By CHASE UPTON/Sports Editor
CARY, North Carolina — Tuesday afternoon, UT Tyler’s season was on the line once again, and once again, the ” Cardiac Pats” delivered.
Behind a 17-hit offensive attack, a dominant relief outing from Coleson Abel and a clutch performance from the bottom of the lineup, UT Tyler defeated Central Missouri 11-7 to advance to the NCAA Division II National Championship semifinals for the first time.
The victory improved the Patriots to 50-13 overall, marking the first 50-win season in program history.
It also marked UT Tyler’s fourth postseason elimination-game win this season, continuing a remarkable run that has earned the Patriots their new “Cardiac Pats” nickname.
The name comes from Athletic Director Dr. Sam Ferguson, who grew up attending NC State Wolfpack basketball games during the Wolfpack’s improbable 1983 national championship run.
Ferguson recently shared stories of the legendary “Cardiac Pack” while showing me around the downtown Raleigh campus, including a visit to historic Reynolds Coliseum, where the magic of that NC State team still lives.
That Wolfpack squad barely made the NCAA Tournament out of a loaded ACC before shocking heavily favored Houston, led by future Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, to capture the national championship.
Now, just 30 miles from where that story unfolded four decades ago, the Patriots are writing a version of their own.
After surviving four win-or-go-home games this postseason, “Cardiac Pats” feels more appropriate with every passing day.
“We’ve got all the confidence in the world in this group and their resiliency and ability to fight whenever their backs are against the wall,” head coach Brent Porche said. “Just glad we get to fight another day.”
In their second win over Central Missouri (40-17), UT Tyler never trailed after scoring in the opening inning.
Connor Clark doubled to begin the game and later scored on Cole Ketzner’s RBI single through the left side to give the Patriots an early 1-0 lead.
Central Missouri answered in the second when Jackson Bryant drove in Drew Veatch, but Kaston Mason quickly put the Patriots back in front with an RBI double down the right-field line in the third inning.
Mason continued his big afternoon in the fifth.
After Drew Schmidt singled and Tanner Hornback walked, Mason delivered an RBI single to make it 3-1.
Two batters later, Bryce Jewell ripped a two-run double into left field, extending the lead to 5-1.
Central Missouri cut the deficit to 5-2 in the seventh before UT Tyler seemingly broke the game open with a six-run eighth inning, all coming with two outs and the Mules on the brink of escape.
The rally started with Schmidt reaching after being hit by a pitch, then Mason followed with a single, Travis Bragg was hit by a pitch, and Spencer Simpson lined a two-run single into left field to make it 7-2.
Moments later, Jewell dropped a bunt single that ended up plating two more runs on a throwing error to first.
Clark and Brock Bearden added RBI singles later in the frame as the Patriots built an 11-2 advantage.
Even then, the Cardiac Pats couldn’t make it easy.
If the the first matchup between these two clubs told us anything about UCM, it’s that they still had plenty of fight left heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Central Missouri scored five runs, but it was to little too late for the Mules as Ethan Jezierski recorded the final two outs to send UT Tyler into the semifinals.
While Mason’s 3-for-5, two-RBI performance helped pace the offense, the biggest story came from the bottom third of the lineup.
Simpson and Jewell — hitting eighth and ninth in the order — combined to go 5-for-7 with two walks, five RBIs and two runs scored.
Their production turned several innings and helped fuel UT Tyler’s offensive explosion.
When asked how difficult the Patriots are to beat with that kind of production from the bottom of the order, Porche said, “It’s really tough. One through six can be really, really scary and whenever seven, eight and nine are going, good luck.”
On the mound, Abel delivered perhaps the game’s most important performance.
After starter Caden Copeland exited in the second inning, Abel entered and stabilized the game, allowing just one run over 4.1 innings while striking out four in his first appearance in Cary and improving to 8-0 on the season.
The victory continued a remarkable trend for UT Tyler when facing elimination.
Across four postseason elimination games, the Patriots are hitting .365 as a team with a .431 on-base percentage, 57 hits, 37 runs scored and 36 RBIs while drawing 20 walks and absorbing 10 hit-by-pitches.
The pitching staff has been equally effective, posting a 3.72 ERA with a 1.62 WHIP while striking out 36 batters.
Most importantly, they keep finding ways to win, but now the challenge becomes even steeper.
UT Tyler must defeat West Chester (46-10) twice, once Wednesday at 12:30 pm CST and again Thursday, to reach the championship series with both games being win-or-go-home for the Patriots.
At this point, however, that may be exactly where the Cardiac Pats are most comfortable.
Fans can watch every game of the NCAA Division II College World Series and follow the complete tournament bracket at NCAA.com.
Patriot fans can also listen live through the UT Tyler Athletics website and stay up to date with coverage, reactions and updates throughout the week at thepatriottalon.com and on The Patriot Talon’s and UT Tyler Athletics’ Instagram pages.
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