
With the Buffs gaining momentum and looking to make a comeback, the Patriots turned to A.J. Irvin to shut down the offense, and that is exactly what he did. Irvin worked a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh, and allowed just one man to reach base in the eighth while also striking out a pair of hitters.
 
In the ninth inning, Bedgood struck again, this time with a late home run to left center field to give Irvin more run support in order to shut down the game. A Buffs home run in the bottom of the inning tried to spark a two out rally, but Irvin closed out the game with a popout.
 
Four different hitters had multi-hit games for UT Tyler, and two Patriots hitters had three-hit games. Kyle McShaffry led the way with a 3-for-6 outing with four RBI's and a run scored. Ethan Bedgood went 3-for-5 with two runs, an RBI, and two extra base hits.
 
Dylan Blomquist got the win in tonight's game after going five innings while giving up two earned runs, four walks, and getting three strikeouts while allowing five hits. A.J. Irvin gets his first save of the season after going three innings and giving up only one run while striking out five hitters.
 
The Patriots will return to battle tomorrow afternoon as they take on #2 West Texas A&M in a doubleheader. Game one is set to begin at 4 p.m. with game two starting approximately 35 minutes after game one concludes. Following the doubleheader, both teams will conclude the series with a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday afternoon.