TYLER, TEXAS – The UT Tyler bats were a big part of the day for the second consecutive game as the Patriots take the regular season finale over #25 Lubbock Christian by a score of 11-5.
The ride to the win in today's ballgame took a bit of a bumpy start as the Chaps grabbed the first lead of the game for the third time in the series. A leadoff double put a runner in scoring position, and that was followed by a walk and a groundout to put runners at the corners. Another groundout drove in a run, and the Patriots turned two as the throw came back to third base to get the runner trying to advance to third.
In the second inning, the Chaps jumped on the board again, doubling their lead to two after a pair of walks and a single were followed by a sacrifice fly. That ran starter
Nick Niebur from the game, and
Garrett Arredondo stepped in with a big strikeout to limit the damage.
The bottom of the second saw the Patriots begin their march on offense, and they responded to the early Chaps runs with three of their own. A pair of walks put two runners on, and a pass ball moved
Dylan Blomquist over to third but saw
Cade Watson get caught trying to advance to second.
Riley Lambert came up with his own walk, and that brought in
Kyle Hawkins who roped a double right down the right field line to score Blomquist. The big play of the inning came when
Carson Cox singled to third base, but the late throw was wide and bounced into right field, that caused both Lambert and Hawkins to come around to score and the Patriots had the lead.
After Arredondo settled in with a 1-2-3 inning, the Patriots tacked on another run after
Kyle McShaffry roped a double to right center and then came around to score on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.
#25 Lubbock Christian would not go down without a fight, and after a walk in the fourth, a two out two run home run to right field tied the game up at 4-4.
In the fourth, the Patriots needed a quick response to avoid further momentum going to the Chaps. Lambert was hit by a pitch and Hawkins singled to left field to put a pair of runners on with one out. Two consecutive passed balls allowed Lambert to score, and
Tommy van de Sanden produced an infield single that allowed Hawkins to score to make it 6-4.
In the fifth, Arredondo responded to that two out home run with another 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts to put the Patriots right back in the batter's box to keep the rhythm going.
They did just that with a pair of singles from Blomquist and
Tanner Roach. That brought up Watson, who reached on a fielder's choice that saw an errant throw that allowed Blomquist to score and Watson and Roach to move into scoring position. A pair of walks from Hawkins and Cox brought in another run, and McShaffry tacked on a big two out single to right field to make it 10-4.
After another strong inning from Arredondo that saw him work around a walk with a pair of flyouts and a popup, the Patriots brought their final run of the game across in the bottom half of the sixth. That run scored on a wild pitch after the Patriots loaded the bases on a single from Blomquist and a pair of walks by Lambert and Hawkins.
In the seventh inning,
Mitchell Lee took over for Arredondo after a strong relief appearance. He worked a scoreless inning after giving up a single and inducing a pair of flyouts and striking out one hitter.
The eighth inning saw one final run come across for the Chaps as the comeback would fizzle out.
Brandon Petix came on to work through the eighth and allowed a leadoff double. He struck out the next batter, but gave up an RBI single. However, Petix settled in and induced a foulout and another strikeout to reduce the damage.
A.J. Irvin came on to pitch the ninth and went right to work to close out the Patriots win. He led off with a strikeout before issuing a walk. Irvin was unphased, and induced a flyout to left field and another strikeout to end the game.
The Patriots had three hitters with multi-hit games in McShaffry, Blomquist, and Hawkins. McShaffry went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI's as well as a run scored. Blomquist had a perfect 2-for-2 day, and Hawkins went 2-for-3 with three runs scored on top of an RBI and two walks.
Garrett Arredondo gets the win after going 4.1 innings in relief of Niebur. He allowed just two runs off of one hit and struck out three. The combination of Lee, Petix, and Irvin allowed just three total hits and one run over their three innings of work.
Next up for UT Tyler will be the first round of the LSC postseason tournament. It will consist of a best-of-three series against Texas A&M-Kingsville to begin the tournament. The winner of that series will move on to the final weekend of the tournament where they will play in a four team double elimination bracket to determine who will receive the LSC automatic bid into the NCAA South Central Regional tournament.
