TYLER, TEXAS - #1 UT Tyler will make their inaugural appearance in the NCAA Division II National Tournament on Thursday afternoon with a noon meeting against no. 8 seeded Colorado Christian in game one of the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament.
The Patriots were selected as the no. 1 seed in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament, and will host one side of the eight-team bracket consisting of no. 4 seed Lubbock Christian, no. 5 seed Angelo State and no. 8 seed Colorado Christian. Those four clubs will battle it out in a double-elimination bracket contested over three days at the UT Tyler Ballpark, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals scheduled for next Thursday and Friday.
The Super Regionals will pit the winner of the UT Tyler side of the bracket against the winner of the Texas A&M-Commerce side of the bracket against each other in a best-of-three game series for a chance to go to the NCAA Division II World Series on May 26-30 in Denver, Colo.
THE SCHEDULE
NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament 1
Tyler, Texas – Suddenlink Field at the UT Tyler Ballpark
THURSDAY, MAY 12
12 p.m. – No. 1 UT Tyler vs. No. 8 Colorado Christian
3 p.m. – No. 4 Lubbock Christian vs. No. 5 Angelo State
FRIDAY, MAY 13
Noon - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
3:00 p.m. - Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
6 p.m. - Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
SATURDAY, MAY 14
Noon - Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
3:00 p.m. - Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (if necessary)
THE SEEDINGS
NCAA SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL SEEDINGS
1. UT Tyler
2. Texas A&M-Commerce
3. Texas A&M-Kingsville
4. Lubbock Christian
5. Angelo State
6. Oklahoma Christian
7. St. Mary's
8. Colorado Christian
TICKET INFORMATION
Admission prices for an all-day pass are:
| Ticket Type |
Price |
| General Admission |
$10 |
| Children (3 to 12 years of age) |
$5 |
| Children (2 years old and under) |
Free |
Admission prices for an all-tournament pass are:
| Ticket Type |
Price |
| General Admission Tournament Pass |
$25 |
| Children (3 to 12 years of age) Tournament Pass |
$12 |
LAST WEEK
UT Tyler got their first taste of NCAA Division II postseason play last weekend at the 2022 Lone Star Conference Softball Championship, taking down no. 8 seeded West Texas A&M by a 10-0 final on Friday night, before falling to no. 4 seeded Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday night.
The Patriots run-ruled the defending Division II National Champions on Friday night in just five innings, and were led by starting pitcher
Tatum Goff, who no-hit the Lady Buffs in the 10-0 victory. Goff allowed just a single baserunner, the first batter of the game, and then went on to retire the next 14 batters she faced in order.
Goff needed just 53 pitches to do so, and was supported offensively by eight Patriot hits on the night, including a 2-for-2 effort from the plate from
Ashley Perez and a solo home run by sophomore
Amanda Marek in the bottom of the second.
The victory sent UT Tyler to Saturday night's semifinals, where they met eventual tournament champions Texas A&M-Commerce in what would be a near comeback win for the Patriots. UT Tyler plated three unanswered runs in the fourth and sixth innings in the 5-4 defeat, narrowing what was once a 5-1 deficit to just a single run heading into the seventh inning.
Senior
Sarah Gartman provided a shutdown effort in relief of Goff, allowing just a single earned run in her 4.0 innings of work in the circle to effectively shut Texas A&M-Commerce down to allow the comeback bid for UT Tyler.
A highlight play at second base for Texas A&M-Commerce stole an infield hit from sophomore
Courtney Plocheck to lead off the bottom half of the seventh for the Patriots, and then an on-the-mark throw from rightfield retired the final out of the ballgame for the Lions a few batters later after a two-out RBI single from Goff.
That inning put an end to the Patriots comeback attempt and run in the LSC Championship, shifting the Patriot's focus to the South Central Regional Tournament.
ALL-TOURNAMENT PERFORMANCES
Tatum Goff and
Sarah Gartman were each named to the 2022 Lone Star Conference Softball Championship All-Tournament Team for their efforts in UT Tyler's pair of games in the event.
