TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler baseball will hold a 2-1 series lead heading into Sunday's series finale after a doubleheader split on Saturday afternoon with Lubbock Christian.
GAME ONE
UT Tyler saw
Nate Campbell start game one of the day, and he quickly worked a 1-2-3 first inning that included a strikeout.
In the second inning, Campbell got a quick pair of outs around a double, but the Chaps connected on a line drive home run to right field to take a 2-0 lead. In the third however, Campbell would get an opening out but due to injury would have to leave the game and be replaced by
Miles Clack.
Clack would answer the call, closing out the third with two straight outs and pick up where Campbell left off. In the fourth, Clack got two quick outs before the Chaps would load the bases with a pair of walks and a single, but Clack had the answer and kept them scoreless again.
In the fourth inning, the Patriots offense would finally break the drought as
Kaston Mason picked up a one out walk. He was followed by a looping double from
Ethan Bedgood and then an RBI single from
Austin Ochoa. A wild pitch plated another run, and
Kyle Atkinson singled to right field to quickly give the Patriots a 3-2 lead through four innings.
Clack faced the minimum in the fifth before handing the ball off to
Garrett Arredondo in the sixth. Arredondo got the leadoff strikeout before allowing a walk and a single before his defense threw out the runner trying to stretch for a double. He tacked on another strikeout to close out the inning and keep the Patriots in front.
After a scoreless bottom half for UT Tyler, Arredondo added another quick strikeout before allowing a single. He then silenced the Chaps with a popout and a flyout to seal the Patriots win in game one.
Miles Clack moved to 3-0 on the year after going 2.2 innings and allowing just one hit and striking out two.
Garrett Arredondo snagged his second save of the season with two innings thrown and three strikeouts.
Ethan Bedgood was the lone Patriot with two hits, going 2-for-3 on the day and scoring a run. Both
Austin Ochoa and
Kyle Atkinson added in an RBI.
GAME TWO
Game two of the day would be a near mirror image of the first as neither side found much success against solid pitching.
Nash Villegas got the ball for the Patriots, and allowed just a two out single before getting a strikeout to end the inning.
In the bottom of the first,
Ethan Bedgood led off with a walk before
Austin Ochoa reached on an error that put runners on the corners. Another walk ensued two batters later, and then
Ethan Menard reached on another error with the bases loaded to push across the Patriots first run of the game.
In the second, Villegas allowed a leadoff double and later a walk, but picked up a pair of strikeouts and a foulout to keep the Chaps scoreless. Another pair of strikeouts came his way in the third, and in the fourth he struck out one more hitter while facing the minimum and close out his appearance with a dominant effort.
In the fifth inning, the Patriots turned the ball over to
Justus Revill. He quickly responded with a flyout and a lineout, but the Chaps picked up a single and a walk to force him from the game. That brought on
Kolby Parker, but an errant pickoff throw that went down the first base line brought both runners all the way around to score and give the Chaps a 2-1 lead.
The next Chaps batter drew a walk, and then a deep triple to right field brought home the third run of the inning, all with two outs.
After a scoreless fifth from the Patriots,
Julio Garcia came on to hold off the Chaps bats. He responded with two straight groundouts before allowing a single. He erased that single with another groundout and gave the Patriots another shot at getting back in the game.
Those bats would stay cold in the home half of the sixth, and Garcia went back out for the seventh. He worked around a single and a pair of walks by striking out the side and holding the Chaps scoreless yet again.
A pair of strikeouts led off the seventh for the Patriots, but on the second strikeout there was a dropped third strike, and Bedgood scurried down to first to get a runner on. Ochoa followed with a single and
Kyle Atkinson drew a walk to load the bases with just one out.
The Patriots however could not drive home a run and would have to settle for a 3-1 defeat.
Nash Villegas went four full innings while allowing just two hits and striking out six.
Julio Garcia went two innings and allowed two hits while striking out three.
Austin Ochoa was the lone Patriot with multiple hits, as he went 2-for-4 on the day.
The Patriots will now focus their sights on Sunday's series finale as they look for their first series win of the season. That contest begins at 1 p.m. inside Irwin Field.
