RICHARDSON, TX (02.14.15) - After dropping a Friday doubleheader to open American Southwest Conference play, the UT Dallas softball team was handed a 7-5, eight-inning loss to Louisiana College Saturday afternoon to close the weekend series. UTD fell to the Lady Cats, 8-1 and 7-6 (10 innings), on Friday.

The Comets (now 2-3, 0-3 ASC) will now take a short break from ASC play Wednesday afternoon as they host St. Joseph (VT) for a 4 p.m. doubleheader. UTD will then visit Sul Ross State for a three-game weekend series in Alpine.

GAME 1 - LC 8, UTD 1
The Comets opened the home portion of their 2015 schedule Friday afternoon with a 8-1 loss to Louisiana College in the first game of the day. Lady Cat freshman hurler Sevannah Settle retired the first 15 Comets she faced and took a no-hitter into the 6th inning. She and needed just 80 pitches to dispatch UTD.

Trailing 3-0, UTD got its first base runner in the bottom of the 6th as Jordan Bratcher singled off of Settle with a shot to right field to lead off the inning. After a sacrifice bunt by Sara Navarro, Bratcher would score from second on an RBI single down the left-field line by Morgan Anderson. LC answered, however, with five runs on five hits in the top of the seventh to pull away.

LC opened the scoring with back-to-back doubles by Laura Gulota-Parrish and Abby Maillet in the 5th and used four straight hits, including back-to-back doubles by Courtney Ivey and Jordan Mason in the 7th.

Sara Davison (1-1) was handed the loss, giving up eight earned runs on nine hits through 6.2 innings of work. Davison struck out four and walked five.

GAME 2 - LC 7, UTD 6 (10)
In just the third 10-inning game in program history, the Comets gave up a run on three 10th inning errors to fall to Louisiana College, 7-6, in Friday's second game.

 

The Comets forced the extra innings in dramatic fashion, rallying from a 6-3 deficit in the bottom of the 7th on back-to-back home runs by Jessica Ramos and Megan Aragones. tying the game at 6-6.

Lauren McLeod (1-1) tossed the full 10 innings for UTD, tying a school record, tossing 151 pitches in the loss.

LC opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the top of the 1st before the Comets knotted the game, 2-2, on a sacrifice pop up by Aly Hudec, scoring Avery McHugh, followed by a wild pitch by Lady Cat starter Taylor Leger, allowing Taylor Ervin to score.

The Lady Cats regained a two-run lead in the 3rd on a pair of hits and a UTD error, but the Comets countered in the 4th with a one-out, bases-loaded single off the wall by Hudec. With LC up 6-3 after adding a run in the top of the 7th, Hudec opened the Comets' half of the frame with a single and Ramos blasted her first long ball of the year to draw UTD within a run. Two pitches later, Aragones knotted the game with a solo shot, also her first of the year.

The rally brought LC ace Settle back to the circle and the two teams battled through a pair of extra frames before LC got the game winner in the 10th thanks to the international tie-breaker rule. With Jordan Mason starting the inning on second base, LC would move her to third on a Comet error and bring her home on a sacrifice fly by Heather Scully. Fortunately, the Lady Cats would strand two runners on base after two more UTD errors.

In the bottom of the inning, UTD was able to bunt its base runner over to third base, but left her stranded as Settle tossed a perfect 10th to pick up her second win of the day.

McHugh ended the game 3-for-6, picking two doubles, while Ramos, Hudec and Bratcher each had two-hit games. McLeod scattered 11 hits and and gave up four earned runs with five strikeouts.

GAME 3 - LC 7, UTD 5 (8)
The Comets looked to salvage the weekend set with LC Saturday afternoon, but five unanswered runs by the Lady Cats handed UTD its third straight loss, falling 7-5 in eight innings.

After giving up two runs in the top of the 1st to LC, the Comets snagged their first lead of the weekend in the bottom of the frame. Ramos got the Comets on the board with an RBI single to right, scoring Chelsea Sartor, and Taylor Jensen belted a three-run blast, her first of the season, to lift UTD to a 4-2 advantage. The Comets extended their lead to 5-2 in the 2nd on a solo homer by McHugh, also her first of the year.

However, the Lady Cats scored a single run in each the 3rd and 6th before tying the game, 5-5, in the 7th with an RBI single by Courtney Ivey. In the top of the 8th, LC regained the lead with a two-run pinch hit double by Mattie Stine to hand the Comets the loss. UTD went down in order in the 8th as Settle picked up her third win of the weekend.

McLeod (1-2) was handed the loss, giving up four earned runs on five hits in 3.1 innings of relief of Davison. Davison tossed the first 4.0 innings and faced one batter in the 5th before giving way to McLeod. Davison then returned to the circle in the 8th to get the final two outs. Jensen finished 2-for-4 with three RBI while McHugh was 2-for-4.