UT Tyler vs. UAFS UTT: 32-14, 31-13 LSC | UAFS: 13-33, 11-33 LSC Friday, April 28 - Sunday, April 30 Tyler, Texas | Irwin Field

SCHEDULE

ROSTER

STATS

A STRONG SEASON SO FAR
 
UT Tyler has enjoyed an extremely successful season in 2023 as they have played to a record of 32-14 overall and a record of 31-13 in LSC play. In this Patriots run, they have won eight games against teams ranked inside the top 25, including a pair of wins over #2 Angelo State and a sweep of #25 West Texas A&M inside Irwin Field.
 
PLENTY TO PLAY FOR
 
The Patriots have climbed their way into second place in the Lone Star Conference standings after Angelo State swept St. Edward's and moved them half a game behind UT Tyler. The Patriots will need to match the number of wins of St. Edward's this weekend to ensure they receive the #2 seed in the LSC tournament.
 
POSTSEASON BASEBALL AT IRWIN FIELD
 
Regardless of this weekend's series for UT Tyler, they have guaranteed themselves either a second or third place finish in the LSC standings and therefore will have the opportunity to host during the opening weekend of the LSC tournament.
 
The LSC tournament format allows for the top four teams in the standings to host their opening round matchup in a best of three series that will determine who makes it to the four team double elimination portion of the tournament at the highest remaining seeds home site.
 
This season will mark the first time since 2017 that the Patriots will host postseason baseball at Irwin Field, as they look to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the Division II era.
 
REGIONAL ATTENTION
 
The first edition of the NCAA South Central Regional Rankings were released on Wednesday afternoon, and as with each of the Division II sports, the first release was in alphabetical order. The Patriots were named one of the eight teams in the initial release, marking them as under consideration for the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament that is scheduled for May 18-20 at two separate sites.
 
NATIONAL ATTENTION
 
The Patriots continue to receive attention in both pairs of national polls as they are ranked #24 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 and are in the Receiving Votes category of the NCBWA Top 25. This is the fifth consecutive week that the Patriots have been receiving votes in the NCBWA poll, and the fifth consecutive week that the Patriots have been inside the Collegiate Baseball Top 30.
 
THE SCOUTING REPORT
 
UAFS comes into this weekend's matchup at a record of 13-33 on the year and 11-33 in LSC action. The Lions have split each of their last two series, taking two on the road against Cameron and winning two at home against UT Permian Basin.
 
UAFS is hitting .239 as a team this season while scoring 222 runs, driving in 184, hitting 28 home runs, and drawing 158 walks. As a pitching staff, they have the eighth best ERA in the LSC at 6.94. They have allowed 276 earned runs over the year while striking out 323 hitters and allowing opposing teams to hit .319.
 
Leading the Lions on offense is Nico Patrick, who is batting .289 on the year with 18 RBI and 10 extra base hits. For the Lions pitching staff, Brayden Johnson leads the way with a solid 3.47 ERA over 12 starts this season. He has a pair of complete games in 70 innings pitched. He has 79 strikeouts on the year and opponents are hitting .253 on the year.
 
Todd Holland is at the helm for UAFS and is in the midst of his ninth season at the helm of the program. Holland is responsible for leading the program into their one and only NCAA South Central Region Tournament appearance all the way back in 2017 and the team would ultimately finish as runner up.
 
NEXT UP
 
Following this weekend's action, the Patriots will head straight for the postseason as they host the opening round of the LSC Tournament at Irwin Field. That series will begin at 7 p.m. on May 5 against an opponent to be determined after this weekend's competition.