Listen to the Game!

George Fox SID Blair Cash has informed me that their KFOX radio will be broadcasting via the Internet. You will need a Quicktime player to listen. So you can follow today's elimination game via the two links below.

Live Stats

KFOX Radio

Go Patriots!

Well it is another day here in beautiful Oregon. We got up this morning and ate breakfast. During breakfast, I set up the laptop in the lobby and guys gathered around all morning to watch and cheer on softball as they took down the Polar Bears of Ohio Northern, 4-2.

After that I went walking again with our trainer, Jason Thomas, I just can't get enough of this fresh air.

We are leaving at 12:15 PDT to eat lunch, then head to the field to take on the Bruins. We will have more updates later. Stay tuned!

Stayin' Alive

It was a big day for UT Tyler. The boys fought very hard and never gave up. We will play George Fox tomorrow, they looked very good against #1 Pomona day today, so I think we are in for quite a show tomorrow. A win tomorrow puts us playing on Sunday with the only question being whether we have to beat the same team twice or two different teams.

We just wrapped up dinner. We had pizza from a local place and ate it at the hotel. The pizza was pretty good, a little heavy on the oregano, but still good.

After the game, we ate at Panda Express or KFC, depending on your preference. Then they boys came back and showered and we went back to watch the games.

On the way back to the hotel, the General pointed out a spectacular sight. On this particular clear & sunny day, a chamber of commerce day if you will, Mt. Hood was visible. It was pretty awesome, the goal for tomorrow is to get a picture.

I really hope the guys have taken the time to appreciate the scenery here, because it really is spectacular and something totally different from what we are used to. Did I mention there is no humidity here? Because there isn't and it is awesome.

Well we have a metting at 10, so I better go. Good luck to softball & golf tomorrow!

Night!

A View from the Press Box

Today's loss was tough to watch because the Patriots seemed in control for so much of the game. For 5 1/2 innings, it appeared that we were headed for another narrow victory - the type we got so used to during the West Regional tournament. When Gustavus loaded the bases with no outs, it was reminiscient of Linfield doing the same to us during the regional championship - and Stacy was able to work us out of that jam in route to the championship. But today the luck ran out, as it was bound to at some point.

The good news is that we're down but not out. Coach Reed and the girls will rest and regroup the rest of the day before heading back over in the morning to play Ohio Northern in an elimination game.

It was great to see so many UT Tyler fans here in New Jersey. We had a very sizable (and loud) contingent, and I know the team and coaches appreciate the support. John Vilade, the dad of baseball coach James Vilade, lives right down the road in Bedminster, N.J., and was the first fan in the ballpark this morning! Mr. Vilade was also nice enough to bring over some snacks and drinks for the team.

Finally, thanks to all the fans back in Texas who were listening to and watching the games. Keep those e-mails coming during the webcast. The radio broadcast on ESPN 1490 AM also went great - thanks to David Smoak and Jamie Lent for their help with this.

That's all for today. We're back at it at 10 a.m. CDT tomorrow. Go Patriots!

Here we go...

The Softball Patriots are at the field and are about to take infield. The feeling is awesome and everyone is pumped. For fans back home, you can follow the action from New Jersey in several ways...

Radio - ESPN 1490 in Tyler.
Online - UT Tyler Broadcast or Live NCAA Webcast
Twitter - Tyler Paper's Phil Hicks or UT Tyler Patriots

Championship Eve

All of today's activities centered around official championship functions and it was an early morning for the softball team as they took the short trip from the Fairfield LaQuinta to Montclair State for their official practice time. Each team is given an hour on the game field and an hour on the practice field, and the Patriots drew the first slot so their time began at 8 a.m. The girls looked good during practice, especially batting. There seems to be an air of quiet confidence about them.

The MSU Softball Stadium is very nice and features a turf outfield. It is tucked in the western part of the campus between a hockey arena, a major rail line and on-campus train station, and the Abbott and Costello Center...we have yet to determine what that is. Many of the tournament activities, including today's team barbeque (at least a New Jersey attempt at barbeque) are taking place at the Yogi Berra Museum which is part of the baseball complex here.

A little sports information update...in the pressbox we tested the broadcast equipment again because we confirmed today that all of our games will be on ESPN 1490AM in Tyler as well as our regular streaming broadcast on the web site. We are excited to offer the radio broadcast for the fans back home - thanks to David Smoak and Jamie Lent for their help with this.

As part of the championship activities, the softball team headed over to a local elementary school where they read to some of the youngsters and after that, it was back to the hotel to get ready for the evening's championship banquet.

At the banquet, the teams got to know eachother by sharing a few anecdotes about their seasons, but the highlight of the night was the announcement of the All-America teams which included Whitney and Roo - Whitney on the first team and Roo on the second team.

