RICHARDSON, TX (02.26.16) - The UT Dallas softball team opened a three-game weekend series with new American Southwest Conference member Belhaven University by powering past unbeaten Blazers' ace Julienne Broussard in a 5-0 victory that featured a near no-hitter by junior right-hander Lauren McLeod.

The Comets fell 4-2 in the second game.

The two teams will complete the series at 12 p.m. Saturday at the UTD Softball Field.

Game 1 - UTD 5, Belhaven 0
McLeod (5-2) out-dueled the Belhaven ace, keeping the no-hit bid alive until two outs in the final inning. Broussard, a former junior college All-American and national champion, had already posted a pair of wins this season over top-ranked UT-Tyler and came into the contest, 4-0. McLeod flirted with her second no-hitter of the season and recorded her fourth shutout of the spring in the process. The win extended the Comets winning streak to eight straight games after starting the season 0-4.

The Comets opened the scoring just two batters into the bottom of the 1st as Melissa Livermore walked, stole second and scored on a bunt single by Taylor Ervin that cleared the infield. UTD added two runs in the 3rd on back-to-back triples by Ravin Wilson and Livermore, followed by a sacrifice fly by Aly Hudec. Hudec later capped the win with a two-run homer in the 5th, her team-leading third of the season.

McLeod nearly recorded UTD's second-ever seven-inning no-hitter as she held the Blazers hitless until the 7th. BU's Taylor O'Dell collected the Blazers only hit, a single through the left side of the UTD, with two outs, but was stranded at first base. McLeod struck out seven Blazers and issued three walks. BU's Broussard came into the contest as one of the hottest pitchers in the ASC, riding a 4-0 record with a 1.22 earned run average and picking up two victories of NCAA Division III top-ranked Texas-Tyler last weekend. The Comets scored five earned runs off Broussard on five hits and two walks before exiting the game after five innings.

Game 2 - Belhaven 4, UTD 2
The guest Blazers scored four runs on four hits and a UTD error in the top of the 3rd and never looked back as they handed the Comets a 4-2 loss in the second game of the weekend set.

Belhaven got to Comet starter Sara Davison (2-3) early, but she settled down in the later innings as she held the Blazers scoreless for the rest of her outing. Down 4-0 in the 4th, UTD got on the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly to left by Stefanie Polderman, scoring Chelsea Sartor. The Comets then got a solo home run from Kendall Moore, the first of the her career, in the 5th.

Davison finished the game with seven strikeouts and just one walk in 6.1 innings of work. Allie Stephens took over with one out in the 7th and retired both batters she faced. Moore finished 2-for-3 from the plate.