Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MARSHALL, TX (05.02.19) - The UT Dallas softball team opened its program-record fourth straight trip to the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament on Thursday afternoon with an 8-1 win over Howard Payne, but Comets would have their season come to a close later that night with a 8-7, nine-inning loss to LeTourneau.

The Comets (17-21) exploded for six runs in the top of the 7th inning in their first game of the day to pull away for their tournament-opening win over HPU. UTD then lost three late leads to LeTourneau in the second round before giving up three runs in the bottom of the 9th in the Comets' season-ending loss.

GAME 1 - UTD 8, HPU 1
Up 2-1 heading to the 7th, the Comets scored six runs on six hits, including Amber Williams' school-record-tying 11th home run of the season, as they opened their postsesaon with an 8-1 win over Howard Payne.

The Comets opened the with a two-run homer by Jessica Vlasek, her eighth of the season, with one out in the top of the 1st inning to grab a 2-0 lead, but HPU answered with a single run in the bottom of the frame to cut the lead in half. 

With one out in the 7th, Lauryn Manning and Nicole Peters used back-to-back singles to give the Comets runners at the corners in an attempt to build on their one-run advantage. Elizabeth Brann took advantage with a sacrifice fly to center to account for the first run by either team since the 1st frame, before Melissa Livermore extended the UTD lead to 4-1 with an infield RBI single. Two batters later, Vlasek collected her third and fourth RBI of the afternoon with a single to left. Amber Williams capped the six-run inning with her two-run homer.

BriAnna Young (9-7) earned the win as she gave up just one run on three scattered hits in 6.0 innings of work. Young struck out one batter while issuing just one walk. Blaire Evans tossed a scoreless 7th for the Comets.

Williams finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and a ru n scored while both Vlasek and Livermore went 2-for-4 in the victory. Ravin Wilson was 2-for-3.

GAME 2 - LETU 8, UTD 7 (9 inn.)
Amy Jensen belted a two-run run in the top of the 6th to give the Comets a late 4-2 lead on LeTourneau, but gave up three late leads in an 8-7, nine-inning, walk-off loss to the Yellow Jackets in the second round of the ASC Tournament.

Down 1-0 early, the Comets evened the game in the top of the 4th on a Wilson single to right, scoring Williams from second base. LETU took back the lead with a run in the bottom of the frame, but UTD answered with a run in the 5th when pinch-runner Kynsee Gesch scored from second on a Yellow Jacket error.

Jensen would then give the Comets' their first lead of the game with her fifth long ball of the spring.

However, LETU plated a run in the bottom of the 6th and then tied the game with a single run in the bottom of the 7th to send the Comets extra innings for just the second time this season.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the 8th, Melissa Livermore gave the Comets back the lead as she plated Wilson with a infield single back to the pitcher. But, LETU countered in the bottom of the frame with the game-tying run. The Yellow Jackets had an opportunity to end the game in the 8th, but the UTD defense got out of a jam with a inning-ending 1-2-3 double play.

Emily Schroeder gave the Comet back a one-run lead with one out in the top of the 9th with a double to left, scoring Vlasek from second base. Nicole Peters followed soon after with a single up the middle, allowing Schroeder to score and extend the UTD lead to 7-5. However, the game would end in the bottom of the 8th with a bases-loaded double to left field by LETU's Ethel Warren.