TYLER, TEXAS - #19 UT Tyler baseball will leave the first series of the year with a split after Oklahoma Christian stole game four of the series on Sunday afternoon with some timely hitting in big moments.
A quick first inning started off Sunday's contest as both teams went down in order before the action picked up in the second inning for the Eagles.
Wyatt Wick got his first start in a Patriots uniform on the day, but was quickly put to the test by the Eagles offense in the second inning.
A leadoff error put a runner on, but a sacrifice bunt and a groundout moved the runner to third with two outs. Two straight Eagles would draw walks, but a double, single, and another double over the next three hitters would plate five Eagles runs and give them the early advantage in game four.
In the bottom half of the second, a leadoff double and a groundout put a runner on third, but the Patriots couldn't drive home the runner and they continued to trail.
Logan Henderson would come on in relief of Wick in the third, and he worked two scoreless innings around four walks while posting three bigtime strikeouts, including the final out of the fourth inning to leave the bases loaded.
The Patriots offense got themselves on the board in the third, as a double play with runners on the corners drove home
Hayden Clearman for cut the lead down to four.
Nash Villegas would take over for Henderson to begin the fifth, and he quickly worked a 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts to get the Patriots fired up. The offense responded immediately, as
Kaston Mason led off the inning with a solo blast over the center field wall to make it 5-2.
A second single of the game for Clearman forced the Eagles starter from the contest, and after a hit by pitch to begin his outing,
Lane Hutchinson roped a double down the left field line to score a pair of runs to make it 5-4 after five innings.
Another quick inning for Villegas gave the Patriots offense the chance to continue their momentum, and
Ethan Menard led off the bottom half with a deep home run to center field to tie up the contest.
In the seventh, the Eagles would go down quickly with their first two hitters, but Villegas allowed a pair of walks and a single that would plate a run. He turned the ball over to
Nick Niebur, but the Eagles dropped in a bloop single to left field that saw another two runs come home and the score was 8-5.
The Patriots would put a pair of runners on in the seventh, but were unable to plate a run as the Eagles bullpen cleared any attempts at a rally. The leadoff hitter reached in the eighth, but again the Eagles pitching kept the Patriots at bay.
Niebur would work quick 1-2-3 innings in both the top of the eighth inning and ninth innings, keeping the Patriots offense with a chance to bounce back into the game.
In the bottom half of the ninth, a leadoff flyout was followed by a hit by pitch and a single to put a pair on. The Eagles made a pitching change, and the Patriots responded with another single to right field to load the bases. However, that was all they could muster, as the Eagles bullpen forced a popup and a fielder's choice to end the contest and complete the win.
Both
Lane Hutchinson and
Hayden Clearman would pick up a pair of hits on the day, with Clearman scoring twice and Hutchinson driving in a pair.
Nash Villegas picks up his first loss of the season, going 2.2 innings and allowing three total runs while striking out three.
#19 UT Tyler will now look ahead to next weekend, as they travel to San Antonio, Texas to take on St. Mary's.
That series is scheduled to begin on Friday night at 6 p.m., with Saturday's doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. and Sunday's finale at 1 p.m.
