| Game Info |
Opponent Info |
#4 UT Tyler vs. Nova Southeastern
UTT: 22-3, 13-2 LSC | NSU: 15-6, 7-2 SSC
Friday, March 10th | 4 P.M. | 6:30 P.M.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | AD Griffin Sports Complex |
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ROSTER |
SCHEDULE |
STATS |
#4 UT Tyler vs. Barry
UTT: 22-3, 13-2 LSC | BU: 14-11, 5-4 LSC
Saturday, March 11th | 3 P.M. | 5:30 P.M.
Miami Shores, Fla. | Buccaneer Softball Field |
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ROSTER |
SCHEDULE |
STATS |
A TRIO OF RUN-RULES
UT Tyler won all three games in their midweek Lone Star Conference series over UT Permian Basin by way of runrule on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Patriots scored 10 runs in the top of the fifth inning of game one on Tuesday to enact the run-rule ahead 11-1, and then used a
Courtney Plocheck grand slam in the top of the sixth inning to end the second game early ahead 10-2. UT Tyler scored 21 runs between the two games on just 14 hits, using multi-run homers by Plocheck,
Michelle Arias and
Avery Farr to do the majority of the damage at the plate. Junior
Tatum Goff went 5.0 complete innings in game one to move to 13-0 on the year, striking out seven while allowing just a single earned run. The pitching combination of
Kaylee Davis and
Shea O'Leary in game two was just as effective, striking out eight Falcons while conceding just a pair of earned runs. Senior
Caitlyn Wells notched the highest individual RBI total in a Division II game in program history and the top of the UT Tyler lineup went a combined 10-for-12 at the plate to lead the Patriots to an 11-3 win over UT Permian Basin on Wednesday. Wells went 3-for-3 with a pair of homers and seven RBI, an individual total that stands as the highest in the Division II era and matches the second-highest individual game total in program history. The top four batters in the UT Tyler lineup recorded 10 of the 11 UT Tyler hits in the game, and scored all 11 runs in what is the third straight outing for the team with 10 or more runs. Sophomore
JT Smith went 2-for-2 at the plate with the third homer of the game for the Patriots and four runs scored, while sophomore
Cassidi Mullen and junior
Audrey Escamilla both notched multi-hit efforts in the leadoff and three-hole spot of the lineup. Junior
Tatum Goff moved to 14-0 on the year with 4.0 innings of work before giving way to
Kaylee Davis and Caitlin Wells for what would be the fifth and final inning of the ballgame. The pitching staff combined to allow just three Falcon hits on the afternoon, and struckout eight along the way.
A TRIP TO THE SUNSHINE STATE
The UT Tyler softball program will take a break from LSC play and a trip to Florida this weekend for a pair of non-conference doubleheaders against Nova Southeastern and Barry on Friday and Saturday. The Patriots are 9-1 in 2023 in non-conference play, and will have a chance to secure wins against two traditionally strong programs from the Sunshine State Conference. Nova Southeastern is 15-6 on the year against a slate of quality competition up to this point. The Sharks have been balanced in 2023, with a team batting average of .354 and a staff ERA of 3.67. The Patriots will then head to Miami Shores, Fla. for a meeting with Barry University, who dropped three straight one-run decisions to #2 North Georgia and #13 Valdosta State heading into the meeting with UT Tyler. Barry features one of the top pitching staffs in all of DIvision II softball, and enters the weekend with a 1.65 staff ERA. The Buccaneers have three quality starting options at their disposal, and have struckout 170 batters in 174.0 innings pitched as a unit. The weekends trip to Florida will be memorable for UT Tyler, and presents the program with two worthy opponents along the way.
PATS LOCKED IN AT NO. 4
The University of Texas at Tyler softball program stayed at the no. 4 spot of the latest 2023 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll as announced by the organization on Tuesday afternoon. The Patriots received 352 total votes to appear at no. 4 for the second week in a row in a top five that remained the same in this week's edition of the poll. Rogers State, the defending NCAA Division II National Champions, stayed as the unanimous no. 1 top choice while North Georgia (no. 2), Tampa (no. 3), UT Tyler (no. 4) and Cal State San Marcos (no. 5) rounded out the top five for the second consecutive week. The 2023 NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the eight NCAA regions. The Lone Star Conference was represented by four teams within the top 25 including UT Tyler (no. 4), Lubbock Christian (no. 10), West Texas A&M (no. 23) and Oklahoma Christian (no. 25), and an additional team in the receiving votes category in St. Mary's. UT Tyler currently holds an 8-3 record against teams associated with the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll.
