TYLER, TEXAS – The Patriots got on a roll on the bases early and did not slow down as they collected a new school record 11 stolen bases on the night in a big 9-1 victory to open up the four game series against Oklahoma Christian on Thursday night.
The Eagles came into the ballgame having scored 56 runs over their previous four games, and
Dylan Blomquist was tasked with cooling off the bats. In the first inning, he got right to work with two strikeouts and a groundout to hand it over to his offense quickly.
In the bottom half, the Patriots used some big swings to open up a quick 2-0 advantage. After
Tommy van de Sanden singled to left field with one out,
Kyle McShaffry and
Ethan Bedgood each collected an RBI double to break the scoreless game in the Patriots favor.
Blomquist allowed a leadoff single in the second, but erased the hit with a 6-4-3 double play and a groundout to keep the Eagles at bay. In the third, he induced a flyout and a groundout before allowing his first walk of the game. That walk never got past first as Blomquist recorded his third strikeout in three innings to end the inning.
In the bottom of the third, the Patriots began making their mark on the basepaths. After
Hayden Clearman led off with a single, he stole second, and was then moved to third on another van de Sanden single. Coach
Brent Porche put on the double steal, and Clearman stole home on the throw to second base to tack on the third run of the game.
Jordan Gochenour followed with an RBI single, and then advanced on the throw home. That put him in scoring position for
Lukas Polanco, who drove him in with an RBI single of his own.
In the bottom of the fourth, more stolen bases led to even more runs for the Patriots. After a leadoff double from
Tanner Roach followed by a single from
Cade Watson, Coach Porche looked to put on the double steal again, but this time the Eagles did not bite and Watson took second without a throw. Clearman followed with a walk, and that loaded the bases.
Roach then got a fantastic jump from third base and managed to steal home for another run, and Watson stole third behind him. However, Watson was thrown out trying to advance to home on the loose ball, but that allowed Clearman to move to third. Van de Sanden came up big again, grounding out to shortstop but scoring Clearman for the seventh run in just four innings.
The Eagles in the top of the fourth managed two baserunners for the first time all game, but Blomquist struck out the side to end the threat. In the fifth, Blomquist gave up just his second hit on a perfectly placed bunt, but retired the side on a groundout, foul out, and lineout. In the sixth, Blomquist recorded his third three up, three down inning to keep the Eagles scoreless.
In the bottom half of the sixth, Watson reached on another walk, and promptly stole second. He moved over to third on a groundout, and then scored on a van de Sanden single to shortstop to make it 8-0.
In the top of the seventh, Oklahoma Christian finally managed to break through. After a strikeout, the Eagles next three hitters reached on an error, a walk, and a single to load the bases. Blomquist struck the next hitter out, but Cole Lee singled to center to score the first and only run of the game.
Blomquist came back out for one more inning in the eighth and did not disappoint. After allowing leadoff walk, he set the Eagles down in order with two strikeouts and a flyout to end his evening.
In the bottom half of the inning,
Tanner Roach delivered the final insurance run of the evening with a solo home run to left field. That bomb made it 9-1 for the Patriots and was the last run of the evening.
Josh Garza came on to pitch in the ninth, and sat the first two hitters down with a strikeout and a popout. The Eagles attempted one last gasp with two consecutive singles, but Garza got the last out with a strikeout swinging to end the game.
Six different Patriots recorded a stolen base on the day.
Cade Watson collected three on his own to lead the team, and
Hayden Clearman,
Riley Lambert, and
Lukas Polanco each had two.
Tommy van de Sanden and
Tanner Roach also had one of their own.
Van de Sanden led the way at the plate on the evening with a 3-for-5 performance with two RBI's and two runs scored.
Dylan Blomquist picked up the win after going a career-high eight innings while allowing just four hits and one unearned run. He also set a new career-high in strikeouts with 11.
The Patriots will now take their 1-0 series lead into tomorrow's doubleheader as they will have the opportunity to collect a series win. Game one of the doubleheader will begin at 3 p.m. and game two will start approximately 35 minutes after game one has ended. Additionally, tomorrow will be UT Health East Texas Day at Irwin Field.
