ALPINE, TX (02.11.17) - The UT Dallas softball team improved to 7-1 on the young season after a pair of wins over Sul Ross State Saturday afternoon to close out a four-game weekend series. The Comets took Saturday's opener, 13-5, before earning a 7-2 win in the second game.
The Comets (2-1 ASC) return to home next weekend for a three-game American Southwest Conference series against Hardin-Simmons. The two teams will play a single game at 4 p.m. Friday before a 12 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at the UTD Softball Field.
GAME 1 - UTD 13, SRSU 5
The Comets bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 13-5 win over Sul Ross State to open Saturday's doubleheader with the Lobos.
UTD got on the board early as
Stefanie Polderman and
Kendall Moore drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks in the 1st inning, forcing a quick Lobo pitching change. The new SRSU pitcher then hit
Heather Gilbert with the her first pitch to propel the Comets to a 3-0 lead.
The Lobos countered in the bottom of the 3rd with three runs on three hits and a UTD error to knot the game, 3-3, but the Comets would answer with 10 runs over the next four innings to pull away for the victory.
The Comets took back the lead in the 4th on a
Ravin Wilson single, scoring Moore, and UTD took a 5-3 advantage in the 5th with a Moore single, scoring
Kendra Litchfield. The Comets then got a two-run double from
Brittany Perkins and a two-run homer from
Jessica Vlasek in the 6th to extend their lead to 9-3 and tacked on four runs on five hits in the 7th to compete their scoring. SRSU plated two runs in the bottom of the 7th.
Four Comets had multi-hit games in Saturday's opener with Moore going 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI. Perkins and Vlasek were both 2-for-4 with three RBI while Litchfield was 2-for-5.
Lauren McLeod improved to 4-0 in the circle with five strikeouts in a complete-game performance.
GAME 2 - UTD 7, SRSU 2
In the fourth game of the weekend series, which did not count in the ASC standings, the Comets rolled to a 7-2 win over the Lobos to finish the series by taking three of four games against SRSU.
Vlasek homered for her second straight game and finished 4-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored in the series finale. The freshman finished a triple shy of a cycle as she opened the game with singles in her first two at bats and added a two-run homer in the 5th and a two-run double in the 7th.
The Comets opened the scoring with RBI singles by Perkins and Polderman in the 1st to give UTD a quick 2-0 lead. UTD added an RBI double by Polderman in the 3rd before getting Vlasek's two late RBI.
Allie Stephens improved to 2-0 after scattering eight hits while striking out four in a complete game.
