RICHARDSON, TX (03.25.16) - Freshman outfielder Melissa Livermore broke the Comets' single season steals record as the UT Dallas softball team was handed a pair of losses by No. 1-ranked Texas-Tyler Friday afternoon, the second of which came down to the wire.

The Comets (now 13-14, 9-9 ASC) dropped Friday's opener, 15-2 in five innings, but nearly pulled off the upset of the top-ranked Patriots in the series finale before falling, 4-3. UTD will host Howard Payne next weekend in another American Southwest Conference three-game series as the Comets look to stay in the league's playoff chase.

Livermore finished the three-game series 7-for-10 from the plate with four stolen bases, giving the Frisco native 27 steals in her first collegiate season with still 13 games left in the regular season. The previous UTD single season steals record was 26, set by former Comet Amber Griffin in 2008. Livermore already ranks seventh on the program's career stolen base list as just a freshman and could climb into the top three by season's end.

Game 1 - UTT 15, UTD 2 (5 inn.)
The top-ranked Patriots used a nine-run 4th inning en route to 15-2, five-inning victory over UTD to open Friday's doubleheader.

The Comets would pick up a run each in the 4th and 5th to avoid the shutout. Trailing 12-0 in the 4th, UTD got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame with a leadoff single by Brittany Perkins followed by an RBI triple by Stefanie Polderman. UTT added three more runs in the 5th before the Comets would tally a second run on a Margeaux Petrash pinch-hit single, scoring Ravin Wilson.

UTD scored one run off of Patriot ace Kelsie Batten, who entered the game with a miniscule 0.31 earned run average. The Comets collected their second run off of UTT reliever Jaiden Rawls. Livermore was 1-for-2 with a steal as the Comets had six hits in the contest.

Game 2 - UTT 4, UTD 3
The Comets nearly pulled off the upset in the series finale as they had the winning run on base in the 7th inning before falling to Texas-Tyler, 4-3.

Perkins gave the Comets their first lead off the series in the bottom of the 1st inning with a two-out, two-run homer to lift UTD to an early 2-0 advantage. The Patriots countered with a run in the 2nd and another in the 4th to even the game, 2-2, before UTD regained the lead in the 4th.

In the bottom of the 4th, Perkins reached on one-out single to left, moved to second on a UTT error and scored on a Kendall Moore single up the middle. However, the Patriots answered on the first pitch of the 5th inning on a solo home run by Raven Rodriguez, her second of the series, to re-tie the game, 3-3. UTT completed the scoring in the 6th with a run on two hits, a walk and a hit batter, but left the bases loaded to leave the Comets a chance for a late rally.

Livermore picked up her seventh hit of the series with out in the 7th and quickly moved to second base on a single by Ravin Wilson, giving the Comets runners on first and second base with just one out. However, Batten locked down her third win of the series with back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.

Livermore was 3-for-4 with two more steals in the game while Perkins was 2-for-4 from the plate with her team-leading fourth home run of the season.