TYLER, TEXAS – #1 UT Tyler and #2 Texas A&M-Kingsville will square off in a best-of-three game series on Thursday and Friday afternoon for a chance to go to the NCAA Division II College World Series.
The nation's top two ranked teams according to the most recent NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll both won their respective sides of the 2022 NCAA Division II South Central Regional Bracket and will now collide in the Super Regionals for a chance to go to Denver, Colo. on May 26-30 for the Division II World Series. No. 1 seeded UT Tyler defeated no. 8 Colorado Christian, no. 5 Angelo State and then no. 4 seeded Lubbock Christian to advance to the Super Regionals in the program's inaugural appearance in the Division II National Tournament.
Game one of the series is set for 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, while game two and the if-necessary game three will get started at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday.
THE SCHEDULE
NCAA Division II South Central Super Regionals
Tyler, Texas – Suddenlink Field at the UT Tyler Ballpark
THURSDAY, MAY 19
4 p.m. – No. 1 UT Tyler vs. No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville
FRIDAY, MAY 20
3 p.m. – No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. No. 1 UT Tyler
6 p.m. (If Necessary) – Game Three, Home and Away Determined by Coin Flip
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
Cash only for tickets and concessions.
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 |
LAST WEEK
UT Tyler went 4-1 in their first appearance at the NCAA Division II National Tournament, advancing to this weekend's Super Regionals through the loser's bracket of the South Central Regional Tournament. The Patriots run-ruled Colorado Christian by an 8-0 final on Thursday afternoon to get the tournament started, but came up short in a 5-1 loss to no. 4 seeded Lubbock Christian in their next game on Friday afternoon.
The Patriots answered their only loss of the weekend with three straight victories, first on Friday evening in a 2-0 final over no. 5 seeded Angelo State, and then back-to-back wins over no. 4 seeded Lubbock Christian to punch their ticket to the Super Regionals.
Sophomore
Tatum Goff was sensational for the Patriots all weekend, throwing three complete games in the circle and leading UT Tyler with a .500 batting average for the fives game. Goff allowed just one earned run in her 20.2 innings of work in the circle, and went 8-for-16 from the plate with nine RBI.
The Rusk, Texas native picked up three out of the four wins in the circle for the Patriots, the other of which came from senior
Jacey Henry in game seven against Lubbock Christian. Henry went 5.1 innings and allowed just five hits and a pair of earned runs to help UT Tyler cap off the doubleheader sweep of the Lady Chaps on Saturday and send the program to the Super Regionals.
A SIMILAR ROUTE
Texas A&M-Kingsville, who entered postseason play in the no. 2 spot right behind UT Tyler in the latest NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, put together an identical 4-1 record in route to their advancement to the Super Regionals. The Javelinas received a no. 3 seeding in the tournament, and avenged their lone loss of last weekend's games in Commerce, Texas on Saturday afternoon with two wins over no. 7 seeded St. Mary's.
The Javelinas knocked off no. 6 seed Oklahoma Christian, no. 3 seed Texas A&M-Commerce and the aforementioned no. 7 seed Rattlers as part of their run through the bracket.
A BATTLE OF HEAVYWEIGHTS
This weekend's South Central Super Regional will undoubtedly be a test of two teams who would be presumed favorites if they were both able to advance to next weekend's Division II World Series. Unfortunately, one of the top two nationally-ranked teams will not compete in Denver next weekend, making the Super Regional match-up between the two programs as good of a series as Division II softball fans could ask for.
The two teams split a pair of two-run ballgames in their meetings during the regular season back on Apr. 1 in Tyler, and will now do battle for a chance to go to Denver on Thursday and Friday. The Javelinas come into the weekend with a 49-10 record on the year, and finished in a tie for second in the Lone Star Conference regular season standings with a record of 23-7.
UT Tyler and Texas A&M-Kingsville both rank within the top 10 nationally in runs scored, batting average and slugging percentage, and sit first and second in the LSC in terms of team ERA.
POSTSEASON HISTORY
The UT Tyler softball program is now 95-41 in postseason play dating back to the program's first eligible season for postseason consideration in 2008.
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.
PEREZ IN THE RECORD BOOKS
UT Tyler senior
Ashley Perez has a chance to make history this weekend, as she currently sits in a tie with Joey Cronin for the most career hits in the history of the UT Tyler softball program with 259 for her career. Perez already holds the UT Tyler softball career record mark for RBI (218), homeruns (42) and doubles (74), and has produced the best career slugging percentage of any Patriot in her career (.765).
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.
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 entered 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. 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 795-165 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.
