The LeTourneau University softball team lost to Mary Hardin-Baylor, 4-1 in the first round of the 2016 ASC Softball Tournament on Thursday in Tyler.
The YellowJackets (20-21), which split the four meetings between the two teams earlier this year, took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Seniors
Megan Hill and
Rachel Gauspohl each had two hits to lead a nine-hit attack for LeTourneau.
Mary Hardin-Baylor (20-19) scored the final four runs in the come-from-behind win and to advance into Thursday evening's winner's bracket game against No. 1 UT Tyler.
LeTourneau started the scoring in the second inning with sophomore
Ashlin Roach reaching on a single up the middle. Next, senior
Brianna Williams laid down a sacrifice bunt that the Cru got Roach out at second after she slid past the base.
Later in the inning, with two out, sophomore
Kelsie Benson ripped a single to left field, moving Williams to second base. Next, LeTourneau picked up its second two out hit of the inning when sophomore
Kelsi Coleman hit a single up the middle, scoring Williams from second for a 1-0 lead in favor of the YellowJackets.
The Cru tied it in the fifth inning when Kourtney Bevers hit a solo home run off LETU starter
Kayla Cosby. UMHB took its first lead of the day with two runs on two hits in the sixth for a 3-1 lead; then they added an insurance run in the seventh en route to the win.
Mary Hardin-Baylor reliever Haley Parker, in relief of starter Karen Tennis, pitched the final four innings en route to the win. Parker allowed five hits to the 17 batters she faced to raise her record to 8-7. For LETU, Cosby got the loss and falls to 10-9.
The opponent for LeTourneau on Friday will be UT Dallas in an elimination game at 10 a.m.
Kelsie Benson makes the tag against the UMHB baserunner.