BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS - #1 UT Tyler softball moved to 7-0 on the year after a doubleheader sweep on Friday afternoon to begin the Alvy Early Memorial Classic.
 
The Patriots took eight innings to take down Missouri Southern in game one of the day, but bounced back with a clean 5-1 win over Arkansas Tech in game two.
 
GAME ONE
 
UT Tyler started at the plate for the first time in 2025 and JT Smith wasted no time in putting the Patriots in an ideal position. She would triple to lead off the game, and Sam Schott followed by getting hit by a pitch and stealing second to set up runners in scoring position with no outs. Bailey Krolczyk followed, and she drilled a double to left field to make it 2-0 after just three hitters.
 
That lead would last just until the bottom of the inning, as the Lions responded with three runs of their own thanks to an RBI groundout and a two run blast to make it 3-2.
 
The two teams would hold steady over the next three innings as Primrose Aholelei settled down in the circle. She scattered two hits over those three innings and struck out a pair as she held the Missouri Southern bats in check.
 
That tough work in the circle finally led to offense for the Patriots in the fifth inning, as Smith drew her own hit by pitch before coming around to score on Schotts triple to right field. That clutch piece of hitting would tie the contest up, but the Patriots would be unable to break that tie as the two teams reached a stalemate.
 
Aholelei went back to work in the circle, working another three scoreless innings in the fifth, sixth, and seventh, striking out another pair of hitters and picking up a big double play in the fifth.
 
That stalemate would reach extra innings, with each team beginning the extra frame with a runner on second base. The Patriots in the top of the eighth used a quick single to put runners on the corners and then used a passed ball to set up runners on second and third with no outs.
 
The next hitter would go down swinging, setting up Taryn Barney with a chance to play hero. She came through with the biggest hit of the game, singling up the middle to drive home a pair and make it a 5-3 game.
 
Aholelei trotted back out for the home half and got a quick popout before allowing a single to put runners on the corners. She next induced a line drive to Miia Campos at third base, and she was able to double off the runner standing on first to end the contest.
 
The Patriots scattered six hits amongst six different players, while Barney and Krolcyzk each collected two RBI in the contest. Krolczyk added a double in the contest and Schott and Smith each had a triple.
 
Primrose Aholelei moved to 4-0 on the year after going all eight innings while allowing three runs on five hits and striking out four.
 
GAME TWO
 
Game two saw the Patriots take the field as the home team, with Cera Blanchard getting the ball to begin the contest. She worked a 1-2-3 inning to begin the game, and turned that into another 1-2-3 frame in the second.
 
The Patriots offense struck first, taking advantage of a Ka'Lyn Watson leadoff triple in the second inning as Alaunah Almaraz struck a sacrifice fly to score Watson and make it 1-0. They would tack on another run in the third inning, using an RBI single from Bailey Krolczyk that scored Sam Schott from second to double the lead.
 
Blanchard would lose her perfect game in the third after allowing a leadoff walk, but sat the next three hitters down in order to preserve the lead. In the fourth however, the Golden Suns got on the board on the first time. They broke up the no-hitter with a single to lead off the inning and then used two more singles to make it 2-1.
 
That lone run would be the only run of the game for Arkansas Tech, as Blanchard put up a pair of strikeouts in the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, the Golden Suns threatened with a double and a single to put runners on the corners with one out, but the Patriots turned to Kaylee Davis who promptly shut down the rally with a foulout and a strikeout.
 
The Patriots added three more runs in the fifth inning, as Schott drove home the first run with an RBI sacrifice bunt before doubles from Ka'Lyn Watson and Jordyn De Los Santos scored a pair of runs to make it 5-1.
 
Davis stayed on for the top of the seventh, and she would pick up her first save of the year with two strikeouts and a flyout to end the game.
 
Watson finished the game 3-for-3 with a double, triple, and an RBI, and Bailey Krolczyk went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Cera Blanchard earned her second win of the year after going 5.1 innings while allowing six hits and one run, and Davis picked up her first save after 1.2 innings with three strikeouts.
 
The Patriots will close out the Alvy Early Memorial Classic on Saturday as they take on Emporia State and Southern Arkansas.