CANYON, Texas – The #25 West Texas A&M Buffaloes hit the road for Lone Star Conference action this weekend as they travel to Tyler, Texas for a four-game series with the UT Tyler Patriots beginning on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader at Irwin Field, first pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
 
A LOOK AT THE PATRIOTS
UT Tyler enters the weekend with an overall record of 17-11 with an identical mark in Lone Star Conference action. The Patriots are coming off of an LSC series loss to St. Edward's last weekend in Austin as UTT only victory came in game two, 6-5.
 
Ethan Bedgood leads the way offensively for the Patriots as the junior from Sherman, Texas is hitting .417 on the season with five doubles, one triple and six homeruns to drive in 29 RBI for 70 total bases for a slugging percentage of .648 to go along with four walks and 12 strikeouts for an on-base clip of .452. Probably game one starter Dylan Blomquist is 1-0 on the season with a 3.33 ERA as the sophomore lefty has allowed nine earned runs on 27 hits with eight walks and 19 strikeouts in his 24.1 innings of work for an opposing batting average of .284.
 
UTT HEAD COACH BRENT PORCHE
Brent Porche is now in his seventh season as the skipper of the UT Tyler baseball program, holding an overall record of 195-93 during his time in East Texas. 2022 marked the first season of postseason eligibility for the Patriots following a three-year transition to Division II. Porche led the Patriots to 2018 NCAA Division III National Championship in just his second season, being named the DIII National Coach of the Year. Porche is in his 10th season as a collegiate head coach, serving four seasons as the skipper at LSU Shreveport.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series between the Buffaloes and Patriots is tied at 4-4 in a series that dates back to the pandemic shortened 2020 season. Last season saw the Buffs and Patriots split their four-game LSC series at Wilder Park in Canyon. The Buffs are 2-2 all-time at Irwin Field in Tyler.
 
WT HEAD COACH MATT VANDERBURG
Matt Vanderburg has built West Texas A&M Baseball into a regional and national contender as the Norman, Oklahoma native enters his 15th season at the helm of the Buffs. He holds an overall record of 467-254 (.647) during his time in Canyon while registering a career record of 566-325 (.635) in his 18 seasons in collegiate baseball.
 
THE COACHING STAFF
Cory Hall is now in his 13th year at West Texas A&M as the Buffs' Pitching Coach, serving the last seven as the program's Associate Head Coach. Hall has had four different pitchers drafted in the Major League Baseball Draft during his time in Canyon with multiple other professional players learning under one of the top pitching minds in collegiate baseball. Assistant Coach Shawn Neale was named WT's Recruiting Coordinator in 2022 as the Toronto native returns for his seventh season in Canyon.
 
2023 LSC PRESEASON POLL
Defending South Central Regional Champion Angelo State picked up 23 of the possible 32 first place votes to sit atop of the poll with 407 points followed by WT (eight first place, 388), Texas A&M-Kingsville (one first place, 315), Lubbock Christian (298), St. Edward's (296), UT Tyler (291), Oklahoma Christian (206), St. Mary's (203), Texas A&M International (160), UAFS (131), Eastern New Mexico (88), Cameron (82) and UT Permian Basin (47).
 
Adam Becker from West Texas A&M claimed Preseason Player of the Year accolades while Wesley Gafford from St. Edward's was named the league's Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
 
THIS IS LSC BASEBALL
The LSC Championship will feature a two-week tournament comprised of the top eight teams with the opening round at on-campus sites May 5-7. The winners of each opening round series will advance to a double-elimination tournament played May 11-13. The winner of the postseason tournament will be recognized as the LSC Tournament Champion and receive the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA postseason.
 
LSC DIGITAL NETWORK
The LSC Digital Network is in its fourth season showcasing the academic and athletic events of the league and its 18 member institutions. Volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball broadcasts will be available via conference-wide pay-per-view passes.
   
The LSC Digital Network will offer season passes for football, volleyball, soccer, basketball, baseball and softball, giving fans access to all regular-season contests for that sport. In addition, viewers will continue to have the option to purchase a $10 day pass that provides access to all broadcasts aired that day and access to all archived content for 24 hours.