EDMOND, OKLAHOMA – The UT Tyler Baseball program secured the series win ahead of Friday's finale after earning a doubleheader sweep on Thursday afternoon. The Patriots powered past Oklahoma Christian in game one with a 13-9 win and followed it up with a six-run sixth inning to claim game two by a score of 8-5.
GAME ONE
In the opener, UT Tyler crushed six home runs to outslug the Eagles. The Patriots scored in every inning except one to set the tone early and often.
The game began with a walk, and Justin Williams wasted no time smashing his third home run of the series to give UT Tyler a 2-0 lead. Oklahoma Christian responded in the bottom half with a solo homer to cut the lead to 2-1. In the second, two walks and a single loaded the bases, and Williams lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.
In the third, Kaston Mason followed suit with a solo home run—his third of the series. Just one batter later, Tanner Hornback launched his second long ball of the year to extend the lead to 5-1.
Oklahoma Christian rallied in the fourth, putting up six runs to take a 7-5 lead. The surge included a two-run homer, an RBI off a UT Tyler error, and a three-run blast.
The Patriots responded quickly in the fifth. A leadoff walk came around to score on a Hornback double, and an Eagles error brought in another run to tie the game at 7-7. In the sixth, Drew Schmidt reclaimed the lead for UT Tyler with a solo home run, but two more solo shots from Oklahoma Christian in their half of the inning put them back on top, 9-8.
UT Tyler answered once again in the seventh. Hornback hit his second homer of the day to tie the game. Three consecutive walks later in the inning set the table for Williams, who crushed his second grand slam in as many games—his second homer of the game—to give the Patriots a commanding 13-9 lead.
Garrett Arredondo entered in relief and pitched the final three innings, earning the win to improve to 3-1 on the season. He allowed two runs on three hits and struck out four.
Offensively, Williams, Schmidt, and Hornback all recorded multi-hit games. Hornback had a 3-for-4 performance with two home runs and three RBIs. Schmidt went 2-for-5 with a solo homer and one RBI. Williams continued his red-hot series, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and seven RBIs.
GAME TWO
In game two, UT Tyler used a massive six-run sixth inning to break away and complete the doubleheader sweep, winning 8-5.
Unlike the high-scoring opener, game two was scoreless until the third inning. Oklahoma Christian struck first, capitalizing on a single, an error, and another single to take a 1-0 lead.
The Patriots answered in the fourth. After a strikeout reached on a wild pitch, Williams ripped a triple to bring in the tying run. Schmidt followed with a single to drive in Williams and give UT Tyler a 2-1 lead.
The Eagles regained the lead in the fifth with a two-run homer following a leadoff walk. But just like they had all day, the Patriots bounced back in a big way. A leadoff single in the sixth set up an Ethan Menard two-run homer to put UT Tyler up 4-3. After a walk and a single, Hornback tripled to clear the bases, and Kyle Atkinson immediately followed with a two-run shot to cap the six-run frame and give the Patriots an 8-3 lead.
Oklahoma Christian would plate two more in the sixth after a hit-by-pitch and walk scored on a double, but that was all they could manage as the game ended 8-5 in favor of the Patriots.
Schmidt and Williams each recorded another multi-hit effort. Williams went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI. Following his dominant doubleheader, he's now batting .423 with a 1.292 OPS and leads the team with 58 RBIs. Schmidt finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and continues to pace the team with a .450 batting average.
With the series already secured, UT Tyler has now won four consecutive series and improved to 36-9 on the year. They enter Friday's finale on a nine-game win streak. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. in Edmond, Oklahoma.
