TYLER, TEXAS - #19 UT Tyler baseball will return home to Irwin Field at a record of 4-4 for the season after taking the series finale on Sunday in San Antonio, Texas.
The Patriots scored their runs in bunches, with three separate innings recording four runs on the day all but one starter on the day recorded a hit.
That scoring began quickly for the Patriots, as a leadoff double from
Lane Hutchinson followed by a pair of singles from
Ethan Bedgood and
Austin Ochoa plated the first run of the game. Just one batter later,
Kyle Atkinson continued his hot streak at the plate as he busted a three run blast to center field to make it 4-0.
Rawley Hector got the ball for the Patriots and worked a quick first inning, but in the bottom of the second, the Rattlers got their chance to get back at the Patriots, as they plated three runs. An error and a single followed by an RBI groundout and a wild pitch plated the first two runs, while a two-out single gave them three runs and cut the game to a 4-3 lead.
Both teams went down in order in the third, but the Patriots bats stayed hot, scoring three more runs in the fourth. Hutchinson plated a run with an RBI groundout, before
Kaston Mason belted his own home run over the right field wall for a two run blast to make it 7-3.
Another scoreless inning ensued for both teams in the fifth, as Hector worked around a pair of leadoff singles to keep the Rattlers off the board and ensure the Patriots lead.
A leadoff double from
Hayden Clearman began the sixth, and two batters later he was brought home by Hutchinson with his own double. Bedgood would take his turn driving one home, singling down the line to plate the ninth run of the afternoon.
The Rattlers would score a trio of runs in the bottom of the sixth in response as
Logan Henderson came on in relief. He allowed a pair of walks and a pair of singles to lead the inning, but got the clutch ground ball double play to get two outs. One more single would plate the final two runs of the inning, but the Patriots continued to hold a lead at 9-6.
The offense wasted no time in getting those runs back and picking up their reliever, as
Blake LaBuda led off the seventh with a home run to left. Three batters later, it was
Lane Hutchinson who smoked his own home run to left center for a three run blast to make it 13-6.
In the eighth, LaBuda would come around to score on an error after a leadoff single, and Clearman quickly followed him home by scoring on a wild pitch. Two batters later, it was Hutchinson again with the big piece of hitting, ripping his third double of the day to drive home
Jordan Ardoin. Bedgood followed two batters later, dropping in a single through the middle to plate Hutchinson and make it a 17-6 game through eight and a half innings.
The Rattlers would plate two runs in the bottom half of the inning to avoid the run rule, but were unable to plate any more runs in the ninth and fell by a final score of 17-8.
The Patriots offense would be led by the huge performance of
Lane Hutchinson, who went 4-for-6 with three doubles, a home run, four runs scored, and six RBI.
Ethan Bedgood found his stride, going 5-for-6 on the day with a double and two RBI while scoring a run.
Kyle Atkinson and
Kaston Mason each drove in more than one run, with Atkinson picking up three RBI and Mason driving home two.
Rawley Hector picked up his first win of the season, going five full innings while scattering five hits and allowing no earned runs while striking out three.