Goff no-hit West Texas A&M as part of the 10-0 victory for UT Tyler on Friday night, allowing just a single base runner before retiring the next 14 batters she faced in order. The Rusk, Texas native needed just 53 pitches to accomplish her first no-hitter of the season, and struckout four batters along the way.
Gartman came in for relief of Goff in the semifinals, and effectively shut Texas A&M-Commerce down in her 4.0 innings of work, giving the Patriots time to plate three unanswered runs to make it just a 5-4 ballgame. UT Tyler was unable to plate the tying run in the bottom of the seventh, but Gartman's efforts to allow just a single earned run in her outing allowed UT Tyler the near-comeback opportunity.
Goff and Gartman become the first Patriots to be named to the LSC All-Tournament Team in the program's first-ever appearance in the event.
ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
The UT Tyler softball team received 12 distinctions on the 2022 Lone Star Conference Softball All-Conference Awards list as announced by the conference office at the annual banquet.
Head coach
Mike Reed was tabbed as the Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and sophomore
Tatum Goff was named the league's Newcomer of the Year to highlight the lengthy list of accolades for the 2022 LSC Regular Season Champions. Goff was joined on the All-LSC First Team list by senior
Ashley Perez and
Courtney Plocheck, while
Bayli Simon,
Mak Dominguez,
Michelle Arias and
Sarah Gartman were all tabbed as All-LSC Third Team performers.
Kaylee Davis was named to the LSC All-Freshman Team, while
Payton Foster was named to the All-Academic Team. Senior
Shannon Klaus earned a Golden Glove Award for her work defensively throughout the 2022 season.
POSTSEASON HISTORY
The UT Tyler softball program will be competing in the 131st postseason game in program history on Thursday afternoon dating back to the program's first eligible season for postseason consideration in 2008. Since that point, UT Tyler is 91-40 overall in postseason games.
The Patriots made 11 appearances in the American Southwest Conference Tournament from 2008-2019, and finished their Division III era with a 34-15 record in the event. UT Tyler claimed the tournament crown five times in those 11 appearances.
Head coach
Mike Reed and his program compiled a 56-24 record in the NCAA Division III National Tournament over the course of that time span as well, and made seven trips to the NCAA Division III World Series.
TOP 25 WATCH LIST
UT Tyler senior
Ashley Perez has been named as one of twenty-five student-athletes from across the country 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-athlete's head coach must be a member.
The winner of each award will be announced on June 2, following the conclusion of the 2022 season.
ENTERING THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT AT NO. 1
The University of Texas at Tyler softball program will enter their first appearance in the NCAA Division II National Tournament as the unanimous no. 1 team in the 2022 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The Patriots received all 16 first-place votes and 400 points to appear as the unanimous no. 1 team for the fifth straight week of the poll and wrapped up a 1-1 weekend in the 2022 Lone Star Conference Softball Championship last weekend. UT Tyler clinched the 2022 Lone Star Conference Softball Regular Season Championship, their second consecutive regular season title in the program's first two seasons competing in the league, and were selected as the no. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament.
The NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the eight NCAA regions.
UT Tyler has now appeared in the top spot of the national rankings in 13 out of the 14 regular season polls in 2022, and have unanimously sat atop the poll in eight of those weeks. The Patriots are 10-5 on the year in games against nationally-ranked foes.
Six Lone Star Conference teams received a top-15 ranking entering the national tournament this weekend, including no. 2 Texas A&M-Kingsville and no. 7 Angelo State within the top 10. Texas A&M-Commerce (no . 14), Lubbock Christian (no. 16) and Oklahoma Christian (no. 19) rounded out the LSC teams in the top 25 of the rankings, and all received a spot in the South Central Regional Tournament as well.
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 791-164 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 53-7 over the last two seasons in Lone Star Conference games, and guided the Patriots to back-to-back Lone Star Conference Regular Season Championships in the program's first two seasons competing in the league.
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.
