SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – #19 UT Tyler Baseball were victims of a walk off hit-by-pitch in game one before completing a quick comeback in game two to hold on for the win and move the series to 1-1 after the first two games.
GAME ONE
The Patriots were the team to jump out first, scraping together a 1-0 lead behind a leadoff single from
Lane Hutchinson before a groundout, single, and RBI groundout from
Austin Ochoa to take the quick lead.
Starter
Dylan Blomquist got the ball for the Patriots, and he again put together a brilliant start. He allowed a single to his first hitter, but picked off that runner to wipe the bases clean. He followed that up with a groundout and a flyout to record a scoreless inning.
In the second, he kept mowing down the Rattlers hitters with three straight groundouts on just seven pitches. In the third inning, he allowed another leadoff single, but battled back with a groundout and his first two strikeouts of the night to strand the runner.
The Patriots would get their offense going again in the fourth, as
Hayden Clearman led off with a hit by pitch and then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.
Blake LaBuda drew his own walk and then both runners moved into scoring position on another bunt. That forced the Rattlers starter from the game, but the Patriots could not plate any runs and still led 1-0.
In the fourth, Blomquist knocked down the first two hitters with a groundout and flyout, but an error allowed the third hitter to reach base. The next batter would drill a double to center field to score the run, but was thrown out at second after trying to advance to third.
That tie game was quickly broken back up by
Kaston Mason, who hammered a home run to left field to lead off the fifth inning. Blomquist went right back to work in the bottom half with another pair of groundouts, but the third batter of the inning would take him deep to left center to make it a tie game yet again at 2-2.
After the Rattlers pitching faced the minimum in the sixth,
Garrett Arredondo would take over for Blomquist in the home half, and he worked a 1-2-3 inning to keep up the strong work from Blomquist.
The Patriots got a little rally going in the seventh, as
Kaston Mason drew a walk before being pulled for a pinch runner,
Austin Ochoa two batters later ripped a double down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position, but the Patriots could not scratch out the run.
In the home half, the Rattlers led off with a single to center field, and then moved him over with a sacrifice bunt. The Patriots then went with the intentional walk, but the Rattlers drew another walk to load the bases. On the next pitch, Arredondo would hit the batter, forcing home the game winning run.
Both
Lane Hutchinson and
Kaston Mason put together two hit days, while Mason had one RBI.
Dylan Blomquist went five full innings while allowing just two runs, one of those earned, while striking out a pair.
GAME TWO
It was the Rattlers who struck first in game two of the doubleheader, as they tagged starter
Nash Villegas for three runs in the bottom of the first. A walk followed by a pair of singles scored the first run, before a walk and a fielder's choice combined with an error plated the final two runs.
The Patriots wasted no time in getting the lead back for their starter, as
Kyle Atkinson led off with a deep blast to right field to put the team on the board. The Patriots then drew three hit-by-pitches and a walk to plate a second run.
That left the bases loaded for
Kaston Mason, and he ripped a double to center field to plate two more runs. Back to back sacrifice flies from
Ethan Bedgood and
Austin Ochoa would plate the fifth and sixth runs of the inning.
Villegas headed back out for the bottom half, and after an opening walk, he issued a strikeout and got the ground ball double play to conserve the lead. In the third, he would again issue a walk after a flyout, but a caught stealing from catcher
Monray Van Der Walt wiped the bases clear before Villegas struck out the final hitter of the inning.
The Patriots offense threatened again in the fourth after the first two hitters went down in order. Atkinson would draw a walk, and Van Der Walt laced a double to right field to put a pair in scoring position, but the Patriots would be unable to cash in.
Miles Clack would take over for Villegas in the fourth, and worked a third straight scoreless inning as he worked around a pair of singles and struck out two batters.
In the fifth inning, the Patriots kept the ball with Clack, and he responded with a pair of quick groundouts. The third batter of the inning would be the first to get to Clack, as he homered to left center to cut the lead to 6-4.
In the Patriots half of the fifth inning, they got a pair of walks to leadoff the inning, but a flyout double play on a bloop to the shortstop all but ended the threat.
In the bottom half of the sixth, Clack again went out to the mound for the Patriots. The Rattlers began with a double before moving the runner over on a flyout. A wild pitch would score the run to cut the lead to just one, but Clack posted a strikeout and groundout to finish off the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Patriots would turn to
Nick Niebur to take over and shut down the Rattlers efforts at a comeback. He worked an opening groundout before a single to shortstop put a runner on. Niebur got a key flyout before an error put a second runner on with two outs.
In the final at-bat of the game, he would get to a 3-0 count before getting the huge strikeout to complete the win and earn his first save of the season.
For the game,
Kaston Mason led the Patriots with a two hit effort that included two RBI. Five different Patriots picked up an RBI in the game, while five different players drew a walk or hit-by-pitch.
Miles Clack picked up the win in relief, going three innings and allowing two runs while striking out three.
Nick Niebur grabbed his first save of the year, allowing just one hit and posting a strikeout.
The Patriots will now take the field at 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon for game three of the series.
