No. 1 Patriots roll to win, advance to Super Regionals

The No. 1 UT Tyler softball team took down No. 4 seed Oklahoma Christian via an 8-0 run-rule win on Saturday afternoon to advance to the NCAA South Central Super Regionals for the fourth straight season.

The visitors on the scoreboard after a coin flip, the Patriots would get all of their run support in the late innings while they got another lights out effort in the circle.

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The Heart of Texas was on full display on Saturday afternoon at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma as the No. 1 UT Tyler softball team rolled to a 8-0 win-rule win over No. 4 seed Oklahoma Christian to punch their ticket to the NCAA South Central Super Regionals for the fourth straight season.

Both teams threatened early on but couldn't capitalize. In the first inning, UT Tyler had runners on first and second with one out, but a flyout and a groundout ended the threat. In the second inning, Oklahoma Christian had runners on first and third with no out, but the Patriots were able to get out of the jam with a flyout and two strikeouts.

The Patriots finally broke through in the third inning. After a walk and a single put runners on first and second, Taylor Gray hit a two-run triple to left-center field, scoring both runners from first and second and giving UT Tyler a 2-0 lead.

The Patriots extended their lead in the fifth inning. With one out, Aaliyah Dotson reached on an error by the third baseman, and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Haley Dotson singled to left field to put runners on first and third, and Aaliyah Dotson scored on the play to make it 3-0.

Gray and Kendall Jamison each hit two-run singles later in the fifth to extend the lead to 7-0.

The Patriots got one more run in the sixth inning when Aaliyah Dotson scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-0, and that would be all she wrote.

The Patriots would get stellar pitching performance from Karly Moncrief who went the full seven innings and allowed just three hits, no runs, walked one and struck out five batters to improve to 24-1 on the season.

The Patriots took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series on Friday afternoon with a 3-2 win over the Saints in eight innings. In that game, UT Tyler scored the game-winning run in the top of the eighth inning on a single by Jamison.

The Patriots are now 50-6 overall on the season, while the Saints finished their season at 34-14.

With the win, UT Tyler will advance to the Super Regionals, where they will face the winner of the Mid-Atlantic Regional. The Patriots will be the No. 2 seed in the Super Regional, while the winner of the Mid-Atlantic Regional will be the No. 1 seed.

The Super Regional will be a best-of-three series, with the winner advancing to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

The Patriots are looking to reach the Women's College World Series for the third straight season and for the fourth time in five years. They last competed in the WCWS in 2023, losing to Union in the regional final.

This year's squad is looking to build on last year's success and get back to the pinnacle of college softball. The Patriots have been rolling through the tournament, outscoring their opponents 40-4 in five games.

The Patriots are a formidable offensive threat, hitting .308 as a team and averaging 6.0 runs per game. They are led by Jamison, who is hitting .390 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs.

But the Patriots' strength begins in the circle with Moncrief who has been nearly unhittable, posting a 0.97 ERA and striking out 182 batters in 157 innings.

The Patriots are a complete team that is capable of winning in many different ways. They have the bats to put up big numbers, the pitching to shut down opponents and the defense to make the routine plays.

If the Patriots can continue to play at a high level, they will be a tough out in the Super Regional and have their sights set on making it all the way to Oklahoma City once again.