TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler baseball will now look ahead to the LSC Tournament after taking down UAFS 8-1 in the series finale on Sunday afternoon and ensuring postseason baseball will return to Irwin Field for the first time since 2017.
Nolan Cox was handed the ball to start the contest for the Patriots, and he worked around a single with a flyout, foulout, and fielder's choice to post a zero in the top of the first.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Patriots were able to small ball their way to a run as
Jordan Gochenour drew a walk and moved to third on two straight wild pitches. Two batters later, a double play allowed him to trot home and the Patriots took a 1-0 lead.
A three up, three down top of the second gave it right back to the Patriots offense, and
Nathan Carriere led off with a single. He would go down on a fielder's choice from
Hayden Clearman, who moved himself to third thanks to a steal and an error.
Adrian Minjares would then step to the plate and deliver a clutch single to center field that made it a 2-0 game.
Cox continued his dominant performance on the mound, as he struck out a pair of hitters in the top half of the third for his second consecutive three up, three down inning. His offense would back him up again, as Carriere again reached on a single and came all the way around to score on a Clearman double to make it 3-0.
Another pair of strikeouts lit up the board in the top of the fourth for Cox as he made it 10 straight batters retired going back to the third out of the first inning. He stepped right back out for the fifth, but would allow a leadoff solo home run to break the scoreless run. A single and a double followed, but Cox responded with a big strikeout and then got a big out on a fielder's choice at the plate for his second out. He would come up clutch again, striking out the final hitter of the inning to go five full with seven strikeouts.
The Patriots hitters found their stride in the bottom half of the fifth, as
Carson Cox led off with a single and then Carriere reached on an error. That brought up Clearman, who continued his hot streak with a three run blast over the right center field wall for a 6-1 Patriots lead.
Minjares drew a hit by pitch, and later moved to third on a Gochenour double before scoring on a wild pitch. The next batter up was
Kaston Mason, and he drove home the eighth run of the game on a sacrifice fly to make it 8-1.
Garrett Arredondo would take the mound in the sixth, and he worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning to keep UAFS at bay. He went right back out for the seventh, and he set them down in order with a pair of strikeouts included.
Arredondo would turn it over to
Logan Henderson in the top half of the eighth, and he worked around a single from the Lions with a strikeout, flyout, and a popout to continue the Patriots dominant display on the mound.
In the top of the ninth, Henderson trotted back out to the mound and got a flyout and strikeout around a walk and a single. Against the final batter of the game, Henderson forced a foulout and the Patriots took the game by a final of 8-1.
Nolan Cox moved to 5-3 on the season after going five full innings while scattering four hits and allowing just one earned run. He struck out a season high seven hitters and had no walks.
Three Patriots had multiple hits in the game, and those same three players also scored a pair of runs.
Jordan Gochenour finished 2-for-3,
Nathan Carriere went 2-for-4, and
Hayden Clearman went 2-for-4 with three RBI.
UT Tyler will now look to the LSC Tournament beginning on Friday night as they will host Texas A&M-Kingsville for the first round series. That series begins at 7 p.m., on Friday and game two will be at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Sunday's if necessary game will be played at 1 p.m.
