CONROE, TEXAS - #1 UT Tyler softball finished the DII First Pitch Invitational with a third straight 1-1 day after a win over Chadron State and a loss to Southeastern Oklahoma State at the ScrapYard Sports complex.
GAME ONE – UT Tyler 11 | Chadron State 1
UT Tyler took care of business in game one on Sunday, earning their second run-rule win of the season behind a 10 run third inning to put the game well out of reach of the Eagles.
Addison Martindale got the ball to begin the game, and she opened up with two straight scoreless innings as she got three total strikeouts and allowed just one baserunner via error. She was rewarded with an early Patriots run in the second as
Kaylee Cavazos ripped a double down the left field line to plate
Layne Reh.
The Eagles would get a run back in the third, capitalizing on a double and an RBI single to make it 1-1. The Patriots answered in a big way in the third, plating 10 runs in the home half.
A walk, error, and single loaded the bases, and
Laci Berecochea drove home the first two with a single. Next up was Reh, who brought in another run with another single. Cavazos added a third RBI single to make it 5-1, and
Lauren Granger would tack on another RBI single, the third infield single of the inning. The final four runs came from an RBI walk by
Taryn Barney, a
Kiara Wiedenhaupt double, and a Berecochea double to cap off the huge inning.
Martindale would get the first out of the fourth, but allowed two straight walks and made way for
Kaylee Harris. Harris got a huge double play to start her outing, getting the Patriots out of a jam.
Harris got the first out of the fifth, and then made way for freshman
Karmen Miller to close out the game with a strikeout and a flyout to cap off the run-rule win.
Berecochea, Reh, and Cavazos each collected two hits, with the trio combining for six RBI in the effort.
Martindale picked up her first win, going 3.1 innings while allowing two hits, one unearned run, two walks, and three strikeouts.
GAME TWO – Southeastern Oklahoma State 7 | UT Tyler 5
Game two would be a flip of the script for the Patriots, with the Savage Storm jumping on the Patriots early and riding that early offense to the win.
Kendall Selitzky got the ball to begin the game in the circle and worked a 1-2-3 first for the Patriots. In the top of the second, the Savage Storm found their stride, picking up three singles and a walk to drive home two and chase Selitzky from the game.
That brought in
Kearston Gooch, and Southeastern kept the bats rolling with two more singles, an error, and a groundout to drive home three more runs and build out a 5-0 lead.
The Patriots offense broke through in the bottom of the third after a bigtime double from Wiedenhaupt. Barney led off the inning with a single, and
Berlyn Grossman came on to run. Wiedenhaupt drove a double into the right center field gap, putting the Patriots on the board.
The Savage Storm put pressure on the Patriots with two walks in the top of the third, but
Kaylee Harris came on again and was clutch, getting a flyout and a strikeout to end the inning. They would add an answer in the top of the fourth, getting an RBI infield single to make it 6-1.
Harris put up two straight scoreless innings to keep the Patriots in it, and the offense got going again in the home half of the sixth.
Kaelyn Lerma barreled a double down the right field line to plate both Granger and
Dezirae Lopez, and
Sydney Linn later added an RBI single to make it 6-4.
Southeastern would add one more crucial insurance run in the seventh, making it 7-4 with the Patriots final chance at the plate. Lerma drove home Lopez with one out to make it 7-5, but a fielder's choice and a flyout would end the game.
Granger went 3-for-5 with a run, Lerma finished 2-for-4 with three RBI, Barney went 2-for-4 with a run, and Lopez went 2-for-4 with two runs.
UT Tyler will be back in action next week at the UT Tyler Classic as they play six more games on their home turf for the first time in 2026.
