TYLER, TEXAS – The UT Tyler baseball team completed a dominant sweep over Cameron with a 12-3 victory on Sunday afternoon. The Patriots recorded 14 hits on the day, while their bullpen trio combined to throw 6 innings, allowing just three hits and striking out eight.
The Patriots struck first in the bottom of the first inning, taking a 2-0 lead. Justin Williams led off with a solo home run to left field, and two batters later, Kaston Mason doubled. Bryce Jewell followed with an RBI single to bring Mason home, capping off the first inning scoring. Cameron responded in the second inning, tying the game at 2-2 after a leadoff single was advanced to second on a double and eventually brought in on a single.
Cameron briefly took the lead in the third inning, scoring on an RBI groundout after a leadoff walk, a stolen base, and a groundout moved the runner over. However, UT Tyler answered in the fourth inning, with Williams leading off with a single and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jewell to tie the game at 3-3.
From there, the Patriots took control of the game. In the fourth inning, Tanner Hornback singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a groundout. He scored on an infield single by Brock Bearden, giving the Patriots a 4-3 lead. In the fifth, UT Tyler added three more runs. After a pair of leadoff singles, a sacrifice fly plated one run, and Blake LaBuda launched a two-run home run over the left field fence to extend the lead to 7-3.
The Patriots exploded in the sixth inning, adding four more runs on just two hits. A leadoff walk, a single, and another walk loaded the bases. Mason drove in one with an RBI single, while two runs were plated on a hit by pitch and a passed ball. Another wild pitch scored the final run of the inning, pushing the lead to 11-3. UT Tyler added one more run in the seventh inning, as three walks and a wild pitch brought in the game's final tally, making it 12-3.
Jacob Hadden was stellar in relief, earning his second win of the season after throwing three innings of one-hit ball with no walks and three strikeouts. Nate Campbell pitched a perfect seventh, striking out two, while Kolby Parker closed out the game with two innings, allowing just one hit and striking out two.
Offensively, eight Patriots recorded a hit, with Williams and Mason leading the way. Williams went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and his team-leading seventh home run of the year. Mason had a perfect day, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored and one RBI, raising his batting average to .315 on the year, with 13 RBIs.
With the sweep, UT Tyler improved to 25-8 on the season, marking their fourth sweep of the year. The Patriots will next hit the road for a series against UT Permian Basin, beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday.
