RICHARDSON, TX (05.01.18) - The defending conference champion UT Dallas softball team will start its path toward a second-straight league title Thursday afternoon as the Comets head to a third-straight American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament, held on the campus of Texas-Tyler.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

The Comets (23-17) will serve as the No. 5 seed at this year's event after posting a 19-11 mark in ASC play. UTD opens the event at 1 p.m. Thursday against Ozarks in an elimination contest. With a win, the Comets would play third-seeded Mary Hardin-Baylor at 7 p.m. that night in another elimination contest for a berth into the four-team, double-elimination round of four, starting Friday.

Under interim head coach Corrie Hill, the Comets posted their third straight and sixth 20-win campaign in the past seven seasons as they will make three consecutive postseason trips for just the second time in program history. UTD also made three trips to the ASC Tournament from 2003-05. The Comets will heading to the event for the eighth time in program history, sporting a 12-12 record in their previous seven trips.

The Comets used a 10-game wining streak midway through the season to lock down their playoff spot, but dropped two of three home games to Concordia Texas during the final weekend of the regular season to fall to fifth in the ASC standings.

Junior second baseman Melissa Livermore is one the most dangerous hitters in the ASC, hitting .479 while leading NCAA Division III with 52 stolen bases. Livermore is already UTD's and the ASC's career steals leader and is on pace to break the NCAA D-III all-time mark early during her senior season. She has added 44 runs scored this spring, becoming UTD's all-time leader in that category as well, and leads the ASC with 70 hits.

Freshman catcher/designated player Emily Schroeder is second on the squad with a .392 batting average while senior centerfielder Stefanie Polderman is hitting .358 heading to the postseason with 31 stolen bases, ranking second on the team behind Livermore and third in the ASC.

UTD's opening-round opponent Ozarks, the No. 8 seed, will be making its first-ever trip to the ASC Tournament and finished the regular season with a 10-21 overall record and a 10-17 mark in ASC play. The Comets won two out of three games at Ozarks on March 23-24.

No. 3-ranked Texas-Tyler will host the tournament for the fifth straight spring after claiming the ASC's regular season title. No. 13 East Texas Baptist is the No. 2 seed. Both team receive byes into the round of four, starting Friday 10 a.m.

In Thursday's first game of the day, No. 6-seeded Louisiana College will face No. 7-seed Sul Ross State at 10 a.m. with the winner facing fourth-seeded Concordia Texas at 4 p.m. for a spot in the round of four.

The winner of the ASC Tournament is declared the conference champion and earns the automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship as the ASC representative. Daily tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and per ASC policy, no pets will be allowed at the event except properly marked, trained and permitted certified service animals.


TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Thursday, May 3 (single elimination)
10:00 a.m. - Game 1: #6 Louisiana College (21-17) vs. #7 Sul Ross State (18-20)
1:00 p.m. - Game 2: #5 UT Dallas (23-17) vs. #8 Ozarks (10-21)
4:00 p.m. - Game 3: #4 Concordia Texas (23-16) vs. Game 1 Winner
7:00 p.m. - Game 4: #3 Mary Hardin-Baylor (28-12) vs. Game 2 Winner

Friday, May 4
10:00 a.m. - Game 5: #2 East Texas Baptist (31-9) vs. Game 3 Winner
1:00 p.m. - Game 6: #1 UT Tyler (35-1) vs. Game 4 Winner
4:00 p.m. - Game 7: Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser (Elimination)
7:00 p.m. - Game 8: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner

Saturday, May 5
11:00 a.m. - Game 9: Game 8 Loser vs. Game 7 Winner (Elimination)
2:00 p.m. - Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner (Championship)
7:00 p.m. - Game 11: Game 10 Teams (If Necessary)