LAST TIME OUT
 
Last week UT Tyler put together a dramatic weekend as they pulled off the reverse sweep of West Texas A&M on their way to winning the South Central Region for the fourth straight season.
 
The Patriots dropped game one in a back and forth battle, but put together a masterclass on Friday as they won game two and game three to earn their spot in the NCAA Division II World Series. On that Friday, the Patriots allowed just one run, outscoring the Lady Buffs 15-1. They put together a 10-0 run-rule win in game one, and then came back with a 5-1 win to book their spot in Chattanooga.
 
THE WORLD SERIES
 
The Patriots make their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Division II World Series this week. They were national semifinalists in 2022 and 2023 before breaking through and winning the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championship.
 
This season the Patriots have earned the #1 overall seed in the World Series and will begin their quest for a second straight championship against #8 seed Western Washington, who they defeated in last year's championship series.
 
UT Tyler, Tampa, Central Oklahoma, North Georgia, Saginaw Valley, Pace, Shippensburg, and Western Washington make up the eight team field in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They will play all games at Frost Stadium at Warner Park, home of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs.
 
Games will begin on Thursday at 11 a.m. eastern time and run through May 28^th before a champion will be crowned.
 
PATRIOTS NOTES AND TRENDS
 

• UT Tyler softball begins the 21st year of the program with an all-time record of 819-151 (.844) dating back to the inaugural 2005 campaign. The Patriots are 224-33 (.869) in five seasons of Division II play and have gone 134-17 (.887) in Lone Star Conference games over that timeframe prior to the 2025 season.
• The Patriots have won 50-plus games in the last two seasons after going 50-5 back in 2015 and have not registered double-digit losses in a season in 13 straight years. 
• UT Tyler has made 13 appearances in an NCAA National Championship Tournament between the Division II and III levels, and have advanced to the NCAA World Series in 10 of those 13 trips.
• Head coach Mike Reed and his staff garnered ATEC/NFCA South Central Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honors for a fourth consecutive season. The honors come in each of the first four complete seasons at the NCAA Division II level. Coach Reed and his staff have been named regional staff of the year by the NFCA on 10 different occasions (2024,2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2009) dating back to the program's inaugural season in 2005. 
• UT Tyler softball is 363-45 (.889) all-time on their home field at Irwin Field prior to the 2025 season, and completed the 2024 season with a 26-2 mark at their home ballpark. The Patriots are 102-8 (.927) in home Lone Star Conference games and have never lost more than six games at home in a season.
• JT Smith, Sam Schott, Taryn Barney, Angelique Rangel, Hailey Fannin, and Kaylee Davis mark a group of returners with national championship experience as they will look to lead a host of newcomers back to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year.
• Head coach Mike Reed returns for his 21^st season at the helm of the program after previously serving for three seasons as the head coach at East Texas Baptist before taking over at UT Tyler. Reed is 1^st among all NCAA divisions in career winning percentage (.839), posting a 976-187 career mark in 24 career seasons. He owns the second-highest all-time win percentage among Division III coaches, coaching 18 of his 23 seasons at the Division III level, and is a nine-time American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year, and eight-time NFCA Regional Coach of the Year. He has helped develop 37 All-Americans, 112 all-region and 177 all-conference selections.
• The Patriots have been nothing short of dominant through the regular season games. They have allowed more than three runs in a game just four times while scoring at least three runs in all but four games. They rank #1 in Division II in hit by pitches, on-base percentage, triples, and win-loss percentage. They are also ranked inside the top five in ERA, RBI, shutouts, total runs, triples per game, WHIP, RBI per game, scoring, slugging percentage, total sacrifice flies, totals sacrifice bunts, doubles, and batting average.
• Kaylee Davis is eighth in Division II in ERA at 1.19, and she is seventh in WHIP at 0.86. JT Smith leads Division II in triples, runs, runs per game, total bases and on-base percentage, and is second in average, hit by pitches, and slugging percentage.
• This week marks the fourth straight season that UT Tyler will appear in the NCAA Division II World Series, bookmarked by becoming the 2024 National Championship.

 
VIKINGS NOTES AND TRENDS

• Western Washington rolls into the World Series at a record of 45-11 overall after claiming the NCAA West Region title. There, they bounced back from a game one loss in the super regional round to defeat Cal State San Marcos and make their second straight appearance in the World Series.
• Leading the way for the Vikings on offense is Maleah Andrews, who is hitting .482 on the season and has played in all 56 games. She has 20 doubles, three triples, and three homers with 41 RBI and 61 runs.
• In the circle, Kaiana Kong has led the way with a 1.43 ERA over 44 appearances. She is 13-0 with three complete games and 7 saves over 117.2 innings pitched. She is holding hitters to a .233 average and has 93 strikeouts to 11 walks.
• The Vikings are led by Sheryl Gilmore, who is in her seventh season, all with the Vikings. She is 212-114 in her career. Prior to becoming the head coach at Western Washington, she was head coach at Edmonds College.
• The Patriots and Vikings have squared up three times all-time, with all three of those matchups coming at last year's World Series. The Patriots are 3-0 in those matchups.