TYLER, TEXAS – The UT Tyler softball program will head down the home stretch of the 2022 regular season this weekend with doubleheaders against #15 Oklahoma Christian and Cameron.
 
The weekend's action will be highlighted by Friday's meeting with Oklahoma Christian in a battle of the two teams tied at the top of the Lone Star Conference regular season standings with records of 20-4 in conference play. The LSC was off across the league last weekend due to the Easter weekend, setting the stage for the Patriots to compete in their final six games of the 2022 season at home.
 
The UT Tyler softball program will host a Blue Out Game on Friday afternoon's games against Oklahoma Christian, featuring a pregame tailgate outside of the Irwin Ballpark and 75 free t-shirts to the first fans in attendance of the games. That doubleheader is set for a 4 p.m. start, while Sunday afternoon's meeting with Cameron will get started at 1 p.m.
 
NO. 1 IN THE COUNTRY STILL
 
UT Tyler softball garnered all 16 first-place votes and 400 points to stay as the unanimous no. 1 ranked team in the country according to the 2022 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll for the second week in a row. UT Tyler has now appeared in the top spot of the national rankings in 10 out of the 11 regular season polls in 2022, and has unanimously sat atop the poll in five of those weeks.
 
Seven Lone Star Conference teams received a top-25 ranking once again this week, including a trio of representatives within the top 10. Texas A&M-Kingsville (no. 5) and Angelo State (no. 10) joined UT Tyler in the top 10 of the rankings this week, while Lubbock Christian (no. 14) and Oklahoma Christian (no. 15) came in just behind.
 
Texas A&M-Commerce (no. 19) and West Texas A&M (no. 22) rounded out the seven LSC teams in the week 10 rankings. UT Tyler has six wins against opponents ranked within the top 25 this season, including four against opponents ranked within the top 15.
 
AND NO. 1 IN THE REGION
 
The Patriots also appeared as the no. 1 ranked team in the first edition of the 2022 NCAA Division II South Central Regional Rankings as announced by the regional advisory committee.
 
Wednesday's rankings are the first of three regional rankings that will be released prior to the selection of the 2022 NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament field on Sunday, May 8^th. The winners of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and Lone Star Conference (LSC) Postseason Tournaments will receive the two available automatic qualifying bids in the tournament, while the final six teams of the eight-team field will receive at-large bids based on the top six remaining highest ranked teams in the South Central Regional rankings.
 
The eight-team bracket will be split into two brackets, one at each of the top two ranked teams in the rankings host site on May 12-14, with the winners of each side of the bracket advancing to the NCAA Division II Super Regionals on May 19-20.
 
Lubbock Christian and Texas A&M-Kingsville came in at the no. 2 and no. 3 spots, while Oklahoma Christian (no. 4) and Angelo State (no. 5) rounded out the top five. Texas A&M-Commerce (no. 6), West Texas A&M (no. 7) and St. Mary's (no. 8) came in as the additional three LSC teams in the rankings, while Colorado Mesa (no. 9) and Colorado Christian (no. 10) each sit just outside of the top eight from the RMAC.
 
THE SCENARIOS
 
The final six games of the 2022 season for UT Tyler will prove vital in playing out a couple of different scenarios for the program. First things first on Friday against an Oklahoma Christian team that has won 22 straight games, the second-longest active run in Division II softball, is to collect a pair of wins to separate UT Tyler from the pack at the top of the LSC standings, and get one step closer to defending their 2021 LSC Regular Season Championship.
 
A repeat regular season crown would allow the Patriots to host the LSC Softball Championships on May 5-7 as the no. 1 seed in the field. Wins on Friday over Oklahoma Christian would certainly help that cause, but with Sunday's doubleheader against Cameron and then next Saturday's home finale against #19 Texas A&M-Commerce still on the horizon, combined with two additional teams still within two games of the Patriots in the league standings, anything can happen over the course of the final week of the regular season.
 
