| Game Info |
Opponent Info |
No. 8 St. Edward's vs. No. 1 / #3 UT Tyler
SEU: 27-26, 20-22 LSC | UTT: 54-4, 39-2 LSC
Thursday, May 11th | Noon
Tyler, Texas | Irwin Ballpark |
|
ROSTER |
SCHEDULE |
STATS |
ADDING TO THE TROPHY CASE
UT Tyler won three straight games last weekend at Irwin Ballpark to add a 2023 Lone Star Conference Softball Championship Tournament crown to their third straight Lone Star Conference Regular Season Championship. The tournament crown is the first LSC Tournament Title for the Patriots in just the second year of full-fledged Division II status and secured the automatic berth into the NCAA Division II National Tournament. UT Tyler won 9-4 over no. 8 seeded St. Edward's in the quarterfinals, 5-0 over no. 5 seeded Cameron in the semifinals, and 4-3 over no. 3 seeded Oklahoma Christian in Saturday's championship game. That 4-3 win came in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh over the Eagles on a sac fly to rightfield from
Michelle Arias on what was an attempted intentional walk of the eventual Tournament MVP. Oklahoma Christian tried to put Arias on with runners on second and third, but the 3-0 pitch got too close to the zone and Arias poked it into rightfield, just deep enough to allow
JT Smith to score from third. The wins extended a Division II best 31-game winning streak for the program, and began the postseason march for the Patriots in exciting fashion.
THE BEST OF THE TOURNAMENT
Four Patriots found their way onto the 2023 Lone Star Conference All-Tournament Team, including Tournament MVP
Michelle Arias. Arias was joined on the All-Tournament Team by shortstop
Courtney Plocheck and pitchers
Shea O'Leary and
Tatum Goff.
THE NCAA DIVISION II NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
UT Tyler will enter the NCAA Division II National Tournament as the no. 1 overall seed in the South Central Region for a second-straight year, and will host one side the South Central Region at Irwin Ballpark. No. 8 seeded St. Edward's and the no. 4 and no. 5 seeds Oklahoma Christian and Lubbock Christian will battle it out in a double-elimination tournament with a spot in the 2023 NCAA South Central Super Regionals on the line.
THE SCHEDULE
NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament 1
Tyler, Texas – Irwin Ballpark
THURSDAY, MAY 11
Noon – No. 1 UT Tyler vs. No. 8 St. Edward's
3 p.m. – No. 4 Oklahoma Christian vs. no. 5 Lubbock Christian
FRIDAY, MAY 12
Noon - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
3:00 p.m. - Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
6 p.m. - Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
SATURDAY, MAY 13
Noon - Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
3:00 p.m. - Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (if necessary)
THE SOUTH CENTRAL REGION SEEDINGS
1. UT Tyler
2. Colorado Christian
3. West Texas A&M
4. Oklahoma Christian
5. Lubbock Christian
6. Cameron
7. St. Mary's
8. St. Edward's
BUY TICKETS
Admission prices for an all-day pass are:
| Ticket Type |
Price |
| General Admission |
$10 |
| Children (3 to 12 years of age) |
$5 |
| Children (2 years old and under) |
Free |
Admission prices for an all-tournament pass are:
| Ticket Type |
Price |
| General Admission Tournament Pass |
$25 |
| Children (3 to 12 years of age) Tournament Pass |
$12 |
WATCH LIVE
All NCAA South Central Regional games will be stream live and free on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.
ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS
UT Tyler collected 14 total All-Lone Star Conference Awards and three Special Awards as announced by Lone Star Conference officials at Wednesday night's championship recognition. Head coach
Mike Reed was named the Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year for the third straight season, while
Tatum Goff was named the Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Year and
Shea O'Leary the Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year. Goff and O'Leary were joined on the All-Lone Star Conference First Team list by
Courtney Plocheck,
JT Smith and
Michelle Arias.
Audrey Escamilla and
Cassidi Mullen were both All-Lone Star Conference Second Team honorees, while
Sam Schott and
Avery Farr were included in the All-Lone Star Conference Third Team list. Smith was named to the Lone Star Conference Golden Glove team and Goff to the Lone Star Conference All-Academic Team to round out the awards for the Patriots.
POSTSEASON PLAY
UT Tyler softball is now 102-44 in postseason play all-time and are 64-28 in NCAA National Tournament play dating back to their inaugural appearance in the 2008 season.
