ABILENE, Texas – The 5th-ranked University of Texas at Tyler baseball team’s bats went flat during the final four innings of Friday’s game, as McMurry rallied for the 11-7 upset at Walt Driggers Field in Abilene.
The lead went back and forth for most of the game and both teams had plenty of opportunities to score. The Patriots (9-2) had 14 hits during the game, while McMurry (6-3) had 15.
UT Tyler led 4-0 after two innings, but McMurry battled back to score four runs in the third and take a 5-4 lead. After going scoreless in the third, the Patriots got the bats going in the next two innings and led 7-6 through five innings.
The one run in the top of the fifth turned out to be the final UT Tyler run of the game. McMurry scored one run in the fifth, three in the sixth and two in the eighth to recapture the lead and win the game.
Senior Chad Daleiden (Cave Creek, Ariz.) led the Patriots on the night by going 3-for-5 with three runs, two RBIs and two doubles.
Senior Stephen Derrick (Cedar Park, Texas) was the driving force behind McMurry’s win as he went 3-for-5 with 6 RBIs, three runs, two doubles and a homerun.
On the mound, a reliever for each team received the decision in the game. McMurry’s Adrian Gaona (N. Richland Hills, Texas) moved to 2-0 on the season as he allowed just two hits and no runs, while striking out four over the final four innings of the game.
Junior James Alvarado (N. Richland Hills, Texas) picked up his first loss of the season by allowing five hits and four runs over 2.1 innings of work.
The two teams will return to Driggers Field on Saturday for a doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m.
