Game Info	Opponent Info
#6 UT Tyler vs. Cameron UTT: 8-4 (0-3 LSC) | CU: 4-3 (1-2 LSC) Tuesday, Feb. 20th | 2 p.m. / 4 p.m. (DH) Lawton, Okla.		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS
#6 UT Tyler vs. Cameron UTT: 8-4 (0-3 LSC) | CU: 4-3 (1-2 LSC) Wednesday, Feb. 21st | 1 p.m. Lawton, Okla.		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS

LAST TIME OUT

#3 West Texas A&M plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to walk-it-off against #6 UT Tyler by a 4-3 final on Saturday afternoon. UT Tyler took a 3-1 lead in the top of the fifth in a ballgame that maintained a 1-0 differential in favor of West Texas A&M through four innings of play. The Lady Buffs scored a run in the bottom half of the fifth and then sent the tying and winning runs home after loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh.

#6 UT Tyler dropped each of their Lone Star Conference openers to #3 West Texas A&M by 4-3 and 7-5 finals on Friday afternoon. The Patriots took the lead in the top of the seventh inning in game one after entering their final at bat of the game down a run, but a walk-off RBI single for the Lady Buffs in the bottom half of the inning secured a 4-3 victory for West Texas A&M. UT Tyler marched back from a 6-2 deficit in game two with three runs in the top of the sixth inning to cut the deficit to just a single run, but an insurance homer for the Lady Buffs in their final trip to the plate and a scoreless top of the seventh inning solidified the 7-5 victory.

PATRIOT NEWS AND NOTES

- UT Tyler softball will head to Lawton, Okla. on Tuesday and Wednesday with an opportunity to respond following the program's first three-game losing streak since 2010 over the weekend. The 3-0 series defeat against #3 West Texas A&M marks just the second time the Patriot's have lost a Lone Star Conference series by way of a sweep.
- The Patriots are 8-0 against Cameron all-time, but will be making their first trip to Lawton, Okla. since 2021. The last six games in the series have all taken place in Tyler. Cameron has never scored more than two runs in a game against the Patriots and have been shutout three times.
- UT Tyler ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 22nd nationally with a team ERA of 1.96 for the year. The starting pitching combination of Genesis Armendariz and Crimson Bryant have combined to toss eight complete games and have surrendered just 16 earned runs in their 77.0 innings of combined effort. 
- The Patriot offense enters the series with Cameron fourth in the LSC with a batting average of .334 on the year. Senior Cassidi Mullen leads the team with a .435 average on the year, while JT Smith (.410), Audrey Escamilla (.406) and Michelle Arias (.400) have all posted averages north of .400 on the year.
- For a third consecutive season, UT Tyler softball was selected as preseason favorites in the Lone Star Conference Softball Preseason Poll as voted upon by the league's head coaches, sports information directors and media representatives. The Patriots received 25 first-place votes and 591 total votes to sit ahead of no. 2 ranked West Texas A&M, who garnered 576 points. Oklahoma Christian came in at no. 3 in the preseason poll behind UT Tyler and West Texas A&M with 519 total votes. Lubbock Christian (500) and Cameron (412) rounded out the top five in the no. 4 and no. 5 slots. The complete 2024 LSC Softball Preseason Poll can be found below.
- UT Tyler softball is in the midst of the 20th year of the program with an all-time record of 764-147 (.841) dating back to the inaugural 2005 campaign. The Patriots are 169-29 (.865) in four seasons of Division II play and have gone 97-15 (.889) in Lone Star Conference games over that timeframe. UT Tyler has finished as Division II National Semifinalists in both seasons of Division II postseason eligibility in 2022 and 2023.
- The Patriots have 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 straight years. 
- UT Tyler has 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.
- Head coach Mike Reed and his staff garnered ATEC/NFCA South Central Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honors for a third consecutive season. The honors come in each of the first three complete seasons at the NCAA Division II level. Coach Reed and his staff have been named regional staff of the year by the NFCA on nine different occasions (2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2009) dating back to the program's inaugural season in 2005. 
- UT Tyler softball is 337-43 (.886) all-time on their home field at Irwin Field, and completed the 2023 season with a perfect 33-0 mark at their home ballpark. The Patriots are 82-7 (.921) in home Lone Star Conference games and have never lost more than six games at home in a season.
- The Patriots return the majority of the production from their lineup a year ago in 2024, highlighted by the LSC Preseason Player of the Year Courtney Plocheck, as well as returning NFCA First Team All-American JT Smith. Smith broke the UT Tyler softball record for stolen bases (46), runs scored (84), walks (52)  and triples (7) in 2023.
- Plocheck, Smith and Arias all return in 2024 after All-Lone Star Conference First Team selections, while Audrey Escamilla and Cassidi Mullen each return to the program this year following All-LSC Second Team campaigns a year ago. Sam Schott rounds out the returning All-LSC selections for the Patriots after her All-LSC Third Team nod. 
- Head coach Mike Reed is in his 20th season at the helm of the program after previously serving for three seasons as the head coach at East Texas Baptist before taking over at UT Tyler. Reed ranks fourth among all NCAA divisions in career winning percentage (.825), posting a 869-178 career mark through 22 career seasons. He owns the second-highest all-time win percentage among Division III coaches, coaching 18 of his 20 seasons at the Division III level, and is a nine-time American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year, and seven-time NFCA Regional Coach of the Year. He has helped develop 36 All-Americans, 103 all-region and 162 all-conference selections and has led the UT Tyler program to the NCAA World Series in nine of the 13 years since the Patriots became postseason eligible in Division III.
- The home of UT Tyler softball has been recognized as a 2023 Netting Professionals/NFCA Field of the Year honoree by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Irwin Field received recognition as the top softball facility across the Division II landscape as one of seven facilities across seven different levels to earn the award. Opened in 2005, Irwin Field is a continuous host of NCAA postseason competition. The facility has hosted two Division III national championship tournaments, along with 10 regional and six super regional rounds. This award, made possible by NFCA Official Sponsor Netting Professionals, recognizes top fields/stadiums in the nation for their flawless grounds maintenance and exceptional playing surfaces. These locations are selected by the NFCA Awards Committee for NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Cal JC, NWAC, and High School. The winners were nominated by NFCA member coaches and selected by a panel of their peers on the NFCA Awards Committee.