TYLER, TEXAS - #24/RV UT Tyler jumped out to the big early lead, but hot offense from #10 Southern Arkansas got them going and eventually gave them the lead to hand the Patriots their first non-conference loss of the season.
Dylan Blomquist got the start in a designed short outing for him, and after a single and a strikeout, the Muleriders jumped on top 1-0 with a double down the line before Blomquist could work out of the inning.
In the top of the second,
Miles Clack came on in replacement of Blomquist, and the Muleriders promptly took a 2-0 lead thanks to a solo home run. Clack would get a groundout, but a walk, wild pitch and a single gave the Muleriders another run. Clack battled back with a bigtime strikeout and turned the ball over to
Nick Oslovar, who got a huge groundout to end the inning and the threat.
The Patriots offense awoke in the bottom of the second, as
Lane Hutchinson led off with a hit by pitch before a
Carson Cox double put them both in scoring position.
Blake LaBuda answered the call with a big two RBI single up the middle and the Patriots moved within one.
Oslovar worked a scoreless third with a pair of strikeouts, and turned it over to
Brayden Freeman in the fourth who worked around a walk with a scoreless inning.
The Patriots used those big innings from their pitching staff to spur the offense, and they connected on a nine run inning on eight hits that put them out in front by a score of 11-3. That run began as
Nathan Carriere tripled, and Cox followed with a walk. LaBuda came up big again with a two RBI double, and he would come around to score on a
Jordan Gochenour RBI sacrifice fly.
The onslaught continued as
Ethan Bedgood reached on an error that allowed
Edward Ortiz to score. After an
Austin Ochoa single to load the bases, Hutchinson drove in two more on an RBI single and then Carriere would drive home Ochoa on another sacrifice fly. Cox singled home Hutchinson, and LaBuda posted his fifth RBI of the night with a single and the Patriots led big.
The Muleriders dug deep, and bounced back in the top of the fifth with three runs.
A.J. Irvin allowed a single and a pair of walks, but got a bigtime groundout double play to allow just one run to score. A wild pitch would score another, and after a walk
Justin Schrader would come on to pitch. A single and an error plated the third run of the inning, and the Muleriders climbed back to 11-6.
Another run would come around to score in the sixth inning for the Muleriders as they posted an RBI double, and in the seventh inning a two run home run off of
Julio Garcia cut the lead down to just two.
In the top of the eighth inning,
Nolan Cox took over for Garcia. After an error and a double, the Muleriders had it going yet again, and scored a pair of runs on a sacrifice fly and a sacrifice bunt to tie the game. A single would put runners on the corners with two outs, but a home run on a 3-2 count gave the Muleriders a three run lead.
Garrett Arredondo would come on to finish the inning with a strikeout, and after a 1-2-3 inning for the Patriots offense, finished off his own 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth inning to give the Patriots a chance.
In that ninth inning, the Patriots flew out and lined out to start the inning, but Cox drew a big walk to put a runner on. LaBuda followed with his own walk to bring the tying run to the plate, but a flyout to right field ended the Patriots comeback hopes
Hutchinson, LaBuda, and Ortiz each had multiple hits, as LaBuda posted a huge 3-for-4 day with five RBI and a run scored.
The Patriots will get right back to work on Friday night as they welcome in UAFS for a four game set to wrap up the regular season. UT Tyler still has plenty to play for as seeding for the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament is up for grabs.
The series starts at 7 p.m. Friday night, and Senior Day will be on Saturday beginning prior to the 3 p.m. start of the doubleheader. Finally the series finale will take place at Sunday at 1 p.m.
