SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – UT Tyler softball moved to 26-7 overall and 17-3 in LSC play after sweeping St. Mary's on Sunday afternoon on the road in the Alamo City.
 
GAME ONE: UT Tyler 7 | St. Mary's 4
 
The Patriots kept the Rattlers at bay early and then tacked on four big insurance runs in the seventh to book the win.
 
UT Tyler scored just two runs over the opening five innings, one in the second and one in the fourth. Sydney Linn barreled up a homer to left field to open the scoring, and Layne Reh drove a single through the right side to make it 2-0 after four.
 
While the Patriots offense provided the run support, starter Alli Kimball was elite to keep the Rattlers at bay. She worked around two singles in the first, getting a sac bunt, strikeout, and a caught stealing at the plate to end the inning. She worked a 1-2-3 second, and then faced the minimum in the third after getting a lineout double play after a single.
 
She kept things rolling in the fourth and the fifth, putting up two more zeros on the scoreboard. She worked around a walk and a single in the fourth with two flyouts and a popout, and then worked her second 1-2-3 inning of the game in the fifth.
 
The Patriots offense would tack on another run in the sixth thanks to a leadoff double from Linn before Kaylee Cavazos brought her home later in the inning with a sacrifice fly to right field. The Rattlers finally got to Kimball in their half of the sixth, getting an RBI single up the middle to cut the deficit to two.
 
UT Tyler got four key insurance runs in the seventh, getting a key RBI double to left center field from Keona Wells, and later an RBI single down the right field line from Reh. The fourth run would come with two outs, as the Rattlers committed a fielding error that allowed Cavazos to scamper home from second.
 
In the home half of the seventh, the Rattlers would stage an attempted comeback, ripping off two straight singles after an error to plate a run. Two batters later, they added a two RBI double, cutting the lead to three. That last hit ran Kimball from the game, and Addison Martindale came on to close out the game with a walk and a foulout.
 
Both Keona Wells and Layne Reh totaled two hits and two RBI's while each scoring a run. Sydney Linn added two more hits herself along with two runs and an RBI.
 
Alli Kimball moved to 5-1 on the year after going 6.2 innings while scattering nine hits, four runs (one earned), three walks, and two strikeouts. Martindale added her second save of the year with the final out.
 
GAME TWO: UT Tyler 9 | St. Mary's 1
 
The Patriots kept the offense hot from the final inning of game one to the tune of a run-rule win that was followed again with strong pitching.
 
That hot offense showed again in the first inning as they scored three runs to open the game. A hit by pitch and a single put runners on the corners, and Dezirae Lopez drove in the first run with a single. A fielding error added another, and Trinity Hale drove in the third run with a single to right field.
 
The Rattlers got to starter Kendall Selitzky for one run in the first inning, but that would be the one and only run allowed for the game. She responded in the second with a lineout, groundout, and an out of the box out call around two singles, and then went 1-2-3 in the third with two strikeouts.
 
Layne Reh would drive a run home in the third with an RBI sacrifice fly, and Taryn Barney came up with the biggest shot of the day with a three run homer in the fourth to put the Patriots up 7-1 after four.
 
In the top of the fifth, the Patriots put the game into run-rule territory with back-to-back RBI singles from Kaelyn Lerma and Laci Berecochea. In the home half of the fifth, Selitzky recorded her third straight 1-2-3 frame, pushing her streak to 11 straight batters retired to end the game.
 
Keona Wells, Trinity Hale, and Taryn Barney each had a pair of hits in the game, and four total Patriots scored at least two runs. Barney led with three RBI, and five other players had one each.
 
Kendall Selitzky moved to 6-3 with the complete game effort, allowing four hits and one run along with posting three strikeouts.
 
UT Tyler will face Lubbock Christian and Midwestern State at home next weekend to continue LSC play at Irwin Field. They will match up with Lubbock Christian at 1 and 3 p.m. on March 27^th, and with the Mustangs at 1 and 3 p.m. on March 29^th.