AUSTIN, TEXAS – UT Tyler baseball got the bats going in a big way in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, but #12 St. Edward's responded with their own big offensive outburst to take game two.
 
GAME ONE
 
Game one of the day saw a pitcher's duel form over the first two innings as Miles Clack got the ball to start for UT Tyler. Clack would allow two singles over the first two innings but stranded them both on his way to two scoreless innings.
 
The Patriots offense struck first, as Tres Thomas and Edward Ortiz each reached on a walk and a single, and Thomas scored on a Carson Cox single to open the scoring. A bunt single from Tommy van de Sanden loaded the bases, and Jordan Gochenour delivered the second run of the inning with a sacrifice fly.
 
Not deterred, the Hilltoppers struck back in the bottom of the third, as they plated four runs to take the lead. Those four runs were the product of a pair of two run home runs two batters apart, both with two outs.
 
The lead would not last long for the Hilltoppers, as Ethan Bedgood led off the fourth inning with a solo home run to left field. Two walks followed, and Ortiz moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt. Cox would step to the plate next, and drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly to tie the game.
 
#12 St. Edward's broke the tie again in the bottom half of the fourth, scoring just one run after a single and a double, again with two outs. That led to the top of the fifth, and the Patriots answered yet again as Bedgood drove home Gochenour with an RBI single and then Adrian Minjares came up big with an RBI double to take the lead.
 
Clack would head right back out to the mound in the fifth inning, and worked a scoreless inning around a walk to keep the Patriots ahead. In the seventh inning, Clack turned the ball over to Garrett Arredondo, and he worked a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout, a flyout, and a groundout to end the game.
 
Both Carson Cox and Ethan Bedgood drove in two runs on the day, and Bedgood finished 3-for-4 with a run scored.
 
Miles Clack got the win after going six innings and allowing five runs on eight hits. He also struck out four batters and issued four walks.
 
GAME TWO
 
Hayden Collins got the ball in game two of the day, but after getting the first out of the game, the Hilltoppers saw their next three batters reach consecutively. Collins battled back with a strikeout, but two straight singles drove in three runs to allow the Hilltoppers to take a 3-0 lead.
 
In the second inning, the Hilltoppers would continue the hot offense as they plated a run on a sacrifice fly, two runs on an RBI double, an RBI single, and then a walk that plated a run with the bases loaded before Collins day was done. He turned the ball over to Nathan Holmes, and he got a fielder's choice and a flyout to end the inning.
 
In the top of the third inning, the Patriots would get themselves on the board as Nathan Carriere found himself an infield single and then Carson Cox followed with his own single to put a pair of runners on. Tommy van de Sanden then stepped to the plate, and singled home Carriere for the first run of the game for UT Tyler.
 
In the bottom half of the inning, the Hilltoppers led off with three straight singles, the third of which drove home a run. A walk followed, and Justin Schrader would be called to the mound in relief of Holmes. He worked two consecutive flyouts, with the second one driving home a run, before striking out the final hitter of the inning.
 
Both teams would go scoreless in the fourth inning, and in the fifth, Carriere led off the inning with a solo home run to post the second run of the game for the Patriots.
 
Schrader worked another scoreless half inning in the fifth, and kept the Hilltoppers scoreless in the sixth as well to hold the lead at eight and keep giving the Patriots chances.
 
Facing their final half inning of the day in the seventh inning, UT Tyler couldn't get anything going on the offensive side, and went down in order to allow the Hilltoppers to claim game two.
 
Both Tommy van de Sanden and Nathan Carriere posted two hit games, and each also drove in a run while Carriere scored both runs for the Patriots.
 
UT Tyler will get the chance to split the four game series on Sunday as they trail 2-1 heading into the finale. That final game will get started at 1 p.m. in Austin, Texas.