CONROE, TEXAS – UT Tyler moved to 3-0 on the year following 3-2 and 4-1 wins over #13 Augustana and MSU Denver on Saturday afternoon at the DII Spring Invitational Kickoff.
 
Sophomore JT Smith drilled a first-pitch RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning to walk it off for UT Tyler over #13 Augustana. Smith's double capped off a frame in which the Patriots had four of their seven hits of the ballgame, and finally capitalized on a complete game in the circle from graduate student Shea O'Leary.
 
O'Leary went all seven innings and allowed a pair of runs off of just two hits in the first game of the day for the Patriots, striking out six batters while conceding just a single walk.

The great work in the circle continued for UT Tyler into the 4-1 win over MSU Denver in the second game of the day, as junior Tatum Goff and Kaylee Davis combined to allow just a single run in the victory. Goff picked up her second win of 2023 after 5.0 innings of work, and then gave way to sophomore Kaylee Davis for the sixth and seventh innings.
 
Davis shut down MSU Denver, spreading out three hits over those two innings to pick up the save and complete the day with a pair of wins for the Patriots.
 
Smith went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles in the game one win over Augustana and got the scoring started for the Patriots in the bottom of the first with one of those doubles. That leadoff shot to center set up sophomore Courtney Plocheck for a sac fly to center after Smith advanced to third on a passed ball.
 
The 1-0 lead for UT Tyler held through the second inning before Augustana struck for two in the top half of the third. The Vikings plated both of those runs with two outs and then worked around a pair of base runners for UT Tyler in the fifth and sixth to carry that 2-1 lead into the seventh.
 
O'Leary retired 12 out of the next 13 batters she faced heading into the bottom half of the seventh to keep that one-run deficit in place.
 
Sophomore Maddie Melton got the comeback bid started with her second hit of the day with a one-out single, and then quickly moved over to third on an ensuing Amanda Marek single. Junior Caitlyn Wells tied it up a batter later with a pinch-hit single that scored Melton, before Smith jumped on the first pitch she saw to plate the winning run with her walk-off.
 
UT Tyler got going a lot earlier in the second win of the afternoon over MSU Denver, putting forth four of their six hits of the ball game in the first three innings. That quick started resulted in a 4-1 lead that was more than enough for the Goff-Davis duo through the final four frames.
 
Goff cruised through the fourth and fifth and then gave way to Davis after a leadoff double in the top of the sixth. Davis worked around that runner without any damage, and then finished off the day in the seventh for the save and a second Patriot win.
UT Tyler totaled 13 hits between the two games, including four off of the bat from Smith. The Patriots allowed just three earned runs over 14.0 innings of work, and struckout 12 on the afternoon.
 
UT Tyler will conclude play in the DII Spring Invitational Kickoff tomorrow afternoon with 1:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. games against #8 Central Oklahoma and Arkansas Tech.