MAGNOLIA, ARKANSAS – The UT Tyler Baseball team dropped its first midweek non-conference game of the season, falling 8-6 to Southern Arkansas on Tuesday. The Muleriders took an early lead and held on despite a late-inning surge from the Patriots.

Southern Arkansas got on the board in the first inning after a leadoff error. A single put runners on the corners, and after a groundout, back-to-back RBI singles gave the Muleriders a 2-0 lead.

UT Tyler answered in the third when Drew Schmidt launched a two-run homer down the right-field line, tying the game at 2-2. However, Southern Arkansas quickly regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Following a walk and a wild pitch, the Muleriders hit back-to-back home runs to go up 5-2.

The Patriots chipped away in the fifth with a solo home run from Brock Bearden, cutting the deficit to 5-3. Southern Arkansas extended its lead in the seventh, capitalizing on a walk and a two-out error that led to a two-run triple, making it 7-3. They added one more run in the eighth off a bunt single, an error, and a fielder's choice to take an 8-3 lead into the ninth.

UT Tyler didn't go down without a fight. A walk and a hit-by-pitch prompted a Southern Arkansas pitching change, and Bearden greeted the new arm with his second homer of the night—a three-run shot that made it 8-6. However, the Patriots' rally fell short, sealing the win for the Muleriders.

Several Patriot pitchers saw action for the first time this season. Nate Campbell, Justus Revill, and Garrett Gearner combined for three innings, allowing three hits, no earned runs, and striking out two.

Offensively, Schmidt and Bearden drove in all six UT Tyler runs. Schmidt's lone hit was his two-run homer in the third, his first of the season and 25th RBI. Bearden, one of two Patriots with multiple hits, went 2-for-4 with two home runs, four RBIs, and three runs scored. His big night lifted his season average to .364, and he now has seven RBIs on the year. Tanner Hornback also had a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-3 with a run scored.

With the loss, UT Tyler falls to 19-6 on the season. The Patriots will head to New Mexico for a conference series against Eastern New Mexico, starting Friday at 5 p.m.