CLARKSVILLE, AR (03.23.18) - The UT Dallas softball team returned to American Southwest Conference play Friday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of Ozarks, 3-1 and 9-4, to kick off a weekend three-game series with the Eagles.
The Comets (9-10, 7-4 ASC) will close out the set with Ozarks with a single game Saturday at 12 p.m.
GAME 1 - UTD 3, UO 1
The Comets fell behind Ozarks early, but answered with three late runs to rally back for a 3-1 victory to open the weekend series Friday afternoon.
Down 1-0 in the 3rd, UTD evened the game with a successful double steal with
Melissa Livermore scoring the tying with a swipe of home. The Comets took the lead in the 4th with an RBI double by
Kendra Litchfield, scoring
Jessica Vlasek, and added an insurance run in the 6th on an Ozarks' error.
Litchfield was 2-for-3 with an RBI while Livermore was 2-for-4 with three steals.
Karen Crane (6-4) went the distance for UTD, giving up one run on five with three strikeouts.
GAME 2 - UTD 9, UO 4
The Comets used a four-run 4th and added four late runs as they earned a 9-4 victory over Ozarks in the second game of Friday's twin bill with the Eagles.
Down 1-0 again early, the Comets knotted the contest with an RBI fielder's choice by
Stefanie Polderman, scoring Livermore. UTD then used a four-run 4th which included an RBI single by Litchfield and a bases-clearing double by
Elizabeth Brann to take a 5-1 advantage.
Up 5-4 in the 6th, UTD scored one run on a Eagles' error and second run on an RBI single by
Samantha Halliburton. The Comets then added a sac fly by Brann and an RBI single by Polderman to complete the scoring.
Blaire Evans (1-1) earned her first collegiate victory as she tossed the opening 4.0 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with two strikeouts. Crane then collected her first save of the season with a 3.0-inning relief performance, holding the Eagles to just two hits.
Livermore was 3-for-5 with two more stolen bases while
Emily Schroeder was 2-for-3 and Litchfield and Polderman each finished 2-for-4. Polderman had three steals.