TYLER, TEXAS – #25 UT Tyler softball stayed hot by picking up their eighth and ninth straight wins as they swept the doubleheader against Texas Woman's on Saturday afternoon.
 
GAME ONE: #25 UT Tyler 8 | Texas Woman's 0
 
Starter Alli Kimball went the distance with a big shutout effort, and the Patriots offense came up with the timely swings all game.
 
Kimball got her day started by allowing a leadoff double, but then struck out the side to end the frame with no issues. Another double and a single would lead off the second, but again Kimball got out of the frame with a foulout, lineout, and groundout.
 
She would put up a third straight zero in the third inning, this time going 1-2-3. The Patriots put two on in the home half via a walk and a hit by pitch, and Sydney Linn came up with the big blast as she drilled a double off the center field wall to make it 2-0.
 
Kimball kept her foot on the gas in the fourth, getting a groundout, flyout, and a popout around a walk for another blank inning. In the fifth, she worked around three singles, relying on her defense for a key fielder's choice and a groundout to again post another zero.
 
The big inning of the day came in the fifth, where Layne Reh led off with a triple. After a Taryn Barney walk, Kaelyn Lerma hammered a pitch over the left field wall for a three run blast to make it 5-0. The Patriots tacked on two more runs with a Dezirae Lopez RBI single to right field, making it 7-0 after five.
 
After another 1-2-3 frame from Kimball in the top of the sixth, the Patriots called game as Barney drove a walk-off single up the middle to plate Reh and invoke the run rule.
 
Alli Kimball slung her fifth complete game of the season, moving her record to 8-1 in the process. She allowed six hits and one walk while striking out four.
 
Seven Patriots recorded a hit, led by Layne Reh who went 2-for-3 with two runs. Lopez and Linn drove in two, and Kaelyn Lerma drove in three with her homer.
 
GAME TWO: #25 UT Tyler 3 | Texas Woman's 2
 
Game two of the day turned into more of a pitchers duel, with the Patriots coming up with late offense to pull off the comeback.
 
Patriots starter Kendall Selitzky was strong early, putting up three straight scoreless innings to begin the game. She worked a 1-2-3 first with a strikeout, and added another strikeout in the second after allowing a walk. In the third, she went 1-2-3 yet again, posting her third strikeout in as many innings.
 
The Pioneers got on the board for the first time all day in the fourth, getting two doubles around a strikeout to take a slim 1-0 lead before Selitzky closed out the inning with yet another strikeout. The Patriots offense responded in the home half, with Kaelyn Lerma slugging a sacrifice fly to the right center gap to score Laci Berecochea.
 
The Pioneers answered the call again in the fifth, drilling a homer to left center to break the tie and make it 2-1. Selitzky would limit the damage, getting the next two batters on a groundout and a lineout. In the sixth she was back to normal, working her third 1-2-3 frame of the day to keep the Patriots within range.
 
The Patriots got the first two batters on board in the bottom of the sixth, and then Linn dropped in a single down the left field line to tie the game right back up at two each. Two batters later, Kiara Wiedenhaupt came on to pinch hit and promptly drove a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Barney and give the Patriots the lead heading into the seventh.
 
Selitzky trotted back out for the seventh to ice the game, and she answered with two flyouts and a groundout to post a fourth 1-2-3 inning and retire an eighth straight batter to close the game.
 
Kendall Selitzky moved to 11-3 on the year and added her sixth complete game after going all seven on Saturday. She allowed three hits and two runs to go with one walk and five strikeouts in her outing.
 
The Patriots offense saw three different players record a hit, three different players record an RBI, and three different players record a run. Berecochea had a hit and a run, and Linn had a hit and an RBI.
 
#25 UT Tyler will take on Ouachita Baptist on Monday in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. at Irwin Field. That doubleheader will close out non-conference play for the season for the Patriots.