DENVER, COLORADO – UT Tyler softball dropped a 10-3 affair to St. Mary's on Friday to close out their 2026 campaign in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament.
This was the fifth straight appearance in the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament for UT Tyler, one for each season they have been Division II eligible. They officially close the year with a record of 42-14 overall.
St. Mary's struck first, squeezing out a two-out rally with two singles and a walk, the second of those singles being the one to drive home the runner and take a 1-0 lead.
The Patriots got their response in the second inning, starting with a pair of runners reaching via hit by pitch. After an infield single,
Kiara Wiedenhaupt brought home the first run with a hard hit ball that turned into an error. Trinity Hall stepped in as the next batter and drove in another run with an RBI groundout, and
Layne Reh capped off the inning with an RBI single to center to make it 3-1.
After a scoreless third, the Rattlers would find their footing on offense in the fourth. They would put together four singles, two walks, and a double to drive home six runs, and then tacked on one more with an error to make it 8-3.
The Patriots put together two singles in the home half, but a baserunning error put a runner in a rundown and ended the inning. They would put together another rally in the fifth, loading the bases with a
Taryn Barney double,
Kaylee Cavazos single, and a
Kaelyn Lerma walk with one out. That rally would come to an end on a hard hit line drive that turned into a double play at third on a piece of tough luck.
The Rattlers would add two more insurance runs in the sixth with a two RBI triple, and they would shut down the Patriots bats to close out the game with a 10-3 win.
Layne Reh and
Megan Lau had two hits each, with Reh and Hale coming up with an RBI each.
