Baseball Splits Twin Bill in Abilene; Rises to #5 in Poll
March 10, 2008

ABILENE, Texas -- The University of Texas at Tyler baseball team went 1-1 over two nine-inning games in Abilene on Tuesday afternoon. The Patriots defeated Marietta in the first game, 12-9, but fell in the nightcap to Hardin-Simmons, 9-8. Earlier in the day, UT Tyler rose to fifth place in the latest D3baseball.com Top 25 poll. For the second straight week the Patriots received one first place vote.

In game one versus Marietta, the Patriots used a three-run homerun from junior Joe Towns (Carrollton, Texas) in the sixth and a grand slam from junior Jeremy Harding (Houston, Texas) in the eighth to rally from a 9-1 deficit and win the game.

Junior closer Beau Ziegler (North Wales, Pa.) earned the win for the Patriots, his first of the season, by allowing no runs off of one hit, while fanning four batters.

In game two, the Patriots would once again have to rally in order to win the game, as they trailed 7-3 going into the seventh inning. In the seventh, UT Tyler hit its second grand slam of the day to retake the lead, 8-7. The second slammer came courtesy of junior Chad Daleiden (Cave Creek, Ariz.). Daleiden is one of three Patriots who have hit four homeruns on the year. However, in the bottom of the eighth, the Cowboys hit back-to-back homeruns to regain the lead and hold on for the 9-8 win.

The Patriots close out the non-conference portion of their schedule with a record of 16-3. Meanwhile, Marietta drops to 2-4 overall and Hardin-Simmons improves to 10-6.

The Patriots will return to action on Friday, when they travel to East Texas Baptist in Marshall. UT Tyler will begin game one of the three-game American Southwest Conference East series at 6 p.m.

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