RICHARDSON, Texas - The UT Dallas softball team opened a four-game series with Hardin-Simmons on the short end of a double-header at the UTD Softball Field on a windy Thursday evening. The visiting Cowgirls (25-4) took the first game 7-5, then defeated the Comets (13-14) 11-3 in five innings.

Game 1
HSU scored a run in the third and Caitlin Clem led the fourth off with a solo home run to go up 2-0. UTD answered in the bottom of the inning when Claire Pollack led off with a double, then Sarah Olenick and Julia Maniscalco hit back-to-back home runs to left center to go up 3-2. 

The Cowgirls scored four runs on five hits in the fifth, sending 10 batters to the plate. Junior Avery Martin cut the deficit to 6-4 with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth, but Haley Henson led the sixth with a home run to center field to regain a three-run lead. UTD first baseman Cadence Hernandez added another solo shot over the scoreboard in left field in the sixth for the final 7-5 score.

HSU outhit UTD 12-7. The Cowgirls recorded two home runs, while the Comets had four.

Gabby Montanez (14-0) earned the win for the Cowgirls, allowing six hits, five runs and three walks with three strikeouts over six innings. Kelley Shackleford threw a scoreless seventh to pick up her first save. Reliever Erika Fedak (2-2) was tagged with the loss for the Comets.

Henson went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a solo home run and a stolen base. Shortstop Jazzlyn Canto was 2-for-3 with a RBI. Emily Jacobs was 2-for-3. 

Olenick recorded her first home run of the season. Martin was 2-for-3 with her second blast of the year. 

Game 2
After an HSU run, Maniscalco hit her second home run of the day, a two-run shot down the right field line, to give UTD a 2-1 lead after the first inning. The Cowgirls scored five runs on four hits and two errors in the second, highlighted by a three-run homer from Ella Salinas. 

HSU added four more runs in the third, taking advantage of five hits and two more errors. Olenick led the bottom of the third off with a single and later scored on a Gracelyn Taylor base hit to center field to make the game 10-3. The visitors from Abilene, Texas added one more run in the fifth for the 11-3 final score.

HSU outhit UTD 12-6 in the game. 

Akysia Grogan (7-1) walked two with three strikeouts in the win. Madelyn Denn (7-5) received the loss in the start for the Comets.

Maniscalco walked twice and knocked in two with her third home run of the year. Cole Johnson was 2-for-2 with a double. Olenick went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Salinas was 3-for-4 with four RBI. Henson went 3-for-3 with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored. Madi Hubbard was also 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two stolen bases.

Up Next
The Comets and Cowgirls will face off in another double-header at noon Friday.

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