CONROE, TEXAS - #1 UT Tyler Softball delivered another split day on Saturday after a 7-4 loss to Mississippi College and a 2-0 win over Simon Fraser at the DII First Pitch Invitational.
GAME ONE – Mississippi College 7 | UT Tyler 4
UT Tyler got off to a better start in game one on Saturday against Mississippi College, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Layne Reh drew an HBP before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt. That brought up
Lauren Granger, who continued her hot stretch from day one with an RBI double to left center to make it 1-0.
Kearston Gooch got the ball to begin the game, and started solid with three scoreless innings to begin the game. She struck out three in the stretch, and spread out four singles to limit the offensive opportunities for the Choctaws.
That pressure would ultimately breakthrough in the top of the fourth as the Choctaws took advantage of a one-out walk with a two run blast to center field. Another walk would follow, and an RBI triple and RBI single with two outs would break open the game for the Choctaws and lead to a 4-1 lead.
That chased Gooch from the game, and
Addison Martindale took over to close out the inning with a strikeout. She added a three up, three down top of the fifth, and the Patriots bats responded with their own rally to tie the game later in the inning.
An infield single and a HBP put two on, and a wild pitch moved them into scoring position. Reh came up big again, reaching on an error to drive home one. After another sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position, Granger drove a single through the right side, scoring two more runs and making it 4-4 after five.
In the top of the sixth, the Choctaws broke the tie, hitting a one out home run to center field. In the top of the seventh,
Alli Kimball came on for Martindale with one out, and again the Choctaws struck with a single and two doubles to plate two huge insurance runs and make it 7-4.
The Patriots drew a walk and a single in the bottom half of the seventh, but it was too little too late and the Choctaws closed out the win.
Lauren Granger and
Sam Garcia each went 2-for-4, while Granger drove home three of the four runs for the Patriots.
Kearston Gooch went 3.2 innings while allowing seven hits and four runs while walking four and striking out three.
GAME TWO – UT Tyler 2 | Simon Fraser 0
For the second straight game against Simon Fraser, the Patriots relied on a strong pitching performance to take care of business in the nightcap.
Kendall Selitzky didn't allow a run in seven full innings of work, allowing her offense to take care of business and lead the Patriots to a win.
She worked around a leadoff single in the first with a pair of strikeouts and a fielder's choice, and added two more strikeouts in a 1-2-3 second. In the third, the Patriots defense came up with a pivotal play. After the leadoff batter reached on an error and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, the Red Leafs attempted to send the runner home on an infield single that was bobbled, but a strong throw from
Megan Lau landed perfectly for
Taryn Barney behind the plate, allowing the tag and the out to keep the game scoreless.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Patriots broke the 0-0 tie two big hits and an error. Barney barreled a one-out double, and
Kiara Wiedenhaupt would single right in front of home plate, forcing an errant throw on the play and allowing pinch-runner
Kaylee Cavazos to come around and score.
Selitzky would strike out another pair of Red Leafs hitters around two walks in the top of the fifth to continue her gem, and the Patriots would play small ball to double their lead in the home half.
After an infield single from Reh, the Patriots added a sacrifice bunt and a groundout to move the runner to third. That brought Granger to the plate in another clutch situation, and she delivered again with a big single through the left side to make it 2-0.
That left the game in the hands of Selitzky, who struck out two more hitters over the final two innings while facing the minimum number of hitters to pack up a 2-0 win.
Wiedenhaupt was the lone Patriots hitter with two hits, going 2-for-3 on the day. Granger had the lone RBI, while three other Patriots added a hit each.
Selitzky finished her second outing with UT Tyler flawless, going seven complete with no runs allowed. She struck out nine hitters while allowing two hits and three walks in a dominant day.
UT Tyler will face Chadron State at 10 a.m. and Southeastern Oklahoma State at 12:30 p.m. to round out their first weekend of play on Sunday at the DII First Pitch Invitational.
