TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler baseball program cruised to a 9-0 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville at Irwin Field on Saturday afternoon. The Patriots offense plated nine runs on seven hits, while the bullpen enjoyed a quiet day thanks to another stellar outing from Rawley Hector.

UT Tyler remains perfect in season openers, improving to 4-0, and advances to 11-2 overall on the year.

The Patriots got on the board in the second inning when Ethan Menard ripped a double into right-center and later scored on a Justin Williams double. A Javelinas throwing error later in the inning extended UT Tyler's lead to 2-0.

From there, the game turned into a pitcher's duel. Hector retired 12 straight batters, a streak that began with the final out of the second inning and lasted until the third batter of the sixth. He wrapped up his dominant performance with seven shutout innings, allowing no walks and striking out nine.

In the 6th inning Drew Schmidt would extend his hitting streak to 13 games with his RBI single in the gap, which would bring home another Patriot to bring the score to 3-0. 

After the 7th inning stretch Blake LaBuda greeted the arm out of the Javelinas bullpen with a solo blast to kick off a 4-run inning for the Patriots. UT Tyler would then capitalize on two walks, where Bryce Jewell would line a double down the left field line to bring in two more runs. Jewell later scored on a pair of errant throws by the Javelinas, pushing the lead to 7-0.

Reliever Miles Clack took over in the eighth, allowing back-to-back singles before retiring the next five batters to close out the game. Clack finished with two scoreless innings, two hits allowed, one strikeout, and no walks.

The Patriots tacked on two more runs in the eighth, taking advantage of three walks. A bases-loaded free pass forced in one run, while a Connor Clark fielder's choice capped the scoring at 9-0.

Hector's gem-like performance marked his second consecutive seven-inning outing, improving his record to 2-0 on the season. He has now tossed 14 straight scoreless innings, boasting an impressive 19:2 K/BB ratio in that span. LaBuda crushed his second home run of the season, drove in his 10th run, and lifted his batting average to .387. Meanwhile, Clack's two shutout innings lowered his ERA to an impressive 1.50 across 12 innings pitched.

UT Tyler will be back in action on Sunday for their doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m.