Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – UT Tyler earned a split with St. Mary's in a pair of close contests on Saturday as they will now take a 2-1 series lead into the finale on Sunday.
 
GAME ONE
 
Harrison Lee got the ball to begin the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday and faced a stingy Rattlers offense. After inducing a leadoff flyout, a single and a walk followed by a double steal put runners in scoring position with just one out. A groundout to third drove in one run, and another groundout ended the inning before more harm could be done.
 
In the second inning, a leadoff double for St. Mary's was driven in by a single just two batters later as the Rattlers tacked on their second run of the game. In the third, it was another similar story, as a leadoff single was driven home by a double to left center.
 
The Patriots offense got off to a slow start as they looked to answer the Rattlers quick lead. Their big opportunity came in the second inning after a Lukas Polanco walk was followed by a Carson Cox double. That put runners on second and third but they were unable to capitalize and produce a run.
 
Garrett Arredondo came on in the fourth inning in relief of Lee and knocked down the Rattlers in order for the first time in the contest after a flyout and two strikeouts. That allowed the Patriots to come on in the fifth and work the bats for their first run.
 
Small ball proved to be the answer for UT Tyler as Polanco led off with a single. Cox used a sacrifice bunt to move him to second before Polanco stole third. That brought in Riley Lambert, and he sent a sacrifice fly to left field for the first run of the game for UT Tyler.
 
In the bottom half, St. Mary's looked to respond after the first Patriots run. They did exactly that after a four pitch walk and then a single to left field that turned into an error. That error brought in the runner from first on a close play at the plate and the Rattlers were back up by a score of 4-1.
 
Needing a rally, Hayden Clearman led off the sixth with a big double. Tommy Tolve was hit by a pitch, and then Kyle McShaffry delivered a single to right that led to a throwing error. That error allowed Clearman to score, and moved McShaffry and Tolve into scoring position. Ethan Bedgood drove an RBI single to right, and Dylan Blomquist grounded into a double play that scored one more to level the score at four.
 
After a pair of singles in the sixth, Arredondo was lifted for A.J. Irvin. Irvin stepped up big in a clutch situation and sat the Rattlers down in order to remove any threats.
 
Neither team was able to get anything going in the seventh, and extra innings were needed. In the top half of the eighth, McShaffry led off with a single, and a pair of fielding errors allowed McShaffry to come around and score and give the Patriots the lead.
 
Needing a shutdown inning to end the game, Irvin stepped back on the mound but allowed a leadoff double. However, he was unphased and worked the next three hitters in order by a flyout, strikeout, and a foulout to end the game.
 
A.J. Irvin gets the win after going the final three innings while allowing just one hit and striking out three batters.
 
McShaffry was the only Patriots hitter with more than one hit, but arguably the bigger contribution was the pair of runs he scored, including the go ahead run in the eighth inning.
 
GAME TWO
 
After the quick break between the two games, game two began with Nolan Cox on the mound for the Patriots. He worked around a single in the first inning with a pair of flyouts and a strikeout to keep the Rattlers off the board.
 
In the second inning, it was the Patriots who jumped out on top first. After a leadoff foulout, Blomquist stepped to the plate and ripped a triple into right center field. Carson Cox followed, and singled to left center for the first run of the day. After Cox stole second, Lambert dropped a perfect bunt to move him to third. That allowed Cade Watson to step into the box and deliver a smooth single through the left side to put up the second run of the inning.
 
After a quick 1-2-3 inning in the second, the Rattlers came back around in the third and responded with their first runs of the game. A leadoff strikeout was followed by a single, and a fielder's choice and another single put two runners on with two outs. A walk loaded the bases, and a hit by pitch brought home the first run of the game.
 
In the fourth, the Rattlers struck big as they retook the lead. A double and a pair of singles brought in a run and put two runners on. Another pair of singles followed and the Rattlers had taken the lead 3-2.
 
Those singles chased Nolan Cox from the contest, and Nick Oslovar stepped in to replace him. However, the Rattlers bats stayed hot, and another pair of singles brought in another pair of runs to make it five in the fourth innng and give the Rattlers a 6-2 lead.
 
The fifth inning saw the Patriots begin to cut into the lead as they scored a run to make it 6-3. Lambert led off with a double and moved to third off of a wild pitch. Two batters later, Kyle Hawkins sent a fly ball deep to center field for a sacrifice fly.
 
After the rally in the fourth inning, Oslovar battled back in the fifth. Despite giving up a single, he induced a flyout and a foulout before Watson gunned down the runner trying to steal to end the inning.
 
In the sixth inning Oslovar held steady yet again, keeping the Patriots in the game with a groundout, lineout, and flyout to work a 1-2-3 inning and send UT Tyler to the plate needing three runs to extend the contest.
 
Needing a rally, Cox started the inning with a single to right field. Lambert stepped in and doubled to right field to drive in Cox and put the Patriots on the board. Down just two runs, Lambert moved over to third on a wild pitch and was followed by a walk by Cade Watson. However, that was the end of the rally as the next hitter struck out and then the Rattlers induced a ground ball double play to end the contest.
 
Nolan Cox got the loss on the day to fall to 3-2 overall on the year. He went 3.2 innings while allowing eight hits and six runs. Nick Oslovar did a strong job in relief as he allowed just three hits over 2.1 innings of work.
 
Carson Cox and Riley Lambert had strong days at the plate in game two as they each went 2-for-3 with an RBi. Lambert had a pair of doubles and one run scored while Cox added in two runs scored and a stolen base.
 
The Patriots will now wrap up the series against St. Mary's on Sunday at 1 p.m as they will look to collect their fifth consecutive series win.
 
Following the series finale, UT Tyler will head back home to wrap up the regular season against #25 Lubbock Christian. There will be plenty of celebrations throughout the weekend as it will also double as Clements Fluids Weekend and Senior Day. Senior Day will be celebrated on April 30^th with a graduation ceremony being held before game one and a senior ceremony between the two games.