The Patriots advanced to the NCAA Division II World Series last spring in the program's inaugural appearance in the national tournament at the NCAA Division II level. UT Tyler battled through the loser's bracket of the South Central Region Tournament to defeat no. 4 seeded Lubbock Christian in both Saturday games last spring by 3-1 and 9-2 finals, and then defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville 2-to-1 in the NCAA South Central Super Regionals.
Head coach
Mike Reed and his program have made 12 appearances in an NCAA National Championship Tournament between the Division II and III levels, and have advanced to the NCAA World Series in eight of those 12 trips.
AT NO. 3 AGAIN
The University of Texas at Tyler softball program continued their reign at no. 3 in the latest 2023 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll as announced by the organization on Tuesday afternoon. The Patriots received 369 first-place votes to come in at no. 3 for a seventh straight week as part of an unchanged top five of the national rankings. Tampa received all 16 first-place votes as the unanimous no. 1 choice, while North Georgia (no. 2), Central Oklahoma (no. 4) and UAH (no. 5) all stayed put alongside UT Tyler in the top five. 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 |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1 |
Tampa (16) |
40-3 |
400 |
1 |
| 2 |
North Georgia |
54-6 |
383 |
2 |
| 3 |
UT Tyler |
54-4 |
369 |
3 |
| 4 |
Central Oklahoma |
47-6 |
350 |
4 |
| 5 |
UAH |
44-9 |
336 |
5 |
| 6 |
Indianapolis |
50-8 |
308 |
6 |
| 7 |
Colorado Christian |
55-4 |
306 |
8 |
| 8 |
Grand Valley State |
40-6 |
279 |
7 |
| 9 |
West Texas A&M |
47-6 |
266 |
10 |
| 10 |
Saint Leo |
42-10 |
252 |
11 |
| 11 |
Concordia |
45-10 |
246 |
12 |
| 12 |
Adelphi |
43-6 |
224 |
13 |
| 13 |
Missouri Southern |
40-13 |
194 |
25 |
| 14 |
Rogers State |
43-12 |
178 |
9 |
| 15 |
Mississippi College |
43-10 |
176 |
14 |
| 16 |
Sonoma State |
34-11 |
161 |
15 |
| 17 |
Wingate |
44-13 |
129 |
17 |
| 18 |
Harding |
44-12 |
121 |
16 |
| 19 |
Charleston |
40-9 |
95 |
21 |
| 20 |
West Alabama |
41-12 |
90 |
20 |
| 21 |
Columbus State |
44-14 |
84 |
19 |
|
Oklahoma Baptist |
43-10 |
84 |
18 |
| 23 |
Oklahoma Christian |
36-15 |
69 |
22 |
| 24 |
Wilmington |
39-13 |
36 |
|
| 25 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
36-12 |
23 |
23 |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:
Lubbock Christian (21), Nova Southeastern (8), East Stroudsburg (4), Southern Arkansas (4), Auburn-Montgomery (2), Cal State Dominguez Hills (2).
DROPPED OUT:
No. 24 Lubbock Christian
A PROGRAM RECORD 54 WINS
The 2023 softball team has already secured the most wins in a single season in program history with 54 on the year entering postseason play. The Patriots have now won 50-plus games in two seasons after going 50-5 back in 2015, and have not registered double-digit losses in a season in 12 straights seasons. The program is 748-141 (.841) in 19 seasons of competition dating back to the 2005 season.
A PAIR OF INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM RECORDS
Two individual program records have fallen this season as
Tatum Goff set the single season strikeout record and
JT Smith the record for stolen bases and runs scored in a season. Goff has now struckout 210 batters and counting this season, while Smith's 42 stolen bases and 78 runs scored are a single season program high as well
PATRIOTS BY THE NUMBERS
UT Tyler currently sports the second best team fielding percentage (.979) and has drawn the second most walks as a team (230) in all of Division II softball. The Patriots rank seventh in team on-base percentage (.433), and have scored the seventh highest amount of total runs in the country (387). The pitching staff sports the sixth best ERA in the country (1.51), and has produced the seventh most shutouts with 19.
JT Smith ranks second in the nation in on-base percentage (.598) and sixth in runs per game (1.34).
Tatum Goff's 34 wins leads all of Division II softball, and her 210 strikeouts in 2023 ranks 15th in Division II.
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 153-23 (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 100-12 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 (.837), posting an 853-172 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 748-141 (.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).
