TYLER, TEXAS - #1 UT Tyler punched their ticket to the 2022 NCAA Division II Softball World Series on Friday at Suddenlink Field following a 2-1 series win over #2 Texas A&M-Kingsville to claim the South Central Regional Championship.
 
The Patriots survived a marathon of a day of softball, dropping game two by a 6-5 final score in nine innings before turning around and winning the deciding game three by a 6-4 final tally. The two games featured a total of eight lead changes, and over five hours of game time before UT Tyler prevailed.
 
The winners of the South Central Super Regionals will now represent the South Central Region at the NCAA Division II World Series scheduled for May 26-31 in Denver, Colo. at the Regency Athletic Complex. The World Series appearance will be the eighth for the UT Tyler softball program, and the first at the NCAA Division II level in the first season of Division II postseason eligibility.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville was able to force the deciding game three in the series with the 6-5 game two victory, negating a one-run Patriot advantage in the bottom of the seventh inning as the home team on the scoreboard. The Javelinas then squeezed a run across in the bottom of the ninth inning to force a game three with the series tied at one-game apiece.
 
Senior Ashley Perez and sophomore Tatum Goff hit back-to-back homers in the top of the third inning of that contest to give UT Tyler a 4-2 advantage, as Perez finished off her career at Suddenlink Field 4-for-7 between the two games with four RBI. Sophomore Courtney Plocheck put the go-ahead run on the board for UT Tyler in the top of the seventh with a sac fly to center, but the 5-4 lead was quickly answered by the Javelinas with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame.
 
Both teams went scoreless in the eighth inning prior to the walk-off single from the Javelinas to finish off game two with a 6-5 victory.
 
The story of game two would be told in a highlighted top of the sixth inning for UT Tyler that featured five hits and four runs to put the Patriots up 6-3 heading into the last frame. Goff hit a pair of RBI doubles in the third and fifth innings that each scored Plocheck to provide a 2-1 early lead for UT Tyler.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth that gave the Javelinas what would end up being their final lead of the contest at 3-2. The Patriots answered with four quick singles in the top of the sixth, the final of which from sophomore Michelle Arias that tied the ballgame up at 3-3. Plocheck then put the go-ahead run across with a sac fly to make it 4-3, prior to a single from Perez that scored Arias to make it 5-3.
 
A delayed steal from the Patriots with two outs sent the sixth and final run home of the ballgame, as senior Shannon Klaus beat the throw home to make it 6-3. A run for the Javelinas in the bottom of the sixth proved irrelevant, as Goff finished off her outstanding Super Regional performance with her sixth win of the regional tournament after tossing 6.1 innings in relief.
 
Senior Sarah Gartman earned the save after retiring the final out for UT Tyler to send the program to the Division II World Series with the 6-4 victory.
 
Goff and Plocheck both finished with a pair of hits in the game three win, while Goff recorded two RBI in the contest to finish the regional tournament with 13 RBI between the eight games.
 
The Patriots will now await their seeding as one of the eight teams to make the trip to Denver on May 26-30.