RICHARDSON, TX (04.15.18) - The UT Dallas softball team was handed a pair of losses by No. 3-ranked Texas-Tyler Sunday afternoon as the Comets closed out a three-game American Southwest Conference series with the league-leading Patriots.
GAME 1 - UTT 23, UTD 8 (5 inn.)
The Comets scored all but one inning but could not keep pace with Texas-Tyler in a 23-8 loss to the Patriots to open Sunday's doubleheader.
Down 3-0 in the 1st, the Comets drew within a run after a two-run homer by
Elizabeth Brann, her second of the season, but the Patriots answered with four runs in the top of the 2nd frame.
UTD got a run back in the bottom of the 2nd with an RBI triple by
Melissa Livermore, scoring
Hope Griffith. But once again the Patriots countered with two runs in the top of the 3rd to grab a 9-3 advantage.
The Comets picked up RBI hits by
Amber Williams and
Stefanie Polderman in the bottom of the 3rd to draw within four runs, but UTT scored twice in the 4th and plated 12 runs in the top of the 5th to pull away.
UTD scored three runs in the bottom of the 5th thanks to back-to-back RBI doubles by
Amber Williams and
Kendra Litchfield, followed by a Livermore RBI single later in the frame.
The Comets finished with 12 hits against the top pitching team in the ASC, scoring the most runs against UTT (8) this season than any other opponent. Livermore was 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored from the lead-off spot while Brann and Williams each finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Allie Stephens (7-5) suffered the loss, giving up six earned runs on eight hits in 2.0 innings pitched.
GAME 2 - UTT 11, UTD 0 (5 inn.)
The Comets managed just one hit off of UTT ace Colleen Bentke as the dropped an 11-0 decision to the Patriots in the series finale.
UTD's lone hit came in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Polderman led off the Comets' half of the frame with an infield single. She then stole second and advanced to third base on a ground out by Livermore, but was stranded at third.
Karen Crane (11-7) was handed the loss, giving up 10 earned runs on 13 hits.
NEXT SERIES
The Comets (19-14, 15-9 ASC) return to action next weekend with a three-game ASC series at McMurry, the squad's final road games of the regular season. The two teams will play a 4 p.m. doubleheader Friday before closing out the set with a 12 p.m. single game Saturday in Abilene.
