RICHARDSON, TX (04.22.22) - The UT Dallas softball team opened a three-game ASC home series with No. 4-ranked East Texas Baptist with a 5-3 upset of the defending conference champion Tigers. The Comets would close Friday's twin bill with a 4-2 loss to ETBU.

The Comets improved to 23-13 overall after the split and maintain their hold on fifth place in the ASC standings at 15-11 with just four games left in the regular season. UTD and ETBU will wrap up the three-game set with a 12 p.m. single game Saturday at the UTD Softball Field.

GAME 1 - UTD 5, ETBU 3
Falling behind 1-0 early in the contest, the Comets plated five runs in the 3rd inning to rally and upset No. 4 ETBU, 5-3, in the first game of Friday's doubleheader.

After back-to-back singles by Ashley Ambrosy and Jordan Evans to open the Comets' half of the 3rd, Avery Markley knotted the game with a double to left. Both Evans and Markley would also score on the same play after a Tiger throwing error, giving UTD a 3-1 advantage. Megan Todd and Cole Johnson followed up with back-to-back home runs to complete the five-run inning. Todd's long ball was her team-leading eighth of the spring while Johnson belted her second homer of her freshman campaign.

The Tigers got two runs back in the top of the 4th but UTD starter Devyn Yanello got out of a bases-loaded jam with an inning-ending strikeout of Marin Musicant. 

Yanello (8-2) earned the win after giving up just three runs on nine hits in 4.0 innings of work. Yanello struck out two Tigers without a walk. Emilie Hoelscher collected her second save of the season, pirxhinf three scoreless frames with three strikeouts to close the contest. Johnson was 2-for-3 while Markley was 2-for-4 from the lead-off spot.

GAME 2 - ETBU 4, UTD 2
The Comets scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the 4th to knot the game, 2-2, before ETBU used solo home runs each in the final two frames to rebound for a 4-2 victory in Friday's late game.

The Tigers opened the scoring in the top of the 1st with a single run and doubled their lead in the 4th. UTD got on the board with a two-out Tiger error on a ground ball by Sarah Lewis, allowing Markley to score. Pinch-runner Alexia Mullen then stole second and scored the game-tying run on an RBI single by Nicole Peters.

The Comets managed just four hits in the loss with Ambrosy finishing the contest 1-for-3 with a walk from the lead-off spot. Hoelscher (8-6) suffered the loss with a 5.0-inning relief performace, striking out three.