TYLER, TEXAS – #1 UT Tyler Softball moved to 23-2 on the year and 14-2 in LSC play behind a pair of wins over Western New Mexico at Irwin Field on Sunday afternoon.
 
GAME ONE
 
UT Tyler used their bats to take an early lead in the contest, scoring seven runs over the first four innings on their way to a 9-3 win.
 
JT Smith led off the scoring as she came around to score as Bailey Krolczyk reached on an error. Miia Campos would drill a double to right field, driving home Ka'Lyn Watson for a 2-0 lead.
 
Three more runs would score in the second inning, with the first two coming from a Smith inside-the-park home run that brought home Keona Wells. Just three batters later, Sam Schott would take advantage of a throwing error by the catcher to cross the plate and give the Patriots a 5-0 lead after two.
 
Abbie Behe would rock a solo homer in the third, and Miia Campos would drive home Watson yet again, this time with an RBI single up the middle to make it 7-0 after four.
 
While the Patriots offense rolled, Primrose Aholelei would get off to a strong start in the circle as she began the game with five straight zeros. Those five innings included six strikeouts and no hits in a near perfect effort.
 
In the sixth, the Mustangs would finally get their first hit and runs, looping a two run homer to left and driving home a third run on a single.
 
The Patriots would answer that effort with two runs of their own in the home half of the inning as Watson drove home Krolczyk with a triple, and then later scored on an RBI groundout by Taryn Barney.
 
Kaylee Davis would close out the game in the seventh with a three up, three down effort that included a strikeout to book a Patriots win.
 
JT Smith would go 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Miia Campos added a 2-for-3 effort with two RBI.
 
Primrose Aholelei moved to 11-0 on the year after going 5.2 innings while allowing three earned runs and three walks and striking out six.
 
Kaylee Davis went 1.1 innings to finish off the game while striking out a pair.
 
GAME TWO
 
Game two of the day would start almost the exact same as the first, with the Patriots scoring six runs over the first three innings.
 
After a flyout to begin the game, the Patriots had six straight singles to score four runs and added one final run with a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 5-0 after just one inning of play.
 
In the third, the Patriots would strike again as Abbie Behe pulled a sacrifice fly into left field that allowed Ka'Lyn Watson to score.
 
While the Patriots got off to their hot start, Cera Blanchard was off to an equal start in the circle. She would allow a single to the first batter of the game, but struck out the side to strand the runner.


That would be the only hit allowed by Blanchard for the entire contest as she was nearly perfect for the remainder of the game. She would strike out a pair in the third around a walk, and add another strikeout in the fourth.
 
She added yet another pair of strikeouts in the fifth, and struck out the side for the second time in the game in the top of the sixth inning.
 
That effort would put the Patriots in a position for the run rule win after six, and they got just one run away after JT Smith scored via interference on a Bailey Krolczyk single.
 
Three batters later, it was Taryn Barney singling into the gap in left center to plate the final run of the game in an 8-0 win.
 
Cera Blanchard went for the complete game, allowing just one hit and three walks while striking out 11 batters. That strikeout total is the second most in a game in program history.
 
Schott, Krolcyzk, Campos, and Barney all produced two hit games while Behe and Barney added two RBI games in a team effort at the plate for the Patriots.
 
UT Tyler will now continue their homestand as they host Texas A&M International and Texas A&M-Kingsville at home next weekend. That weekend begins Friday at 4 p.m. as the Dustdevils come to Irwin Field.