DENTON, TEXAS – UT Tyler softball will begin the LSC slate at 1-1 after a split against Texas Woman's that featured a 7-4 win by the Patriots and an 11-10 win by the Pioneers.
 
GAME ONE: UT Tyler 7 | Texas Woman's 4
 
The Patriots got the bats rolling with 10 total hits and seven runs in game one of the doubleheader, striking with multiple runs in three different innings.
 
The first of which came in the first, where Kaylee Cavazos led off with a double before four straight hit by pitches brought home the first two runs of the game as Kiara Wiedenhaupt and Laci Berecochea collected RBI.
 
The Patriots began the contest with Kearston Gooch in the circle, and she delivered with 4.1 innings while allowing just one run to her name. After a 1-2-3 first, she allowed a leadoff homer in the second, and then worked around a walk and a hit by pitch with a strikeout, fielder's choice, and a groundout.
 
In the third, the first two hitters reached via error, but again Gooch came up clutch, getting an out via sacrifice and then an out at third and a fielder's choice to end the frame. Gooch worked around a leadoff single in the fourth, getting two groundouts and a strikeout before closing out her outing in the fifth with a flyout.
 
In the top of the fifth, the Patriots got the bats going again, getting a one-out double from Kaelyn Lerma followed by back-to-back singles from both Taryn Barney and Wiedenhaupt to drive home one before Lauren Granger reached on an error that allowed Barney to score and make it 4-1.
 
Kaylee Harris replaced Gooch in the home half of the fifth, and promptly got out of the inning with a lineout double play to preserve the Patriots lead. The top of the sixth saw the Patriots continue the hot hitting, with Trinity Hale leading off with a double before a single from Cavazos and a Lerma walk loaded the bases. Two batters later it was Wiedenhaupt connecting on another RBI single and Berecochea followed with a two RBI single to expand the lead out to 7-1.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, the Pioneers led off with a single and a double before a sacrifice fly plated a run. The next batter up hit a two run homer to left field, ultimately chasing Harris from the game and making it 7-4.
 
That brought in Alli Kimball, who got a groundout and a strikeout to end the game.
 
Cavazos, Barney, and Wiedenhaupt each collected two hits to lead the Patriots. Wiedenhaupt and Berecochea led the team with three RBI each.
 
Gooch moved to 5-2 on the year with the win.
 
GAME TWO: UT Tyler 10 | Texas Woman's 11
 
Game two of the day featured plenty of fireworks from both sides, but ultimately the Pioneers squeezed out the win and a split.
 
Both teams would go scoreless in the first, with both pitchers working around runners. In the bottom of the second, the Pioneers got on the board with a pair of runs, getting a leadoff solo homer and later a two-out RBI single to take the 2-0 lead.
 
In the bottom of the third, the Pioneers tacked it on, getting a pair of RBI doubles to drive in three total runs and then added a fourth on an error to make it 6-0 after just three innings.
 
Despite the big deficit, the Patriots bats were undeterred, leading off the fourth with a walk and two singles to load the bases. A lineout and a hit by pitch played the first run as Taryn Barney scored. That brought up Sydney Linn, who barreled a 1-1 pitch for a grand slam and make it 6-5. Later in the inning, Kaelyn Lerma doubled to drive home another run and tie the game.
 
Texas Woman's struck again in the fourth, getting a leadoff single and a home run just one batter later to make it 8-6. The Patriots battled back with two strikeouts and a groundout to end the frame.
 
Just like in the fourth, the Patriots responded in the fifth as they capitalized on three straight singles before an RBI double from Linn tied the game at eight each.
 
The Pioneers had one final rally in the fifth, plating three runs as they got three singles around a popout to score two, and later added another one via an error to take an 11-8 lead heading into the sixth.
 
The Patriots took advantage of Texas Woman's mistakes in the sixth, lead off with a Kaylee Cavazos solo homer. Two hit by pitches and a single loaded the bases, and Layne Reh drew a nine pitch walk, making it 11-10.
 
The Patriots pitching shut down the Pioneers in the sixth, but the offense went down in order with a pair of lineouts and a strikeout to end the contest.
Kiara Wiedenhaupt, Laci Berecochea, and Sydney Linn each totaled a pair of hits. Linn led the Patriots with a six RBI effort, spearheaded by a grand slam.
 
UT Tyler is back in action next weekend as they take on Texas A&M International and Texas A&M-Kingsville on the road to continue their conference play. They will play the Dustdevils on February 20^th, and the Javelinas on the 22^nd.