TYLER, TEXAS – #20 UT Tyler softball delivered their 15
th doubleheader sweep of the season on Sunday afternoon and finished the year at 41-11 overall and 33-7 in LSC play.
UT Tyler also celebrated the careers of
Taryn Barney and
Berlyn Grossman, who were honored with a senior ceremony following the doubleheader.
GAME ONE: #20 UT Tyler 8 | Texas A&M International 2
Texas A&M International put the pressure on early, forcing the Patriots into two pitching changes in the first three innings, but they didn't score their first run until an RBI walk in the third to take a 1-0 lead off of reliever
Addison Martindale.
She would get out of the frame with a foulout, and then worked a 1-2-3 fourth inning to steady the ship. That set up the Patriots offense in the home half, who tied the game on three straight singles, the last of which coming from
Layne Reh to drive home one.
Laci Berecochea would come up and deliver another RBI via a sacrifice fly, and
Taryn Barney drove home a third run with an RBI single to shortstop to make it 3-1.
Martindale went 1-2-3 in the fifth again, but the Dustdevils fought back with a double and then an error to plate a second run to make it 3-2 in the sixth. The bottom half would change the tone of the game however, as the Patriots took charge.
Reh drove home the first with an RBI double deep down the line, and then scored on a Berecochea sacrifice fly. The Patriots then added three straight RBI walks, one each from
Berlyn Grossman,
Kaylee Cavazos, and
Keona Wells, stretching the lead out to 8-2.
Martindale went back out for the seventh and worked around a double with two flyouts and a grounder back to herself to wrap up the win.
Martindale went five innings while allowing just three hits and one unearned run while posting one walk and two strikeouts.
Both Reh and Berecochea posted two RBI games, with Reh going 3-for-5 on the day. Barney,
Kaelyn Lerma, and Cavazos would join her in multi-hit games.
GAME TWO: #20 UT Tyler 8 | Texas A&M International 6
Game two saw both teams get off to a faster start, with the two teams trading blows in three consecutive half innings.
The Patriots would strike first in the second, with
Kaylee Cavazos driving a two run homer over the left field wall to make it 2-0. The Dustdevils battled back in the third, stringing together four runs. Two came via RBI singles, one via a wild pitch, and another via a wild pitch with an added throwing error to take the lead.
UT Tyler's offense again battled back, getting an RBI single from Lerma on a nine pitch at-bat to cut into the lead. Two batters later, Cavazos again drove home a run with her own single.
Kiara Wiedenhaupt stepped up next as a pinch hitter, and she drove a single through the left side to make it 5-4 and put the Patriots back in front.
Kaylee Harris would come on to pitch in the top of the fourth, and she worked around a two out walk with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout. She went 1-2-3 in the fifth with another strikeout, and got three groundouts in the sixth to put up a third straight zero.
The Patriots offense would add critical insurance in the fifth, getting two runs on a fielder's choice and an error, and then adding a single to left to bring home a third run to make it 8-4.
Those three runs would be critical, as the Dustdevils battled back with two straight RBI fielder's choices to make it 8-6 in the seventh. Harris settled in, getting a lineout and a strikeout to end the game and complete the sweep.
Harris picked up her second win of the year after going four innings in relief while allowing two hits, two runs (one earned), two walks, and four strikeouts.
Berecochea, Lau, and Cavazos each had three hits in the second game, and Cavazos drove home three. Lau would add a double and three runs.
UT Tyler will now await their LSC opponent when the season finalizes on Monday. The Patriots have earned the #2 seed, finishing three games behind West Texas A&M and one ahead of Angelo State.
That LSC Tournament will begin on Thursday in Canyon, Texas.
