TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler softball program will make it's first postseason appearance as a Division II institution at the 2022 Lone Star Conference Softball Championships on Thursday night against the winner of the no. 8 West Texas A&M and no. 9 Cameron matchup.
 
That quarterfinal game for the Patriots on Thursday evening is set for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch, and will get the 2022 LSC Softball Championships started for the no. 1 seeded and host team UT Tyler. The Patriots claimed their second consecutive Lone Star Conference Regular Season Title last weekend, finishing the regular season with a 40-4 overall record and a 26-4 record in Lone Star Conference play.
 
Thursday evening's opponent for UT Tyler will be determined in the second of two opening round games earlier in the day at 1:30 p.m. The winner of the quarterfinal match-up will advance to Friday's semifinal match at 6:30 p.m.
 
THE TOURNAMENT
 
The complete schedule for the 2022 Lone Star Conference Softball Championships is located below. All games will take place at Suddenlink Field inside the UT Tyler Ballpark.
 
2022 Lone Star Conference Softball Championship (Tyler, Texas)

Thursday, May 5 
Game 1: No. 10 St. Edwards's vs. No. 7 St. Mary's, 11 a.m.
Game 2: No. 9 Cameron vs. No. 8 West Texas A&M, 1:30 p.m.
Game 3: 7-10 winner vs. No. 2 Texas A&M-Kingsville, 4 p.m.
Game 4: 8-9 winner vs. No. 1 UT Tyler, 6:30 p.m.
 
Friday, May 6 
Game 5: No. 3 Lubbock Christian vs. No. 6 Oklahoma Christian, 11 a.m.
Game 6: No. 4 Texas A&M-Commerce vs. No. 5 Angelo State, 1:30 p.m.
Game 7: Semifinals: 3-6 winner vs. 2/7-10 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Semifinals: 4-5 winner vs. 1/8-9 winner, 6:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, May 7
Championship game: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 2 p.m.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
 
Ticket prices for the event are listed below. All admission prices are for all-day passes, and can be purchased at the ticket gate on each day.

Adults (age 18-64): $10
LSC Students (with valid campus ID): Free
Seniors (age 65+): $10
Students (age 6-17): $10
Children (age 0-5): Free
 
WHATS AT STAKE
 
The tournament will use a single-elimination format with Thursday's 7-10 and 8-9 seed games serving as the opening round games, followed by quarterfinal games between those winners and the no. 1 and no. 2 seeds on Thursday evening. The other two quarterfinals will take place on Friday, with the winners advancing to the semifinal matchups later that day.
 
The championship game will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, with the winner receiving an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II tournament.
 
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
 
 UT Tyler senior Jacey Henry was named the Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon. Henry was an instrumental piece in #1 UT Tyler collecting a pair of wins over #20 Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday afternoon, clinching the 2022 Lone Star Conference Softball Regular Season Championship and the no. 1 seed in the 2022 LSC Softball Championships in the process.
 
Henry, a senior out of Marietta, Okla., tossed a complete game in the 4-1 game two victory for the Patriots, an outing which solidified UT Tyler's 40^th win of the 2022 season and moved their conference record to 26-4 on the year. The senior went the full 7.0 innings despite a nearly four-hour weather delay following the end of the third inning, and returned to the circle to complete her final four innings while conceding just a single, unearned run in the top of the seventh.
 
The weekly award is the second for the program this season, as freshman Kaylee Davis garnered LSC Pitcher of the Week honors as well back on April 12th.
 
CLOSING OUT THE REGULAR SEASON AT NO. 1
 
The University of Texas at Tyler softball program will enter postseason play for the first time as a Division II program as the unanimous no. 1 team in the country according to 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 in four straight weeks of the poll and enter their first-ever appearance at the 2022 Lone Star Conference Softball Championships this week on the heels of a 13-game winning streak.
 
UT Tyler has now appeared in the top spot of the national rankings in 12 out of the 13 regular season polls in 2022, and have unanimously sat atop the poll in seven of those weeks. The Patriots 13-game winning streak to close out the regular season featured five wins over top-25 ranked opponents, bringing the club's overall record to 10-4 against nationally-ranked foes on the year.
 
Six Lone Star Conference teams appeared within the top 25 of this week's rankings, including Texas A&M-Kingsville (no. 2) and Angelo State (no. 7), who remained alongside UT Tyler in the top 10. Lubbock Christian (no. 13), Texas A&M-Commerce (no. 18), and Oklahoma Christian (no. 19) rounded out the additional five teams in this week's edition of the poll.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville overtook Indianapolis for the no. 2 spot in the week's poll, while Auburn Montgomery and Central Oklahoma switched spots in the no. 4 and no. 5 spots as well to round out the top five.

THREE STRAIGHT WEEKS AS THE TOP TEAM IN THE REGION

The University of Texas at Tyler softball program stayed at the no. 1 spot of the third edition of the 2022 NCAA Division II South Central Regional rankings as announced by the regional advisory committee on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Wednesday's rankings are the final edition of the regional rankings that will be released prior the selection of the 2022 NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament field on Sunday, May 8^th. The winners of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and Lone Star Conference (LSC) Postseason Tournaments will receive the two available automatic qualifying bids in the tournament, while the final six teams of the eight-team field will receive at-large bids based on the top six remaining highest ranked teams in the South Central Regional rankings.
 
The eight-team bracket will be split into two four-team brackets, one at each of the top two ranked teams in the rankings host site on May 12-14, with the winners of each side of the bracket advancing to the NCAA Division II Super Regionals on May 19-20.

Eight Lone Star Conference teams appeared in the third addition of the NCAA South Central Regional Rankings. Lubbock Christian (no. 2), Angelo State (no. 3), Texas A&M-Kingsville (no. 4) and Texas A&M-Commerce (no. 5) rounded out the top five behind UT Tyler.
 
Oklahoma Christian (no. 6), St. Mary's (no. 7) and West Texas A&M (no. 9) rounded out the three additional LSC teams in the rankings, while Colorado Mesa (no. 8) and Colorado Christian (no. 10) stand as the lone two ranked teams from the RMAC.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY
 
The UT Tyler softball program will be competing in the 130^th postseason game on Thursday evening dating back to the program's first eligible season for postseason consideration in 2008. Since that point, UT Tyler is 90-39 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 50 WATCH LIST
 
UT Tyler seniors Ashley Perez and Bayli Simon were selected as two of the fifty student-athletes from across the country that were revealed 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-athletes' head coach must be a member.
 
The Top 25 finalists for the 2022 Schutt Sports / NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Year awards will be announced on May 5. A student-athlete does not have to be on the Top 50 list to be considered for the Top 25. The winner of each award will be announced on June 2, following the conclusion of the 2022 season.
 
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 790-163 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.