By CHASE UPTON/Sports Editor
TYLER, Texas— The University of Texas at Tyler’s No. 3–ranked baseball team opened the 2026 season in dominant fashion, sweeping Lubbock Christian University in a three-game Lone Star Conference series at Irwin Field behind strong pitching depth and timely offense.
GAME 1
UT Tyler opened the series against Lubbock Christian Friday night with a flurry of offense and timely pitching to take Game one and set the tone for the weekend. After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning of the season, the Patriots rallied with a decisive third-inning surge that turned momentum in their favor and never looked back.
Bryce Jewell sparked the comeback with the first home run of the season, a towering shot that ignited the UT Tyler lineup in the bottom of the third. That swing was followed by a string of productive at‑bats, including an RBI single from Drew Schmidt and a two‑RBI double from Kaston Mason that put the Patriots ahead 4-2.
The Patriots pitching staff then did a strong job settling in after the early runs. Starter and Lone Star Conference preseason Pitcher of the Year Caden Copeland rebounded to strike out multiple batters and keep UT Tyler in front, 4–2, when he exited in the fourth inning. Lubbock Christian answered with a two-run rally in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 4–4, but UT Tyler responded in the bottom of the sixth. An error by the Chaps allowed two runs to score before Connor Clark delivered a two-RBI double to cap a four-run frame and put the Patriots back in control, 8–4.
From the bullpen, Jacob Hadden was dominant, earning the win after throwing 3.2 scoreless while allowing no hits and striking out five to stifle the Chaparral lineup and reliever Matthew Mackenzie came on to close out the game, facing the minimum in the ninth to secure the 9–4 victory.
GAME 2
The Patriots captured their first series win of the season with a victory over The Chaps in a marathon contest that lasted more than four hours Saturday. Tyler used timely hitting to overcome multiple ties and pull away in a wild, high-scoring affair.
The Pats got on the board early in the first inning as Connor Clark singled and later scored on a Drew Schmidt RBI single, followed by a two-RBI double from Cole Ketzner that put the Patriots ahead 2–0 after inning one.
LCU responded in the top of the second with a solo homer and additional damage on a two-RBI single to take a 3–2 lead, but the Patriots countered with a run in the bottom of the second when Clark scored on a throwing error to tie the score at 3-3 after two.
The game remained tight until the fifth and sixth innings, when UT Tyler erupted for a nine-run surge. Tanner Hornback drove in two runs with a single in the fifth, and a mix of walks, errors, and a go-ahead three-run homer from Brock Bearden in the bottom of the sixth pushed the Patriots in front 13–10 after LCU had briefly tied the game at 10 in the top half of the frame.
UT Tyler added more insurance as Bryce Jewell, Ketzner, Kaston Mason, and Hornback all drove in runs during a four-run eighth inning that put the game out of reach.
The Patriots offense showed balance, reached base consistently, and multiple hitters scored more than once to keep the Chaps pitching staff on its heels en route to an 18-12 win.
GAME 3
Tyler completed its opening-weekend sweep with a 5–2 win over the Chaps Sunday, leaning on strong pitching early and steady offense throughout to close out the series.
The game was scoreless through the first three and a half innings as Patriot starter Dylan Blomquist set the tone on the mound, working three shutout frames while allowing just two hits in his 42nd start as a Patriot. Tyler Puckett took over in the fourth and continued to keep the Chaps in check in the middle innings.
The Patriots broke through in the bottom of the fourth when Drew Schmidt singled and later scored on a Cole Ketzner double down the left-field line. Kaston Mason followed with a single to put runners on the corners, and Tanner Hornback drove in Ketzner with a base hit up the middle to give UT Tyler a 2–0 advantage.
Tyler threatened to add more in the fifth, loading the bases with two outs, but came up empty and carried the two-run advantage into the sixth. The Patriots then added insurance in the bottom of the sixth with a three-run inning. Luke Smith knocked in a run with an RBI single, Bryce Jewell lifted a sacrifice fly to score another, and a wild pitch allowed the third run to cross, stretching the lead to 5–0.
Lubbock Christian scratched across its first run in the top of the seventh, but Tyler Puckett limited the damage, finishing with four solid innings of relief while allowing just one run and striking out three in his Patriot debut to earn the win.
Klayton Wingfield handled the final two innings, facing the minimum in the eighth and working around traffic in the ninth to seal the victory and complete the sweep. UT Tyler pitching limited the Chaps to two runs, while the offense capitalized on key opportunities to close out a strong season-opening series.
The Numbers
The Patriot offense was firing on all cylinders against LCU, with Connor Clark leading the way, going 6-for-14 for a .429 average and swiping two bases. Ketzner also shined, hitting .400 and posting a team-best .600 on-base percentage.
Overall, seven of the Patriots nine starters finished the series with a .400 or better on base percentage, as a team the Pats hit .318 with a .426 on-base clip and went a perfect 9-for-9 on stolen bases.
On the mound, UT Tyler’s pitching staff held a 4.33 team ERA for the series and struck out 11.7 batters per nine innings, dominating a strong Lubbock Christian squad.
What’s Next
Fresh off their first-ever appearance in the Division II College World Series last season, UT Tyler now heads to San Angelo, Texas for a rematch with No. 12 Angelo State University (2-1), a familiar rival they faced seven times last season and took down in the Super Regionals to punch their ticket to the World Series.
The Patriots and their fans have plenty to be excited about this season as they aim to build on their sweep over the Chaps and chase the program’s first-ever Division II baseball national championship.
Be the first to comment