TYLER, TEXAS – #1 UT Tyler softball took down #4 seed Oklahoma Christian via an 8-0 run-rule win on Saturday afternoon to advance to the NCAA South Central Super Regionals for the fourth straight season.
UT Tyler would be the visitors on the scoreboard after a coin flip, and they got all of their run support in the late innings while the got another lights out effort in the circle.
The effort for the Patriots was spearheaded by
Kaylee Davis, who was one hit away from a perfect game in a dominant outing on Saturday. She would face just 16 batters on the day, with the only hit coming with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The first inning featured a pair of lineouts in the infield before striking out the final hitter of the frame. A 1-2-3 inning again came on in the second, and she got two strikeouts and a big catch in right field in the third to continue the zeros on the scoreboard.
She worked another 1-2-3 in the fourth, and in the fifth, got the first two batters before a double spoiled her perfect game effort. She would get the next batter out on a groundout to end the contest.
After three innings of scoreless softball, the Patriots got things rolling in the fourth as they plated a pair of runs. After a leadoff single from
Ka'Lyn Watson, she moved to second via a sacrifice bunt and then to third on a wild pitch. The next batter up was
Bailey Krolczyk, who saw her fly ball fall via an error in right field, allowing Watson to score. A single and two walks would load the bases, and
Megan Geyer came through with a clutch single up the middle to make it 2-0.
In the top of the fifth,
Berlyn Grossman drew a leadoff walk before
JT Smith slugged a homer to left field after a long at-bat to make it 4-0. The Patriots would then draw four walks around a pair of strikeouts to bring in another run. That brought Geyer back to the plate, and she delivered yet again with another single up the middle to plate two more runs. The Patriots would add one final run via a wild pitch, putting themselves into run-rule territory.
JT Smith and
Megan Geyer each went 2-for-3 on the day, as Smith drove in a pair and Geyer drove home three.
Ka'Lyn Watson would score two runs and go 1-for-2.
#1 UT Tyler will now look ahead to the NCAA South Central Super Regionals to be played May 15-16. Those games will be at Irwin Field against an opponent to be determined by the results of the other half of the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament.
