By CHASE UPTON/Sports Editor
CANYON, Texas — UT Tyler softball delivered its most complete performance of the season Wednesday night, sweeping top-ranked West Texas A&M University (31-5, 21-3 LSC) in a Lone Star Conference doubleheader while extending its winning surge to 15 of its last 16 games.
The Patriots (30-8, 22-4 LSC) handed the Lady Buffs their first sweep and first back-to-back losses of the season, showcasing both offensive firepower and dominant pitching in two statement road performances.
UT Tyler entered the season ranked No. 1 in the nation but stumbled out to a 3-4 start and fell out of the top 25. Now, under first-year head coach Jason Miller, the Patriots are playing their best softball of the year at the right time.
“We started the year off rough, but through it all this team has never stopped showing fight and that’s something that we’re always going to be able to lean on,” Miller said in a recent interview. “Whether it’s a low-scoring game or an offensive game, we know no matter what we’re going to keep fighting.”
That identity was on full display Wednesday.
Game One: UT Tyler – 13, No. 1 West Texas A&M – 5 (6 inn.)
UT Tyler wasted no time applying pressure, erupting early and pulling away late in a run-rule victory.
After both teams exchanged four-run first innings, the Patriots quickly separated themselves. Laci Berecochea opened the scoring with a two-run homerun, and Taryn Barney followed with a solo blast as UT Tyler built an early cushion. Sydney Linn and Kaelyn Lerma added consecutive doubles to cap a four-run opening frame.
West Texas A&M answered in the bottom of the first with a grand slam to even the score, but the momentum was short-lived.
The Patriots regained control in the second when Linn delivered a two-run single, and Dezirae Lopez pushed the lead further with an RBI single in the third to make it 7-4. From there, UT Tyler created distance.
A four-run fifth inning proved decisive, featuring run-scoring swings from Lopez and Barney, before Layne Reh drove in two more with a double to the gap in the sixth to stretch the lead to eight at 13-5.
In the circle, Alli Kimball rebounded from the opening inning and kept the nation’s top-ranked lineup in check. The right-hander limited West Texas A&M to just one run over the final five innings, and finished with six strikeouts while allowing only six hits on 109 pitches.
Lopez paced the offense, going 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored, while Barney drove in a team-high three runs.
UT Tyler’s lineup produced top to bottom, with every starter recording a hit and four turning in multi-hit performances in game one.
Game Two: UT Tyler – 2, No. 1 West Texas A&M – 0
Game two presented an entirely different script with the same result.
Behind a dominant outing from Kendall Selitzky, the Patriots secured a 2-0 shutout, marking the first time this season the Lady Buffs had been held scoreless.
Selitzky was in command from start to finish, delivering a seven-inning complete game on 113 pitches, scattering just seven hits, issuing one walk and striking out seven against a West Texas A&M team she transferred away from after her freshman season last year.
Her performance was even more significant given the potent lineup she was facing, the Lady Buffs entered the series leading the entire nation in multiple major offensive categories, including batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs scored and home runs.
Sydney Linn sparked the second inning with a leadoff triple, and Kaylee Cavazos opened the scoring a few batters later with a sacrifice fly to give
the Patriots a 1-0 lead.
Both teams had potential momentum swings erased in a chaotic fourth inning, as UT Tyler had a home run nullified after a missed base touch, while West Texas A&M had a would-be game-tying homer wiped out due to the team batting out of order.
Berecochea then added an insurance run in the fifth for Tyler with an RBI double that scored Layne Reh from first to make it 2-0.
In a fitting, almost storybook ending, Kendall Selitzky, who transferred from West Texas A&M, faced Jordyn De Los Santos — a member of UT Tyler’s national championship team last season who joined the Lady Buffs for this year — with the tying runner on base and two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
Selitzky struck out De Los Santos to complete the game, securing a shutout and the Patriot’s second consecutive complete-game performance in the circle.
Season Outlook
The sweep reinforced what UT Tyler has become over the past month, a team that is just going to find a way to win no matter the circumstances.
After an uneven start, the Patriots have rediscovered their identity, pairing elite pitching with a deep, productive lineup.
Kimball and Selitzky both delivered complete-game performances against the nation’s No. 1 team, while hitters like, Barney, Lau, Lopez and Berecochea continue to anchor an offense capable of scoring in bunches.
With momentum building and postseason play approaching, the defending back-to-back national champions are trending upward at exactly the right time.
The Patriots will hit the road to take on Eastern New Mexico University (15-16, 11-13 LSC) on Friday, April 3, at 2 and 4 p.m. before returning to Irwin Field in Tyler for an eight-game home stretch from April 11–19.
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