| Game Info |
Opponent Info |
Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. #3 UT Tyler
TAMUK: 22-22, 19-17 LSC | UTT: 46-4, 34-2 LSC
Tuesday, April 25th | 4 P.M. | 6 P.M.
Tyler, Texas | Irwin Ballpark |
|
ROSTER |
SCHEDULE |
STATS |
Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. #3 UT Tyler
TAMUK: 22-22, 19-17 LSC | UTT: 46-4, 34-2 LSC
Tuesday, April 25th | 1 P.M.
Tyler, Texas | Irwin Ballpark |
|
ROSTER |
SCHEDULE |
STATS |
THE FINAL ROAD TEST PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS
UT Tyler extend Division II softball's longest winning streak over the weekend with a ninth 3-0 Lone Star Conference series sweep. The Patriots defeated St. Edward's by final scores of 4-1, 9-2 and 3-0 to move to 46-4 on the year and 34-2 in Lone Star Conference play. Four different batters notched an RBI and the pitching duo of
Tatum Goff and
Shea O'Leary allowed just three hits to post win. 21 in a row for #3 UT Tyler in the 4-1 win on Friday afternoon. UT Tyler registered 10 hits, and scored runs in the first, second, fifth and sixth innings to pad a 4-0 advantage over the Hilltoppers. Goff moved to 29-0 on the year with 5.0 complete innings of work that featured seven strikeouts and just a single earned run. Goff gave way to O'Leary, who tossed perfect sixth and seventh innings, to record her third save of the year. #3 UT Tyler defeated St. Edward's by 9-2 and 3-0 finals on Saturday afternoon to close out their 2023 road schedule with a 23
rd straight victory and ninth straight 3-0 Lone Star Conference series sweep. UT Tyler pulled away in game one with eight runs in their final three trips to the plate for the 9-2 victory, and then rode the arm of junior
Tatum Goff to a 3-0 win in game two. Goff moved to 30-0 on the year with a complete game shutout that featured six strikeouts and just three hits allowed.
THE FINAL WEEK OF THE REGULAR SEASON
UT Tyler will now head home for the final week of the 2023 regular season looking to clinch a third straight Lone Star Conference regular season championship as well as an undefeated record inside Irwin Ballpark. The Patriots hold a three-game advantage over West Texas A&M in the regular season standings and hold the tiebreaker over the Lady Buffs after sweeping the series between the two programs back on Mar. 3-4. West Texas A&M has just three games remaining on their regular season schedule against Cameron over the weekend, meaning that a tenth 3-0 series sweep over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Tuesday and Wednesday would clinch a third straight regular season title for the Patriots. UT Tyler will then host Texas A&M International at Irwin Ballpark for the final regular season games of the 2023 schedule this weekend.
SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS
Texas A&M-Kingsville enters Tuesday and Wednesday's series with an overall record of 22-22 on the year, and a 19-17 record in Lone Star Conference play. The Javelinas currently sit seventh in the LSC standings, and are in the midst of a battle for one of the 10 available spots in the LSC Postseason Tournament scheduled for May 4-6. Texas A&M-Kingsville dropped their most recent series last weekend 3-0 to Oklahoma Christian. The Javelinas sit sixth in the LSC in team batting average (.275) and rank fifth in the LSC in team ERA (2.70). Jory Cervantes, Kayla Gonzales and Aaliyah Ortiz all sport batting averages north of .300 on the year and highlight a dangerous Javelina lineup as former All-American selections at various points in their careers. Beth Montes, Lizette Del Angel and Carissa De Los Santos have all seen meaningful innings throughout their respective careers in the Lone Star Conference, and all figure to see innings against the Patriots on Tuesday and Wednesday. UT Tyler holds a 5-2 all-time record over the Javelinas, including a 3-1 mark in 2022. The series this week will be a rematch of the 2022 NCAA South Central Super Regional in which UT Tyler beat the Javelinas 2-1 in order to advance to the 2022 NCAA Division II World Series.
PATRIOTS BY THE NUMBERS
UT Tyler currently sports the second best team fielding percentage (.979) and has drawn the third most walks as a team (204) in all of Division II softball. The Patriots rank 8th in team on-base percentage (.432), and have scored the 12th highest amount of total runs in the country (325). The pitching staff sports the 10th best ERA in the country (1.55), and has produced the sixth most shutouts with 17.
JT Smith ranks second in the nation in on-base percentage (.618) and fifth in runs per game (1.37).
Tatum Goff's 30 wins leads all of Division II softball, and her 173 strikeouts in 2023 ranks 16th in Division II.
PATS ARE INCREDIBLE AT HOME
UT Tyler holds a 20-0 record inside the friendly confines of Irwin Ballpark in 2023. The Patriots hold nine shutout victories on their home field this season, and have run-ruled eight of their opponents in those 20 victories.
