SAN ANGELO, TEXAS – No. 4 UT Tyler baseball suffered its first loss of the season Friday night, falling 7-2 to No. 9 Angelo State in the opener of a South Central Super Regional rematch from a year ago.

The Patriots struck first in the opening inning when Bryce Jewell launched his second home run of the season over the left-center wall to give UT Tyler a 1-0 lead after one.

Pitching took control over the next several frames, as 17 consecutive batters were retired between the bottom of the first and the top of the fourth innings, with just four strikeouts during that stretch. UT Tyler added to its lead in the fourth when Kaston Mason lifted his first home run of the season over the right-center wall with two outs, extending the advantage to 2-0.

Angelo State responded in the bottom of the fifth. Two singles, a double, and a wild pitch tied the game at 2-2 before an out was recorded. A walk, two infield bunt singles, and a sacrifice fly gave the Rams a 4-2 lead, and another double followed by a sacrifice fly capped the six-run inning to make it 6-2.

The Patriots threatened in the sixth after two walks and an error put runners in scoring position, but UT Tyler was unable to capitalize. Angelo State added an insurance run in the eighth on consecutive doubles to push the lead to 7-2.

UT Tyler put the first two runners on in the ninth but could not complete the comeback, falling 7-2.

The Patriots were limited to three hits in the contest, with Mason and Jewell accounting for the team's only RBIs on their home runs. The Patriots will look to even the series tomorrow at 2 p.m in San Agelo.