![\"Lubbock](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Lubbock-Christian.png\")
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Next Game:<\/p>\n
Lubbock Christian<\/p>\n
1\/31\/2026 | 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
\n Jan. 31 (Sat) \/ 2 p.m.
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\n \u00a0Lubbock Christian
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History <\/a><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n TYLER, TEXAS \u2013 #3 UT Tyler baseball kicked off the 2026 season the same way it started last year, opening with a win over Lone Star Conference foe Lubbock Christian. The Patriots used two four-run innings to pull away from the Chaps, finishing with eight hits while allowing just two earned runs on opening night.<\/p>\n The Patriots got off to a rocky start in the first inning as LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year Caden Copeland<\/a> took the mound for his first career start as a Patriot. He retired the leadoff batter on a strikeout, but the next Chap dribbled a ball down the third-base line and an errant throw allowed the runner to reach second. Copeland responded with another strikeout for the second out, but Lubbock Christian capitalized on the error with a two-run home run over the left-field wall. Copeland settled in from there, striking out another batter to end the inning with his third punchout.<\/p>\n From there, the game moved quickly with both lineups being retired in order until the Patriots’ half of the third inning. Bryce Jewell<\/a> put UT Tyler on the board with the first run of the season, sending the first pitch of the inning 380 feet over the left-field fence at 97 mph exit velocity to cut the deficit to one. A single and a walk set the table for Drew Schmidt<\/a>, who laced a single into center field to tie the game at 2\u20132. A fielder’s choice brought home another run, and Kaston Mason<\/a> followed with a two-RBI double into left field to give the Patriots a 4\u20132 lead after three innings.<\/p>\n In the top of the fifth, the Chaps briefly tied the game at four after a sequence of a walk, hit by pitch, single, hit by pitch, and a wild pitch plated two runs. Jacob Hadden<\/a> entered with one out and, after hitting a batter, induced an inning-ending double play to stop the threat.<\/p>\n Both teams went down in order in the bottom of the fifth and top of the sixth, but the Patriots regained the lead in their half of the sixth. A single and two walks loaded the bases, and UT Tyler pushed across two runs on a fielder’s choice and an error. After a hit by pitch reloaded the bases, Connor Clark<\/a> delivered a two-RBI double on a full-count hit-and-run to extend the lead to 8\u20134.<\/p>\n Hadden returned to the mound in the seventh and worked a clean inning. The Patriots rewarded him with another run in the bottom of the frame after an error allowed Schmidt to reach base. He eventually came around to score following a wild pitch and another error. Hadden’s night ended after striking out the side in the eighth, before turning the ball over to new Patriot Matthew Mackenzie<\/a>, who needed just 11 pitches to retire the side in order and secure UT Tyler’s first win of the season.<\/p>\n Copeland finished his outing with 3.1 innings on 65 pitches, striking out seven Chaps while allowing no earned runs. Hadden earned the win with a dominant 3.2 innings of relief, allowing just two baserunners on no hits while striking out five on 47 pitches.<\/p>\n Offensively, the Patriots had six players record a hit and six score a run. Clark’s two-RBI double highlighted his 2-for-5 night, while Schmidt added the only other multi-hit performance, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Jewell also crossed the plate twice and accounted for the first Patriot home run of the season.<\/p>\n The Patriots will be back in action tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. as they look to clinch the series against Lubbock Christian. The 2025 UT Tyler baseball team will be honored approximately 30 minutes prior to first pitch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Next Game: Lubbock Christian 1\/31\/2026 | 2 p.m.
Jan. 31 (Sat) \/ 2 p.m.
…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[168,170,169],"class_list":{"0":"post-145302","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-lubbock","8":"tag-lubbock","9":"tag-lubbock-headlines","10":"tag-lubbock-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}