TYLER, TEXAS – It was a tale of two games as (RV) UT Tyler responded after a 9-4 loss in game one with 16 hits in a 15-1 win in game two in order to split the day with Texas A&M-Kingsville.
 
Austin Ochoa, Lane Hutchinson and Ethan Bedgood all recorded three hits in that game two victory in a ballgame in which the Patriots did exactly what Texas A&M-Kingsville did to them in game one, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. Texas A&M-Kingsville scored on their first five trips to the plate in the 9-4 game one win, but three runs in the sixth and seventh for the Patriots paved the way for a flip in momentum that resulted in a 2-1 lead in the series heading into Sunday's finale.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville jumped on UT Tyler early with a quick 6-0 lead in game one in their first three trips to the plate. Junior Jordan Gochenour briefly put a hault to the Javelina scoring with an RBI double in the bottom of the third that scored sophomore Tres Thomas to make it 6-1.
 
The Javelinas kept the pressure on offensively with three additional runs in the fourth and fifth to make it 9-1 after five complete innings.
 
From that point forward the day belonged to the Patriots as the UT Tyler offense put up six hits in the sixth and seventh, and cut a once eight-run deficit to just five following RBI doubles from Dylan Blomquist and Bryce Jewell in the seventh. The Patriots logged 11 hits in game one after that offensive output in the final two frames, and carried that momentum with them into game two.
 
Three consecutive singles off the bats of the Ochoa, Hutchinson and Bedgood trio got that win started in the bottom of the first with a 3-0 lead. Minjares, who notched four RBI in the game, got going with his first plated run on a sac fly that scored Hutchinson to make it 4-0.
 
The Patriot offense added five more in the bottom of the third, putting up four singles and three walks to add to the eventual 9-0 advantage after three complete innings. Starter Miles Clack worked quickly through the Javelina offense to keep his bats hot, tossing 5.0 complete innings while allowing just a single earned run to move to 2-0 on the year.
 
Minjares added the 10^th run to the scoreboard for UT Tyler with an RBI single in the fourth, and then added his third RBI of the game in the fifth with a walk with the bases loaded to score Ochoa. Senior Edward Ortiz added to the now 12-1 advantage with an RBI single in the ensuing at bat.
 
A host of pinch hitters for the Patriots in the sixth added three more runs to the board to bring the score to it's eventual 15-1 final. Harrison Lee and A.J. Irvin retired sixth of the combined seven batters faced in the final two innings to compliment the complete game of work for the UT Tyler pitching staff.
 
Hutchinson finished game two 3-for-4 at the dish with three RBI and four runs scored, while Minjares totaled his four RBI on just a single hit while drawing a pair of walks. Bedgood and Ochoa joined Hutchinson with 3-for-4 efforts as well.
 
UT Tyler will take the 2-to-1 series advantage into tomorrow's  finale schedule for a 1 p.m. first pitch.