Postseason positioning will also be at stake, as the Patriots are in contention to be selected as one of the two host sites for the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament field that will be awarded to the top two finishers in the regional rankings.
 
DAVIS EARNS PITCHER OF THE WEEK
 
UT Tyler freshman Kaylee Davis was named the LSC Pitcher of the Week back on Apr. 12^th, the last time a Patriot was eligible for the award after the off weekend last week. Davis tossed the first no-hitter of the season for #1 UT Tyler on Sunday afternoon in the Patriot's 1-0 game two victory over St. Edward's and allowed just two hits over the course of her 11.0 innings pitched that weekend.
 
The award is the first LSC Player of the Week nod for the Patriots this season.
 
The Venus, Texas native was just a fielding error away from a perfect game in that no-hitter and retired 21 of the 22 batters she faced in the victory. She used just two strikeouts to accomplish that feat, forcing 12 flyouts and seven groundouts to keep the Hilltoppers hitless in the effort.
 
Davis also shut St. Mary's down in her Friday night start, allowing just two hits in her 4.0 innings pitched while conceding just the lone earned run of the weekend. Davis is now a perfect 7-0 on the year and has posted a 1.47 ERA in her 52.1 innings pitched.
 
TOP 50 WATCH LIST
 
UT Tyler seniors Ashley Perez and Bayli Simon were selected as two of the fifty student-athletes from across the country that were revealed as part of the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Year Awards list.
 
The Player of the Year award was created in 2015 to honor the outstanding athletic achievements among softball student-athletes throughout NCAA Division II. In 2019, the Association expanded the award to include a Player and Pitcher of the Year. The list is compiled and the award is voted on by the elected members of the NFCA Division II All-American Committee with one head coach representing each of the eight NCAA regions. To be eligible, a student-athletes' head coach must be a member.
 
The Top 25 finalists for the 2022 Schutt Sports / NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Year awards will be announced on May 5. A student-athlete does not have to be on the Top 50 list to be considered for the Top 25. The winner of each award will be announced on June 2, following the conclusion of the 2022 season.
 
PEREZ STILL ON THE RECORD WATCH
 
Ashley Perez has already eclipsed the UT Tyler softball career records in both doubles with 71 and counting and RBI with 210 and counting, and recently matched the UT Tyler softball career record with the 40^th of her Patriot career in last Friday's game against St. Mary's. Perez is just one homerun away from breaking that record held by current associate head coach Whitney Wyly, and sits atop the records list with a career slugging percentage of .776.
 
Perez jumped into the no. 2 spot on the career hits list as well with the 242nd of her career last weekend, and sits 17 hits shy of Joey Cronin's record of 259.
 
HEAD COACH MIKE REED
 
Coach Reed began his 18^th season as head coach of the Patriots, and 21^st season as a head softball coach at the collegiate level in 2022.
 
Reed ranks fourth among all NCAA divisions in career winning percentage (.827), posting a 784-163 career mark through 21 career seasons. He owns the second-highest all-time win percentage among Division III coaches, coaching 18 of his 20 seasons at the Division III level, and is a nine-time American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year, and seven-time NFCA Regional Coach of the Year.
 
He has helped develop 29 All-Americans, 83 all-region and 142 all-conference selections and led the UT Tyler program to the NCAA national tournament in seven of 11 years since the Patriots became postseason eligible in Division III.
 
Reed and his staff have been named the Regional Coaching Staff of the Year by the NFCA on seven different occasions (2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021).
 
Reed is 47-7 over the last two seasons in Lone Star Conference games, and guided the Patriots to a 50-10 record in their two transition seasons against Division II competition in 2020 and 2021.
 
Prior to those two seasons, Reed and company flexed their muscles in the final few seasons of the Division III era, claiming three straight American Southwest Regular Season Championships, three straight NCAA Division III Regional Championships and a National Championship and National Championship Runner-Up finish; all of which came over the course of the 2015-2018 seasons.