|
Rank
|
School
|
Points
|
2023 Record
|
Previous
Ranking
|
|
1
|
Rogers State (16)
|
400
|
18-1
|
1
|
|
2
|
North Georgia
|
384
|
20-1
|
2
|
|
3
|
Tampa
|
368
|
11-0
|
3
|
|
4
|
UT Tyler
|
352
|
19-3
|
4
|
|
5
|
Cal State San Marcos
|
332
|
13-4
|
5
|
|
6
|
Central Oklahoma
|
306
|
14-3
|
9
|
|
7
|
Grand Valley State
|
304
|
6-1
|
8
|
|
8
|
Indianapolis
|
279
|
16-2
|
11
|
|
9
|
UAH
|
269
|
16-4
|
11
|
|
10
|
Lubbock Christian
|
241
|
16-7
|
7
|
|
11
|
Valdosta State
|
237
|
14-3
|
13
|
|
12
|
Concordia
|
215
|
20-6
|
17
|
|
13
|
Harding
|
199
|
18-3
|
RV
|
|
14
|
Southern Arkansas
|
190
|
15-5
|
6
|
|
15
|
Adelphi
|
173
|
8-3
|
15
|
|
16
|
Cal State Dominguez Hills
|
153
|
11-6
|
14
|
|
17
|
Colorado Christian
|
147
|
22-2
|
20
|
|
18
|
Washburn
|
146
|
21-3
|
18
|
|
19
|
Wingate
|
103
|
20-5
|
RV
|
|
20
|
Sonoma State
|
81
|
15-3
|
19
|
|
21
|
Carson-Newman
|
69
|
17-3
|
RV
|
|
22
|
Saint Leo
|
58
|
18-3
|
23
|
|
23
|
West Texas A&M
|
53
|
15-3
|
22
|
|
24
|
Anderson
|
35
|
18-6
|
16
|
|
25
|
Oklahoma Christian
|
32
|
14-4
|
RV
|
New to Poll: No. 13 Harding, No. 19 Wingate, No. 21 Carson-Newman, No. 25 Oklahoma Christian
Dropped Out: No. 10 Seton Hill, No. 21 Lenoir-Rhyne, No. 24 Wilmington, No. 25 St. Mary's.
Receiving Votes: Seton Hill (29), Wilmington (19), Lenoir-Rhyne (15), Nova Southeastern (5), Oklahoma Baptist (4), St. Mary's (2).
ALONE AT THE TOP
UT Tyler leaped into solo-first place in the LSC regular season standings after a string of eight straight victories following the UT Permian Basin series. The Patriots sit a game clear of West Texas A&M and St. Mary's, who enter the weekend with LSC records of 9-3 on the year.
ESCAMILLA IS HITTER OF THE WEEK
UT Tyler junior
Audrey Escamilla has been named the Lone Star Conference Hitter of the Week as announced by the Lone Star Conference office on Tuesday afternoon. Escamilla led the Patriots to a 5-0 record last week in a non-conference doubleheader sweep over Southeastern Oklahoma State and an LSC series sweep of then-ranked no. 22 West Texas A&M. The Weslaco, Texas native went 5-for-12 at the plate for the week with a .563 on-base percentage between the five games.
DOMINANCE IN DIVISION II
UT Tyler has produced a record of 121-22 (85.1 percent) since beginning Division II play in 2020 and have now claimed back-to-back Lone Star Conference Regular Season Championships in 2021 and 2022. The Patriots are 75-12 in Lone Star Conference play since beginning play in the league in 2020.
HEAD COACH MIKE REED
Coach Reed will enter his 19
th season as head coach of the Patriots, and 22nd season as a head softball coach at the collegiate level in 2022.
Reed ranks fifth among all NCAA divisions in career winning percentage (.826), posting an 821-171 career mark through 22 career seasons. He owns the third-highest all-time win percentage among Division III coaches, coaching 18 of his 22 seasons at the Division III level, and is a nine-time American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year and eight-time NFCA Regional Coach of the Year. He has helped develop 33 All-Americans, 91 all-region and 149 all-conference selections and has led the UT Tyler program to the NCAA World Series in eight of the 12 years since the Patriots became postseason eligible in Division III.. He is 716-140 (.835) in his 19 seasons as head coach the Patriots and has seen his staff named the Regional Coaching Staff of the Year by the NFCA on eight different occasions (2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022).
