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Opponent Info |
No. 8 Cal State San Marcos vs. No. 1 / #3 UT Tyler
CSUSM: 32-19, 20-12 CCAA | UTT: 59-4, 39-2 LSC
Thursday, May 25th | 10 a.m. CST
Chattanooga, Tenn. | Frost Stadium at Warner Park |
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ROSTER |
SCHEDULE |
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BACK TO BACK SOUTH CENTRAL REGION CHAMPIONS
The UT Tyler softball program punched a return trip to the NCAA Division II World Series with a 2-0 series victory over #9 West Texas A&M in the 2023 NCAA South Central Super Regionals. The Patriots won 6-5 and 6-2 over the Lady Buffs to defeat a tradition-rich West Texas A&M program for the fifth time in 2023. The wins capped off a 5-0 record for the Patriots in the 2023 NCAA Division II National Tournament after defeating St. Edward's (7-4), and #23 Oklahoma Christian (twice, 2-0 and 12-6) in the 2023 NCAA South Central Regional Bracket I.
THE BRACKET
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased online HERE or at the box office in front of Frost Stadium. An all-session pass for the entirety of the DII World Series is available for $40 for adults and $20 for students (17 & under) /seniors (65+).
LIVE STATS AND VIDEO
Live stats and live video for the game can be found HERE.
SCOUTING CAL STATE SAN MARCOS
UT Tyler will open play in the tournament on Thursday morning against no. 8 seeded Cal State San Marcos. The Cougars are 32-19 on the year and finished with a 20-12 record in CCAA play. Cal State San Marcos defeated no. 1 seeded Concordia University Irvine in both games of the 2023 NCAA Division II West Super Regionals after winning three straight in the West Regionals. The Cougars will be making their first appearance at the Division II World Series. Paige Donnelly leads Cal State San Marcos at the plate as a D2CCA Second Team All-West Region selection. The Cougars hit .283 at the plate, but leaned on the arms of pitchers Savannah Coyle and Jayline Sloss throughout 2023. This will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.
A 36 GAME WINNING STREAK
The Patriots enter their second trip to the NCAA DII World Series in each of the first two seasons of postseason eligibility on a 36-game winning streak. UT Tyler hasn't lost since a March 10 road loss to (RV) Nova Southeastern by a 3-1 final. The Patriots swept 13 of their 14 Lone Star Conference three-game series, and navigated their 2023 schedule with a perfect 33-0 mark at home inside Irwin Ballpark.
A THIRD STRAIGHT REGULAR SEASON TITLE
UT Tyler finished their third complete season in the Lone Star Conference with a third-straight regular season LSC Championship. The Patriots have finished atop the LSC regular season standings in all three complete seasons competing in the LSC, and have produced a record of 97-12 in conference games in their first four years of Division II status. The 2020 season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Patriots were ineligible for postseason play while completing the mandatory three-year transition period in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
A NEW TROPHY TO THE CASE
UT Tyler claimed the 2023 LSC Postseason Tournament Title on May 6th on the field at Irwin Ballpark following a 4-3 win over #22 Oklahoma Christian. The Patriots defeated St. Edward's (9-4), Cameron (5-0) and Oklahoma Christian (4-3) to win the LSC Postseason Tournament for the first time. Michelle Arias was named the 2023 LSC Tournament MVP while Tatum Goff, Shea O'Leary and Courtney Plocheck joined Arias on the All-Tournament Team.
POSTSEASON PLAY
UT Tyler softball is now 107-44 in postseason play all-time and are 69-28 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 advanced to the NCAA DII National Semifinals before losing to evential champions Rogers State. UT Tyler dropped their opening game 5-1 to no. 8 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills, but rebounded with a 12-5 win over no. 4 Southern Indiana and a 4-3 win over no. 3 Auburn-Montgomery. 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 nine of those 12 trips.
NFCA ALL REGION SELECTIONS
The University of Texas at Tyler softball program placed six representatives on the 2023 NFCA Division II South Central All-Region Teams. Those six representatives are the most by any one school across the Division II landscape as Tatum Goff, Courtney Plocheck and JT Smith were named First Team honorees, and Shea O'Leary, Michelle Arias and Audrey Escamilla Second Team honorees. The awards honor softball student-athletes from the Association's eight regions with first and second-team selections. NFCA member head coaches from each respective region nominated their student-athletes and voted for the teams. All the honorees are now eligible for selection to the 2023 NFCA Division II All-America squads. The 2023 NFCA Division II All-America teams will be announced on Wednesday, May 24 at the NCAA Division II Championship banquet in Chattanooga, Tenn.
D2CCA ALL REGION SELECTIONS
The University of Texas at Tyler softball program placed six on the 2023 D2CCA All-South Central Region Teams and Tatum Goff was named the 2023 D2CCA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year. Goff was joined on the 2023 D2CCA First Team All-South Central Region by Michelle Arias, Courtney Plocheck and JT Smith while Shea O'Leary and Avery Farr were both named to the Second Team All-South Central Region. The six representatives from UT Tyler are the most from any one school across the South Central Region. A total of 28 student-athletes were included in the first (14) and second (14) teams with 17 from the Lone Star Conference and 11 from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Each member of the All-South Central Region first team moves on to be nominated for the D2CCA All-American teams to be released later this month. The D2CCA honors are nominated and voted on by sports information directors from the South Central Region which includes the LSC and RMAC.
ALL LONE STAR CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
UT Tyler collected 14 total All-Lone Star Conference Awards and three Special Awards as announced by Lone Star Conference officials. 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.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
UT Tyler entered the 2023 season at no. 3 in the NFCA DII Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll and have remained within the national top five all season. The Patriots have remained in the no. 3 spot of the poll for seven straight weeks entering the 2023 NCAA DII World Series.
A PROGRAM RECORD 59 WINS
The 2023 softball team has already secured the most wins in a single season in program history with 59 on the year entering the NCAA DII World Series. 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 753-141 (.841) in 19 seasons of competition dating back to the 2005 campaign.
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 223 batters and counting this season, while Smith's 43 stolen bases and 82 runs scored are a single season program high as well.
PATRIOTS IN THE NATIONAL STATS RANKINGS
UT Tyler currently sports the fourth best team fielding percentage (.977) and has drawn the second most walks as a team (259) in all of Division II softball. The Patriots rank fifth in team on-base percentage (.435), and have scored the sixth highest amount of total runs in the country (420). The pitching staff sports the eighth best ERA in the country (1.57), and has produced the eighth most shutouts with 20. JT Smith ranks second in the nation in on-base percentage (.588) and fifth in runs per game (1.33). Tatum Goff's 39 wins leads all of Division II softball, and her 2223 strikeouts in 2023 ranks 14th 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.
DOMINANCE IN DIVISION II
UT Tyler has produced a record of 158-23 (85.1 percent) since beginning Division II play in 2020 and have now claimed back-to-back-to-back Lone Star Conference Regular Season Championships in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Patriots are 97-12 in Lone Star Conference play since beginning play in the league in 2020.
HEAD COACH MIKE REED
Coach Reed will enter his 19th 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 858-172 (.833) 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, 103 all-region and 163 all-conference selections and has led the UT Tyler program to the NCAA World Series in nine of the 13 years that the Patriots have been eligible for postseason play. He is 753-141 (.842) 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).