PATS IN THE REGIONAL RANKINGS
#3 UT Tyler has been included in the initial NCAA Division II South Central Regional Rankings announced by the NCAA last Wednesday. Last week's rankings list teams in alphabetical order that are under consideration for one of eight available spots in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament. The next two editions in the following weeks will provide ranked listings ahead of the announcement of the 64-team NCAA Division II National Championship field on Sunday, May 7
th. The winners of the Lone Star Conference and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference postseason tournaments will receive automatic bids into the South Central Regional Tournament, and the last six spots will be filled by at-large selections. The South Central Regional Tournament will take on May 11-13 at the top two seed's host sites. The winners of each regional bracket will then meet at the higher seed's host site for the NCAA South Central Super Regional Tournament on May 18-19. The winner of that series will advance to the 2023 NCAA Division II Softball World Series in Chattanooga, Tenn. on May 25-29.
|
DII Record |
In-Region Record |
| Angelo St. |
29-21 |
28-20 |
| Cameron |
26-18 |
26-18 |
| Colo. Christian |
45-3 |
45-3 |
| Lubbock Christian |
36-11 |
33-10 |
| Okla. Christian |
28-14 |
27-14 |
| Regis (CO) |
28-18 |
28-18 |
| St. Edward's |
25-20 |
23-20 |
| St. Mary's (TX) |
27-18 |
25-18 |
| UT Tyler |
43-4 |
37-3 |
| West Tex. A&M |
40-5 |
40-5 |
A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS
UT Tyler holds a three-game advantage over West Texas A&M atop the Lone Star Conference standings with a record of 34-2 in LSC play. The top teams 10 teams in the LSC standings will qualify into the 2023 Lone Star Conference Softball Championship Tournament scheduled for May 4-6. The top seed will host the 10-team single-elimination bracket based on the final LSC standings.
PATS STILL AT NO. 3
The University of Texas at Tyler softball program remained at no. 3 in the latest NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll as announced by the organization on Tuesday afternoon. The Patriots received 369 total votes to come in behind new no. 1 Tampa and no. 2 North Georgia, who swapped positions in this week's poll. UT Tyler was the only top-five team to remain put, as UAH and Central Oklahoma also flipped standings in the no. 4 and no. 5 slots. 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.
|
Rank
|
School
|
Points
|
2023 Record
|
Previous
Ranking
|
|
1
|
Tampa (12)
|
396
|
32-2
|
2
|
|
2
|
North Georgia (4)
|
387
|
44-4
|
1
|
|
3
|
UT Tyler
|
369
|
43-4
|
3
|
|
4
|
UAH
|
343
|
36-7
|
5
|
|
5
|
Central Oklahoma
|
339
|
33-6
|
4
|
|
6
|
Indianapolis
|
325
|
41-4
|
6
|
|
7
|
Grand Valley State
|
302
|
30-3
|
7
|
|
8
|
Rogers State
|
266
|
33-8
|
8
|
|
9
|
Colorado Christian
|
265
|
45-3
|
12
|
|
10
|
Sonoma State
|
262
|
33-8
|
11
|
|
11
|
Saint Leo
|
241
|
36-7
|
13
|
|
12
|
West Texas A&M
|
224
|
40-5
|
14
|
|
13
|
Valdosta State
|
197
|
32-9
|
9
|
|
14
|
Concordia
|
191
|
37-9
|
15
|
|
15
|
Adelphi
|
178
|
31-6
|
17
|
|
16
|
Lubbock Christian
|
170
|
36-11
|
10
|
|
17
|
Wingate
|
147
|
39-10
|
16
|
|
18
|
Mississippi College
|
117
|
33-7
|
19
|
|
19
|
Harding
|
104
|
35-11
|
18
|
|
20
|
Lenoir-Rhyne
|
88
|
31-9
|
21
|
|
21
|
Oklahoma Baptist
|
71
|
37-9
|
22
|
|
22
|
West Alabama
|
58
|
31-10
|
23
|
|
23
|
Charleston
|
56
|
27-6
|
t25
|
|
24
|
Columbus State
|
44
|
36-12
|
24
|
|
25
|
Missouri Southern
|
24
|
31-8
|
RV
|
|
25
|
Wilmington
|
24
|
28-10
|
t25
|
New to Poll: t-No. 25 Missouri Southern
Dropped Out: No. 20 Washburn
Receiving Votes: West Chester (5), Nova Southeastern (3), Washburn (3), Southern Arkansas (1).
THREE ON THE PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
#3 UT Tyler placed three representatives on the 2023 Tucci/NFCA DII Player and Pitcher of the Year Watch List. Tatum Goff, Courtney Plocheck and JT Smith have all been included in this year's watch list. The Patriots are the only team from the South Central Region to have placed three players on the list. 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-athlete's head coach must be a member. New in 2023, the list is broken down into the eight NCAA Regions (Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast and West) with up to 15 student-athletes represented in each region. Voted on by the NFCA's Division II All-American Committee, the 2023 Tucci/NFCA Player and Pitcher of the Year will be announced on June 1. All student-athletes are eligible for the end-of-the-season award and do not have to be on this list to be considered.
DOMINANCE IN DIVISION II
UT Tyler has produced a record of 145-23 (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 92-12 in Lone Star Conference play since beginning play in the league in 2020.
HEAD COACH MIKE REED
Coach Reed will enter his 19th 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 (.837), posting an 845-172 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 740-141 (.837) 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).
