UT Tyler Patriots encourage teammates from the dugout on Monday at Pioneer Field in Appleton, Wis. Photo courtesy of UT Tyler

The UT Tyler Patriots will play for a national baseball championship.

Blake Maddox homered and Alex Bishop drove in three runs as the Patriots defeated Randolph-Macon College, 8-6, on Monday to clinch a spot in the NCAA Division III finals at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wisconsin.

It will be an all-Texas affair in the Dairy State as UT Tyler (38-18) will play Texas Lutheran (42-10) in a best-of-three series.

Game 1 is scheduled for 11 a.m. (Central) Tuesday, followed by Game 2 at 2:30 p.m. If a third game is needed, it will be played at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Texas Lutheran defeated Concordia-Chicago, 5-4, to reach the finals.

UT Tyler and the Bulldogs met in Seguin on Feb. 23-24 with the Patriots sweeping the series, 11-4, 7-1 and 7-6.

The Patriots are now 6-0 in elimination games this postseason.

“These guys are gritty,” UT Tyler head coach Brent Porche said. “This is a team that has been on the brink of elimination several times, so we’re not scared with two outs or worried to make the next out. We just know that if we have a breath, we have a shot. That’s what these guys did today. That was a tough team that we just beat. They had sticks up and down the lineup and their coaches do a great job of preparing them and making adjustments in the game. That was a big-time challenge for us.”

Bishop and Blake Wilson added doubles for the Patriots, who scored six runs in the sixth inning to rally from a 3-1 deficit.

Henry Sanchez led UT Tyler with three hits, while Tanner Roach and Alex Bishop had two hits each. Bowie Farris added a single.

Along with Bishop’s three RBIs, Wilson had two and Roach, Josh Burns and Maddox had one RBI apiece.

Roach and Sanchez scored two runs each, with Jared Pauley, Burns, Bishop and Maddox scoring one apiece.

Ryan Duphon led the Yellow Jackets with two doubles and a single with three RBIs. Cole Migliorini and Michael Nickles each had two hits with Joseph Tuzzolo and Zach Evans adding singles. One of Migliorini’s hits was a double.

The Ashland, Virginia, school ends its season at 38-9-1.

UT Tyler reliever Chris Stodolka (2-1) earned the win after throwing 3 1/3 innings of relief, while Alex Masotto earned a two-inning save with four strikeouts and only one hit allowed.

Masotto struck out the side in the ninth. Stodolka limited R-MC to three hits after coming into the game for starter Nate Imig, who pitched 3 2/3. Imig would not factor in the decision but struck out two and limited a potent Randolph-Macon lineup to three runs before turning the ball over to Stodolka.   

UT Tyler has ended the seasons of No. 1 Wisconsin-Whitewater, No. 5 Randolph-Macon, No. 13 Webster (Missouri) and No. 19 Franklin (Indiana) on its way to the pinnacle of NCAA DIII baseball.

 

NCAA Division III Baseball World Series

Fox Cities Stadium

Appleton, Wis.

Double-Elimination

All Times Central

Friday’s Games

Bracket One

Game 1: UT Tyler 10, Oswego State (New York) 5

Game 2: Misericordia (Pennsylvania) 4, Randolph-Macon (Virginia) 2

Bracket Two

Game 3: Concordia-Chicago (Illinois) 9, Swarthmore (Pennsylvania) 4

Game 4: Texas Lutheran  7, Wooster (Ohio) 0

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Saturday’s Games

Game 5: Randolph-Macon 11, Oswego State 4; Oswego State (30-15) eliminated

Game 6: UT Tyler 7, Misericordia 3

Game 7: Swarthmore 10, Wooster 5; Wooster (40-10) eliminated

Game 8: Concordia-Chicago 8, Texas Lutheran 3

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Sunday’s Games

Game 9: Randolph-Macon 14, Misericordia 6, Misericordia (37-14) eliminated

Game 10: Texas Lutheran 3, Swarthmore 2, Swarthmore (38-11) eliminated

Game 11: Randolph-Macon 6, UT Tyler 1

Game 12: Texas Lutheran 9, Concordia-Chicago 7  

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Monday’s Games

Game 13: UT Tyler 8, Randolph-Macon 6, Randolph-Macon (38-9-1) eliminated

Game 14: Texas Lutheran 5, Concordia-Chicago 4

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National Championship Series

Game 1: UT Tyler (38-18) vs. Texas Lutheran (42-10), 11 a.m. Tuesday

Game 2: UT Tyler (38-18) vs. Texas Lutheran (42-10), 2:30 p.m. Tuesday

Game 3: UT Tyler (38-18) vs. Texas Lutheran (42-10), 11 a.m. Wednesday, if necessary