DENVER, COLO. – No. 1 seeded UT Tyler fell behind early and couldn't make up a five-run deficit to fall in game one of the 2022 NCAA Division II World Series to no. 8 seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills by a 5-1 final.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills scored five runs off of just four hits in the second, third and fourth innings to jump ahead of UT Tyler early, and then survived seven Patriot hits in their final four trips to the plate to secure game one of the NCAA Division II World Series. The loss sends UT Tyler to the loser's bracket in Bracket 1 of the eight-team double elimination tournament, where they will face the loser of no. 4 seeded Southern Indiana and no. 5 seeded Rogers State in an elimination game tomorrow afternoon at 5 p.m. CST.
 
UT Tyler stranded 10 base runners and committed three fielding errors, both uncharacteristic numbers for a Patriot team that entered the bracket as the no. 1 overall seed. The Patriot offense totaled just a single hit in their first three trips to the plate, and quickly fell behind 5-0 before finding their stride offensively beginning in the bottom of the fourth inning.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills took advantage of the slow start offensively for UT Tyler, hitting a two-run homer in the second and then striking for a trio of doubles between the third and fourth innings to add the additional three runs.
 
UT Tyler got on the board in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out RBI single from Ashley Perez that scored Courtney Plocheck to make it 5-1 after five full innings of play, but stranded a pair of baserunners in the sixth and seventh innings despite finding their footing at the plate.
 
Senior Mak Dominguez and sophomore Hanna Fradkin led off the bottom of the sixth inning with back-to-back singles to continue the momentum generated with the Perez RBI in the fifth, but three consecutive flyouts for the Patriots in the next three at bats stranded both runners on first and second.
 
The seventh inning followed suit for UT Tyler, as senior Shannon Klaus and Plocheck both led off with singles to start the frame, but couldn't manage to advance any farther after three consecutive outs for the Patriots once again.
 
Sophomore Tatum Goff was credited with the loss, her first of the NCAA National Tournament in her eighth appearance in the nine Patriot outings thus far. Goff went 2.1 innings while allowing two earned runs off of four hits.
 
The duo of Kaylee Davis and Sarah Gartman worked strong in relief of Goff, not allowing a single earned runs in their 4.2 innings of relief. Davis took over in the top of the third and worked out of a runners on second and third jam, but conceded a two-RBI double in the top of the fourth that allowed a pair of unearned runs to score for the Toros.
 
Klaus, Plocheck and Fradkin all finished with two hits on the afternoon, while Plocheck finished her afternoon 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored.
 
UT Tyler will await the loser of game two in Bracket I between Southern Indiana and Rogers State in tomorrow evening's first elimination game at 5 p.m. CST.