WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS - #6 UT Tyler scored 16 first inning runs in route to a historic 26-1 victory over Midwestern State on Friday afternoon.
 
The Patriots' 26 runs are the most scored in the Division II era for the program and the second most in the history of the UT Tyler softball program. UT Tyler scored 23 runs in their first two trips to the plate and never looked back in their eighth straight win of the season.
 
Courtney Plocheck and Michelle Arias each had three hits and four RBI to lead a Patriot offense that notched 17 hits on the day. UT Tyler scored 10 runs before the first out was recorded in the top of a first inning that featured an onslaught of Patriot runs and an extended weather delay.
 
The Patriots posted seven hits and eight walks in the inning to jump out to the 16-0 advantage. Eight different batters notched an RBI in the frame.
 
A two-run homer by Arias and a grand slam by junior Sam Schott extended the advantage to 23-0 after the Patriots second trip to the plate. UT Tyler drew 15 walks in the game as a team, four of which occurred in the second inning.
 
Arias' two-run blast plated JT Smith after her walk, and then the Schott grand slam to centerfield scored four more runs after the three additional free base trips for the Patriots to make it 23-0. UT Tyler batted through the lineup three times in the first two innings of the ball game,
 
Graduate student Genesis Armendariz worked  through the first inning in the circle with two runners aboard before being replaced by junior Christin Haygood in the second. Haygood would go on to earn the win after tossing 4.0 innings of shutout effort.
 
Haygood struckout seven and scattered a pair of hits and a walk.
 
UT Tyler tacked on runs in the third and fourth inning with an RBI single from junior Tara Stewart and an RBI double from JT Smith to build the run total to 26.
 
The Patriots eclipse their highest run total in the Division II era and post their most runs in a ball game since scoring 29 in 2011 against Sul Ross State.
 
Plocheck and Arias both went 3-for-3 with four RBI. Plocheck scored two runs and Arias four runs. Four different Patriots posted multi-hit efforts, 12 different Patriots scored a run and nine different Patriots drove in a run.
 
UT Tyler moves to 17-5 on the year and 9-4 in Lone Star Conference play with the win.
 
The Patriots and Midwestern State will finish the weekend series with a rescheduled doubleheader for tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m.