TYLER, TEXAS - #3 UT Tyler advanced to Saturday's championship game of the 2023 NCAA DII South Central Regional Championship with a 2-0 win over #23 Oklahoma Christian on Friday afternoon.
 
Junior Tatum Goff tossed a complete game and came out on the winning end of a pitcher's duel to help notch win no. 33 in a row for the Patriots and send the no. 1 overall seed to Saturday's championship game. UT Tyler managed their lone two runs of the ballgame in the top of the seventh inning on an RBI walk from Courtney Plocheck and an RBI single from Michelle Arias.
 
UT Tyler had their chances throughout the contest, advancing a runner on base in every frame of the game, before finally pushing the two go-ahead runs across in the seventh. Goff conceded a single in the first inning and then retired 11 straight batters heading into the bottom of the fifth.
 
Oklahoma Christian threatened the scoreless game for the first time in that fifth inning with a leadoff walk and single to put runners aboard with no outs. A fielder's choice to second made it runners on first and third with one out, before a key double play on a line out to shortstop in the ensuing at-bat ended the inning.
 
The 0-0 game held through the sixth before UT Tyler finally chased Oklahoma Christian starter Payton Foster from the ballgame after a one-out walk and single put runners on first and second. Sophomore Sam Schott was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat, and Plocheck walked with the bases loaded to finally break the scoreless game with a 1-0 lead in favor of the Patriots.
 
Arias made it 2-0 with an infield single on the ensuing at-bat to provide all the cushion Goff would need to retire the Eagles in order in the bottom of the seventh.
 
The Rusk, Texas native matched the single season wins record for UT Tyler with her 36^th of the season after going 7.0 innings, scattering three hits and striking out a pair.
 
UT Tyler managed seven hits in the ballgame, including a pair of multi-hit efforts from Schott and senior Avery Farr.
 
The Patriots will advance to Saturday's championship game and will need just one victory in two games to advance to the 2023 NCAA DII South Central Super Regional next weekend.
 
UT Tyler will await the winner of game five of the tournament tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m., with the at-necessary game scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.