ODESSA, TEXAS – The UT Tyler baseball team delivered a dominant performance on Friday afternoon, using a seven-run eighth inning to secure a run-rule victory over UT Permian Basin. The Patriots racked up 18 runs on 13 hits, with nine different players recording at least one hit and eight players driving in at least one run.
The Patriots struck first in the opening inning when Justin Williams crushed his eighth home run of the season, giving UT Tyler a 1-0 lead. However, the Falcons quickly responded, tying the game at 1-1 after a leadoff double, a single, and a groundout plated a run.
UT Tyler regained the lead in the second inning with a pair of runs. After a leadoff walk, Tanner Hornback roped an RBI triple between center and right field. Moments later, Brock Bearden lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home Hornback, making it 3-1. UT Permian Basin answered back in the bottom half, capitalizing on a leadoff walk, a single, a wild pitch, and an error to even the score at 3-3.
The third inning passed without any runs, but the Patriots struck again in the fourth. Mason Hammonds ripped an RBI double into the gap to put UT Tyler back in front. A walk followed, setting up Williams, who singled through the left side to drive in another run. Kaston Mason then delivered the big blow of the inning, crushing a three-run homer to right-center and extending the Patriots' lead to 8-3. The Falcons got one run back with a solo home run in their half of the fourth, cutting the deficit to 8-4.
UT Tyler added an insurance run in the sixth, capitalizing on two walks, an error, and a sacrifice fly to push the score to 9-5. But once again, the Falcons responded with a run of their own, making it 9-6 after a single, a hit-by-pitch, and an RBI double.
The Patriots stretched their lead in the seventh with two more runs. After a hit-by-pitch, a walk, and a bunt single loaded the bases, a fielder's choice brought in one run before a Drew Schmidt RBI single made it 11-6. The Falcons managed to get a run back with a solo homer in their half of the inning, bringing the score to 11-7.
The eighth inning proved to be the difference-maker. UT Tyler exploded for seven runs to put the game out of reach. Three straight singles plated the first run before a Hammonds double added another. Two fielding errors by the Falcons helped push across three more runs, and Bo Willis capped off the scoring with a pinch-hit RBI single down the line to bring the final score to 18-7.
Rawley Hector pitched 4.2 innings and, thanks to the run-rule victory, did enough to earn the win, improving his record to 5-1.
Five Patriots recorded multiple RBIs, and three had multi-hit performances. Williams went 2-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Hornback was perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs and four runs scored while also drawing a walk. Hammonds finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Mason's three-run blast marked his fourth homer of the season and brought his RBI total to 16.
The Patriots will look to secure a series sweep in Saturday's doubleheader, beginning at 12 p.m.