There was an "incident" after the banquet as a bus driver for one of the other teams stepped on our bus, announced he was a Houston native, and loudly proclaimed "Gig 'Em Aggies." For this he was jeered off the bus. Luckily, no one was hurt.

An eventful Thursday, but now it's time to rest before the big day. A lot of parents and fans have made the trip which is AWESOME and they'll head over with us in the morning. Check back tomorrow and be sure to listen online or on air beginning about 9:50 a.m. CDT. The countdown has begun...

UT Tyler vs. Chapman - NCAA Regional Game 1

Follow with GameTracker

Top 6 - Semel strikes out. Ohail singles, Phillips doubles, runners at 2nd and 3rd. Barcelo strikes out. Hadzinsky flies out. End of 6th. Chapman 15, UT Tyler 1

Bot 5 - Skeen out. Ashley strikes out. Fox walks. Daleiden strikes out. Chapman 15, UT Tyler 1

T0p 5 - Chapman scores again, Alvarado gets out of inning. Chapman 15, UT Tyler 1

Bot 4 - Harding flies out, Hodes singles, Lemire flies out. Hood out. Chapman 14, UT Tyler 1

Top 4 - Hall homers again. Prechtl flies out to deep left center. Owens walks. Semel doubles, Owens to 3rd. Ohail out to pitcher.Phillips doubles, two score. Campbell out, Alvarado to pitch. Ground out to short, end of inning. Lemire strikes out to end inning. Chapman 14, UT Tyler 1

Bot 3 - Kitchens out, Matt Irsfeld now pitching. Newell walks. Ashley strikes out. Kendall strikes out. Daleiden strike out. After a slow start, Irsfeld strikes out the side. Chapman 11, UT Tyler 1

Top 3 - Hail homers. Holland out, Grant Campbell in. Prechtl singles through right side. Owens flies to left, Prechtl stays put; 1 down. Semel doubles, Prechtl scores. Semel to third on a wild pitch. Ohail takes a seat, 2 down. Phillips walks. Semel steals home. Barcelo singles through left side. Hadzinsky reaches on a double error, Barcelo to third, Phillips scores. Lehman flies out. Inning over. Chapman 11, UT Tyler 1

Bot 2 - Patriots on the board with Hodges homerun. Kitchens gets Lemire looking. Hood and Skeen ground out end the second. You have to start somewhere. Chapman 7, UT Tyler 1

Top 2 - Holland hits Hadzinsky to start the inning. Lehman walks, runners at 1st and 2nd no outs. Hall bunts for a single, bases loaded no outs. Prechtl hits a two-RBI double, still no outs. Owens hits a two-RBI single, still no outs. Semel flies out to center for out #1. Ohail hits a single. Phillips hits 8th Chapman hit to score one and put runners at the corners. Barcelo strikeout again. Hadzinsky bats again, singles to score another. Lehman grounds out to Chad for final out. Chapman 7, UT Tyler 0

Bot 1 - Kitchens gets Kendall looking for out one. Chad fouls out down the right field line for out two. Harding grounds out to the short stop for the end of the first inning. Chapman 1, UT Tyler 0

Top 1 - Chapman on the board first with a one-out homerun over the left center field wall by Ben Owens(355). With two outs, John Semel and Patrick Ohail hit back-to-back singles. Holland strikes out Barcelo to end the inning. Chapman 1, UT Tyler 0

Lineups being done now. All-American Wade Kitchens will be on the mound for Chapman, which is somewhat of a shock. Kitchens was injured mid-season and by most accounts was done for the year. That just shows you what these games mean. Looks like we will have the much anticipated Holland/Kitchens match-up that a lot had hoped to see.

Game On!

UT Tyler will play today. Hendrix and Pomona are playing right now, Pomona is up 8-3 in the top of the 8th. Patriots and Panthers will follow at 3:30 PDT or 50 minutes following the conclusion of the current game. If we win we face the winner of the George Fox/Cal Lutheran game, if we do not win we take on the loser of the Hendrix/Pomona game.

Be back soon!

Game Day, Take 2

We woke up this morning to sunny skies, so it appears as if we will definitely play today. I took a walk around the hotel that surrounds the hotel this morning and saw some of the beautiful flora & fauna that Oregon has to offer. It was nice to walk outside and not have to breathe in a gallon of water with every breath. There is zero humidity here and it is wonderful. I took pictures along the way, so you can enjoy as well.

We are leaving at 11 AM to for lunch and then to BP at the HS and then, finally, it will be game time. I will have in-game updates so stay tuned.

UFOs, Eggs on Hamburgers and Sheep

So this weekend in McMinville they are having a UFO Festival. It is to commemorate a UFO sighting here in McMinville on May 11, 1950. Apparently, it is the second largest alien gathering in the U.S.

