LONGWOOD, FLA. - #3 UT Tyler advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Division II World Series with a 10-1 victory over #13 Western Washington on Monday afternoon.
 
The Patriots scored five runs in their first two trips to the plate and controlled the game from start-to-finish behind junior Christin Haygood's second outstanding performance of the tournament in the circle. No. 2 seeded UT Tyler and no. 4 seeded Indianapolis advanced to the semifinals with victories on Monday and will enjoy a day off on Tuesday before meeting the winner's of each respective side of the loser's bracket on Wednesday.
 
UT Tyler will hold the advantage heading into Wednesday, as they stand one win away from a trip to the NCAA Division II National Championship series.
 
The Patriots were dominant in their bid to return the semifinals of the DII World Series for a third straight year on Monday afternoon, totaling 11 hits as a club while conceding just three hits to Western Washington. Haygood tossed six shutout innings before giving way to graduate student Genesis Armendariz for the final two outs of the seventh inning.
 
Graduate student Courtney Plocheck, who went 3-for-4 at the plate on the day, tripled in the Patriot's first trip to the plate to score Nicole Price for the early 1-0 advantage. Plocheck scored on a sac fly by JT Smith later in the inning to quickly make it 2-0 in favor of the Patriots.
 
Another extra-base hit kept the offensive momentum going for UT Tyler on a Cassidi Mullen double that scored Makayla Garcia. The Patriots loaded the bases with no outs on the board in the ensuing at-bat after Clarissa Zapata was hit by a pitch and put the fourth run of the game on the board on a Sam Schott walk.
 
Price hit a sac fly to center to plate Mullen and established the early control for UT Tyler with the 5-0 advantage.
 
Haygood allowed a pair of two-out hits in the first and third innings and then retired the Vikings in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth. The Huffman, Texas native struckout one batter and walked just a single batter while inducing 13 flyouts and four groundouts in the ball game.
 
A solo homer by Zapata to leadoff the fourth inning made it 6-0 in favor of UT Tyler.
 
Plocheck leadoff the top of the seventh with her third hit of the ball game to start a five-hit frame for UT Tyler. Garcia, Audrey Escamilla and Sam Schott all hit RBI singles and Mullen an RBI fielder's choice to extend the UT Tyler advantage to 10-0.
 
Western Washington scratched across their lone run of the game in the bottom of the seventh. Armendariz took over for Haygood and managed to notch the final two outs of the game for UT Tyler.
 
Haygood moves to 20-1 on the year with the victory and is now a perfect 5-0 through the seven games of the 2024 NCAA Division II National Tournament. She has conceded just three earned runs through 33.0 innings pitched in the tournament.