TYLER, TX (03.26.17) - The No. 16-ranked UT Dallas softball team suffered its first American Southwest Conference series loss of the season over the weekend, dropping all three games at reigning NCAA Division III National Champion Texas-Tyler on the road.

The Comets (20-8, 12-6 ASC) will look to bounce back from its first three-game losing skid of the season next weekend with a three-game home ASC series against Howard Payne. The two teams will play a 5 p.m. doubleheader Friday before closing out the set with a 12 p.m. single game Saturday, all at the UTD Softball Field.

GAME 1: UTT 7, UTD 0 (SATURDAY)
A five-run 6th inning broke open a close game that saw the Comets strand base runners in all but two innings, allowing the No. 2-ranked Patriots to run away with a 7-0 win in Saturday's doubleheader opener.

UTD pounded out seven hits, but could not bring anyone home, despite a 5-for-7 combined showing by outfielders Stefanie Polderman and Melissa Livermore. Each had a stolen base.

Starter Allie Stephens struck out five and gave up 10 hits in the loss, five in a five-run 6th inning for UTT.

The Patriots squeaked out their first run in the 2nd inning with back-to-back hits after the first out of the frame. They made it 2-0 in the 5th with a leadoff error, sacrifice bunt and two-out double.

But things fell apart for UTD in the 5th, with three straight hits to open the inning and five runs coming home. The Patriots had the bases loaded when Stephens picked up a crucial strikeout to end the threat.

GAME 2: UTT 5, UTD 1 (SATURDAY)
Again, the Comets put runners aboard in all but one inning of the nightcap, but could not catch up with the Patriots, who jumped out to an early lead and held on for the 5-1 win.

UTD was down 3-0 heading into the 3rd inning when the Comets pushed across their first run of the day. Ravin Wilson led off the inning with a triple and came home on a Livermore single to right field. That would be it for UTD, however, as the Patriots tacked on two more runs with a three-hit 6th inning and quashed a potential 7th inning rally by UTD, which saw the game end with the bases loaded on back-to-back singles from Kendall Moore and Heather Gilbert and a Livermore walk.

Senior Sara Davison (2-3) went the distance for the Comets, striking out two and allowing just three earned runs.

The Patriots got on the board first with a leadoff home run in the 2nd, then two more unearned runs crossed the plate after a UTD error kept the inning alive. 

The Comets had six hits in the game, but all from six different players.

GAME 3: UTT 7, UTD 3 (SUNDAY)
After staking the host Patriots to an early lead, the Comets would snag a 3-2 lead in the third frame before giving up five late runs to UT-Tyler in the series finale Sunday afternoon.

Down 2-0 after the 1st inning, the Comets got on the board with an RBI single up the middle by Moore in the 2nd, scoring Polderman. UTD knotted the game in the 3rd with an RBI triple by Livermore, scoring Ravin Wilson, and took its first lead of the weekend later in the inning when Livermore came home on a Jessica Vlasek ground out.

However, the Patriots plated a single run in each the 4th and 5th before securing the sweep with a three-run 6th inning.

Stephens (6-4) suffered her second loss of the weekend, tossing 2.1 innings in relief of Comet starter Lauren McLeod. McLeod gave up three runs on three hits in 3.1 innings before making an early exit. Stephens allowed four runs on four hits before Davison took over in the 6th for the final out of the inning.

The Comets finished the game with seven hits with Livermore going 3-for-4 from the plate with a run scored and an RBI. Wilson was 2-for-3.