TYLER, TEXAS - #16 UT Tyler baseball will head into Sunday with a 2-1 series lead over #2 Angelo State after a doubleheader split on Saturday afternoon at Irwin Field.
GAME ONE
Kyle Froehlich would get the ball to start the contest for the Patriots, and he put together a complete game gem as he held the Angelo State bats in check for a majority of the contest. He worked around an early double in the first and a leadoff single in the second, but shut down both rally efforts with no damage allowed.
The Patriots offense would strike first in the contest, using three straight singles with two outs, the final of which coming from
Blake LaBuda to score
Kaston Mason from second base.
That Patriots offense would strike again in the second inning, getting an RBI groundout from
Mason Hammonds to lead off the scoring before
Cade Conway doubled down the line to drive in another run. Three batters later, LaBuda drove home a pair of runs with a single and
Justin Williams followed with an RBI single of his own to make it a 6-0 game through just two innings.
Froehlich would allow his first blemish in the third inning as the Rams connected on an RBI single to make it 6-1. However, that would be the only run allowed in the frame, as Froehlich got a flyout and a groundout on a huge defensive play from
Tanner Hornback.
Froehlich struck out a pair in a scoreless fourth, and got a huge double play in the fifth to keep the Patriots out in front by five. The Rams would scratch a run across in the sixth thanks to an RBI double, but a pair of groundouts ended the threat.
Froehlich trotted out for the seventh, and after a leadoff single and a hit by pitch, he settled down with a popout, groundout, and a flyout to end the threat and the ballgame.
Froehlich moved to 2-0 with the complete game win, going all seven innings while allowing two runs on nine hits and striking out a pair.
Blake LaBuda led the offense with a 4-for-4 day while driving home three runs. Hornback and Mason would each add a pair of hits and three combined runs.
GAME TWO
Game two of the doubleheader saw
Dylan Blomquist take to the mound, and he worked around a one out double by getting a huge double play on a flyout to left field.
The Patriots opened up the scoring yet again, this time taking advantage of a bad pickoff throw that saw
Cade Conway trot home to make it 1-0.
After a scoreless second, the Rams offense would rally to take the lead in the third, using a sacrifice fly and a single through the right side to pick up a pair of runs and take a 2-1 lead.
Blomquist settled in for another scoreless inning in the fourth, but the Rams offense got rolling again in the fifth. Three straight singles led to the first run of the inning, and that would chase Blomquist from the game. He would hand the ball over to
Grant Garza, who allowed a sacrifice fly to left field before getting a key ground ball double play to end the inning.
The Rams would take that 4-1 lead all the way up to the seventh inning, and the Patriots would head to the home half needing a rally. After a leadoff single, the next two hitters went down in order as the Patriots were down to their final out. The Patriots would string together a pair of singles to drive home a run and make it 4-2, setting up the go ahead run at the plate.
Cade Conway represented that run, and he would poke a single deep into the hole at second base that took an awkward hop, but the runner trying to score from second would be thrown out at the plate, ending the game.
Kaston Mason and
Drew Schmidt put together 2-for-3 performances, and Conway and Williams scored each of the runs.
#16 UT Tyler will now wrap up the series on Sunday afternoon as they will face off with #2 Angelo State at 1 p.m.
