SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - #1 UT Tyler softball moved to 32-3 on the year and 23-3 in LSC play after splitting two games with St. Mary's on Saturday afternoon.
 
GAME ONE: #1 UT Tyler: 6, St. Mary's: 1
 
Game one of the day would see the Patriots get a strong effort from the jump by Kaylee Davis in the circle and the Patriots offense came on strong in the late innings to secure a comfortable win.
 
Bailey Krolczyk would get the Patriots on the board in the top of the first as she doubled down the left field line to bring home Sam Schott. That would be the only run for either team over the first four innings.
 
Davis sat the Rattlers down 1-2-3 in the first, and then worked out of a tough jam in the second that saw her allow a pair of singles and a walk before getting the final out on a flyout to center field.
 
She put together another pair of scoreless frames as she continued her outing, getting a clutch lineout double play in the third and another 1-2-3 inning in the fourth.
 
The Patriots added another two runs in the fifth, this time as Schott barreled a triple to right center field to plate Angelique Rangel and then an error allowed Schott to score from second.
 
The Rattlers finally got on the board in the fifth, using a double with one out to bring home their first run before Davis shut down the rally with two straight groundouts.
 
The Patriots would add the insurance runs in the top of the seventh as Krolczyk came up huge with a two out double that scored three runs and made it 6-1 in the Patriots favor. That allowed Primrose Aholelei to finish off her second save of the year as she pitched the last two innings and allowed just one hit while striking out three.
 
Three different Patriots recorded two hits in the game, led by Bailey Krolczyk who went 2-for-4 with four RBI and two doubles. Sam Schott finished 2-for-2 with one RBI and three runs scored.
 
Davis allowed just one run on six hits while also allowing just two walks as she earned her eighth win of the year.
 
GAME TWO: #1 UT Tyler 0, St. Mary's: 1
 
Game two of the day would see a pitcher's duel, with both sides combining for just eight hits in the contest. Starter Cera Blanchard went all six innings for the Patriots as she allowed just four hits and one run while walking three and striking out nine.
 
She began her efforts with a pair of strikeouts in the first before adding another in the second as the Rattlers got a walk. In the third, the Rattlers got their first hit as they led off with a walk and a single, but Blanchard worked through the trouble with another pair of strikeouts as she put up another zero on the board.
 
The fourth inning would provide the only run of the game, as the Rattlers rallied with two outs with a pair of singles and a double to make it 1-0. Blanchard would respond with 1-2-3 innings in both the fifth and sixth innings, striking out another pair of hitters in the final inning of her outing.
 
The Patriots offense would put up just four hits themselves as they faced tough pitching in game two. JT Smith led off the game by reaching first on a wild pitch and moved over to second on a sacrifice, but she would be stranded there.
 
The first hit of the game came in the third for the Patriots, as Smith singled to the pitcher and put a pair of runners on with one out. However, the Patriots couldn't get them to third and stayed scoreless.
 
Another opportunity came in the fourth, as the Patriots loaded the bases via a single, fielder's choice, and a walk, but a groundout would end the inning. The final chance of the contest came in the seventh, where Angelique Rangel led off with a single before moving over on the sacrifice bunt. However, two straight Patriots would go down, ending the contest and handing the Patriots just their third defeat of the year.