We ate dinner at the Hotel Oregon, it was pub-style food and it was very good. My burger had a friend egg on it...it was much better that it sounds. The hotel has been at the center of the McMinville downtown area since 1905 and was very cool. Some of the pictures were very creepy, but it looked like a cool place to stay with a lot of character.

Despite not being from from here (based out of Portland), our driver Dwayne (not near as cool as Gino) has done well navigating the mean streets of McMinville (there are not that many). Downtown looks like something out of a movie and everything, even in the heart of the city, is so green. We saw some sheep today in this incredibly green valley, I will try and get pictures tomorrow just so you can get an idea of how green it really is.

So tomorrow we will get up and try to play again if the weather holds, which it should. The first game is at Noon and the weather should clear up around then. Well that is all for now.

Take care.

New York, New York

You knew we couldn't be kept away for long...so this morning began with a trip to New York City for the UT Tyler Softball team. Gino the bus driver (and amateur tour guide) brought us through the Lincoln Tunnel and into Manhattan about 10 a.m. and smartly went through the required attractions, including Fifth Avenue, Times Square, Central Park, Ground Zero, Rockefeller Plaza, Wall Street, the Empire State Building, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and others. Time only permitted a few stops, but even driving by most of these places was pretty exciting.

Note: What Gino lacked in tour guide skills, he more than made up for negotiating the NYC traffic - which is exactly how it appears on TV.

We headed back to Jersey for a late lunch, choosing the cuisine of one of the area's finest traditional American eateries. Then it was time to head to Montclair State for the first time where the team got in a quick workout at the school's football field.

Dinner will follow later on and it will be an early night as the Patriots get some much needed rest before going into full softball mode with an 8 a.m. Thursday practice at the softball stadium.

We'll have lots more as the week goes on, so check back often!

A final comment... Just as many people from New Jersey probably assume most Texans are cowboys because that's what they see in the movies, many of us were under the strong impression that everyone in New Jersey was in the mob (courtesy of the Sopranos). We have all been shocked and somewhat disappointed to find out this is not the case.

Rained Out!

All games today have been rained out and we will play at the same time (3:30 PDT/5:30 CDT) tomorrow. The guys were on their way to lunch when the games were called off, so at least there was no long waiting in the rain.

We are going to eat about 5 PM then head to the mall.

Be back later.

Getting Ready for Game Day

Well after a dinner at Ruby Tuesday, there was a coaches meeting where we went over the ground rules and important info for the tournament. Nothing ground breaking, other than that there might be some bad weather tomorrow. But we are hoping for the best.

Tomorrow, we will get up eat breakfast around 8:30 and then rest up until time for lunch (Izzy's again). After lunch we head to McMinnville HS for BP, then to the game. First pitch at approximately 3:30 PM against Chapman.

Also, for those wondering the infield at Linfield is indeed all turf except for the pitcher's mound.

I will be doing live updates throughout the game on this blog, once per inning. Live stats will also be available at the tournament web page.

P.S. Check out pictures here.

Softball: Wheels Down in the Garden State

Just over 48-hours after the UT Tyler Softball team won the West Regional, the Patriots have safely arrived in New Jersey - a mere 2,909 miles from the Baseball team in Oregon.

We loaded up and left UT Tyler around 8:30 this morning and headed to DFW, picking up assistant coach Keith Bell along the way in Forney. Check-in and screening at the airport for 25+ players and staff was surprisingly easy (hats off to American Airlines and the TSA), and after a quick lunch at TGI Friday's, we made the 3-hour flight to Newark International, landing at 6:05 local time. Gino the bus driver, who will be with us for the duration of the trip, brought us to the LaQuinta Inn in Fairfield, N.J., where we met up with our host family, the Sickles. They are great people who have already been a tremendous help!

On their recommendation, we headed over to Frank's Pizza in Lincoln Park, N.J., for a late dinner. Food was great, but we were amused by the fact that the sodas came with a lemon and the iced tea didn't...who knew.

Tomorrow morning, the team will head to Manhattan for some sightseeing before returning to check out Montclair State for the first time and get in an afternoon practice. Check back for more!

Almost forgot...after we boarded the plane to Newark, the flight attendant announced that the UT Tyler Patriots Softball team was on board and on their way to play for a national championship - we got a BIG round of applause from all the passengers!

Day 1 in Oregeon

Welcome to the Pacific Northwest. After a long day of travel with stops in El Paso and Phoenix we arrived in Portland sometime around 10 PM. After dinner, we took the hour bus ride to McMinville sometime around 1 AM Pacific.

After a good night's rest, we awoke to 50-degree weather with chances of rain all day. We ate lunch at a place called Izzy's. It had pizza and a full buffet, with lots of choices for the guys

Now we are at Linfield practicing. We were greeted by former Yankee/A's great and current Linfield head coach Scott Brosius.

After a light drizzle during warm ups, the sun is out once again. Check out more pictures at our Facebook page. Stay tuned for more detail