SAN ANGELO, TEXAS – UT Tyler baseball is not done yet, as they won a pivotal game two and forced a winner take all game in the NCAA South Central Region Tournament on Sunday to determine who will head to the NCAA Super Regionals.
 
GAME ONE
 
Game one of the day began at 3 p.m. and it was Angelo State that jumped out early and put on a strong performance on the mound on their way to a 10-1 win.
 
Ethan Bedgood put his name into UT Tyler history in the top of the first inning as he ripped a double down the left field line to set a new UT Tyler single season record for hits. However, he was left stranded as the Patriots couldn't bring him home.
 
Miles Clack got the start for the Patriots, but the Rams jumped on the board with four runs in the bottom of the first as they posted a two RBI triple and a pair of RBI singles.
 
They would tack on another run on an RBI single in the second, as the Patriots drew a leadoff walk in the top half but were unable to get the run home. Another Patriot drew a hit by pitch in the third, but again Angelo State starter Kade Bragg continued a strong effort by not allowing a runner to advance.
 
Clack bounced back in the third, allowing a leadoff walk before flashing the leather on a sweet glove flip to first to get an out. He got a pair of groundouts to end the inning, and in the fourth worked a 1-2-3 inning to put another zero on the board.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, the Rams connected on three more runs to get their lead to 8-0 and would eventually add one more in the sixth to make it 9-0.
 
The story of the day for the Patriots offense in game one was plenty of hard hit balls, but the Rams defense continued to hold strong behind Bragg. Bragg would finish the day after 7.1 innings pitched as Blake LaBuda ripped another double and Carson Cox reached on an error to begin the eighth.
 
A wild pitch would move them to scoring position for the Patriots best chance of the day, but a strikeout and a groundout would end the inning and the threat.
 
One run was scored on one hit for Angelo State in the eighth, and the Patriots would tack on their first run of the game in the ninth after a triple from Bryce Jewell and then an RBI single from Tommy van de Sanden.
 
However, the rally effort was stunted by a double play from the Rams, and they secured a 10-1 win in game one.
 
GAME TWO
 
Game two of the day saw the Patriots with their backs against the wall, as a loss would mean their NCAA Tournament journey would come to a close. They turned to Brayden Freeman to get the game started, but a walk followed by four straight hits gave the Rams a 3-0 lead with just one out.
 
Head coach Brent Porche went to Garrett Arredondo out of the bullpen, and he would go on to deliver a career performance in the elimination contest.
 
Arredondo quickly got a fielder's choice to start, and then got the groundout to shortstop to put an end to the threat in the first. That big effort didn't go unnoticed by the Patriots offense, as they have responded to big outs from their pitching staff all season.
 
Jordan Gochenour would draw a leadoff walk, and then Kaston Mason would join Bedgood in putting his name in the UT Tyler record book as he smashed a pitch over the left center field wall for a home run and a new single season UT Tyler record for home runs.
 
That blast from Mason cut the score to 3-2, and Arredondo would trot out for the second inning. A leadoff single was followed by a big strikeout, and Arredondo got the groundball double play to end the inning.
 
After a scoreless half for the Patriots offense, Arredondo struck out the first two he faced before allowing two walks. He would answer the bell yet again, as he struck out the next hitter to move his total to four for the day.
 
Gochenour would lead off the third inning, and he jumped all over a pitch that he hammered off the scoreboard in right center field to tie the game up at 3-3 and make it a brand new game after three.
 
Arredondo continued to work his magic, as he posted another strikeout in the fourth on his way to a 1-2-3 inning. In the fifth, he allowed a leadoff single, but got a key flyout and a strikeout to get two outs. He would allow a runner to reach third on an error on a pickoff attempt, but he got a clutch groundout to third base to end the threat.
 
In the bottom half of the fifth, Mason would reach on a single, but then was out on a fielder's choice by Bedgood. Ochoa would drill a double down the left field line, and as it was bobbled by the Rams, Bedgood was waved around third. However, a perfect throw from the Rams defense got the out at the plate and the game remained tied through five.
 
Arredondo headed right back out for the sixth, and after a flyout and a groundout, officially had his longest outing of the season. That previous outing was five innings against Angelo State on February 24 in which the Patriots ended with a walkoff win in 13 innings. Tonight, he would best that mark, as he ended the inning with a popup to give the Patriots offense a chance yet again.
 
In the bottom half of the sixth, Lane Hutchinson led things off with a single to left field, and Hayden Clearman followed with a single up the middle to put runners on the corners with no outs. Adrian Minjares would step to the plate, and he would groundout to the pitcher that took a funny hop and allowed Hutchinson to score without a throw at the plate.
 
That run gave the Patriots their first lead of the entire day, and they nearly added in another run on the squeeze bunt but the Rams made a great play and just barely nabbed Clearman at the plate.
 
With the Patriots out in front, coach Porche continued to send Arredondo out to the mound, and Arredondo continued to put together a tremendous outing. In the seventh, he got a pair of groundouts around a strikeout for a 1-2-3 inning, and he worked yet another 1-2-3 inning in the eighth with the exact same line.
 
After the Patriots went scoreless in the eighth, Arredondo stepped right back onto the mound in the ninth. He got the first hitter on a strikeout, and then Austin Ochoa made a tremendous defensive play at third to record the second out. That left the Rams down to their final out, and Arredondo would force the harmless popout to shortstop to complete the win for UT Tyler.
 
Garrett Arredondo was the star of the day for UT Tyler, as he went 8.2 innings while allowing just two hits. He walked three batters, but posted nine strikeouts in a monster day on the mound to lead the Patriots.
 
The Patriots offense was led by Kaston Mason, Hayden Clearman, and Carson Cox as they each totaled a pair of hits. Mason had a pair of RBI with his two run blast, and Jordan Gochenour and Adrian Minjares each drove in the tying and game winning runs, respectively.
 
UT Tyler now heads to the winner take all finale on Sunday with a chance to make their first ever NCAA Division II Super Regionals.
 
That winner take all game with Angelo State is set for a 2 p.m. first pitch in San Angelo, Texas.