The LeTourneau softball team dropped a pair of games on Saturday afternoon, falling 11-1 to close out the conference series and 15-4 in the non-conference match up against UMHB.
 
LETU falls to 3-3 overall on the season and 1-2 in the American Southwest Conference after finishing the series.
 
In the first contest, the Jackets got the jump on the Crusaders in the first inning when junior Ashlin Roach walked to get on base for a sophomore Macey Mize single to right field that advanced Roach to third. A RBI single to left field by freshman Shelby Barrick brought Roach home to bring LETU up 1-0. The Crusaders quickly shut down the Jacket's bats to leave two on base.
 
The Crusaders went on to take the lead on LeTourneau in the second inning when they brought in four runs off two hits and two errors by the Jackets. LETU bats stayed cold the rest of the game and UMHB went on to score seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings to close the game due to the run rule.
 
Barrick led the Jackets at the plate despite the loss, batting 1.000 with a pair of singles to go with a lone RBI. Senior Whitney Judd recorded a triple in the bottom of the third to go 1-for-3 and contribute to the Jackets five hits on the game.
 
Junior Ashley Burdine falls to 1-2 on the season, allowing seven runs on six hits in three innings. Freshman Julie Cantu allowed four runs on two hits in two innings, collecting two strikeouts in relief to close out the conference series with UMHB.
 
In the closing game of the weekend, the Jackets and Crusaders played a non-conference game that started with an early jump by UMHB in the first and second innings, scoring seven runs.
 
LETU began to chip away at the 7-0 lead the Cru had in the bottom the third when Barrick sparked the Jackets with a single to center field. After a hit by pitch put freshman Taylor MacKenzie on the bags, sophomore pinch hitter Madison Gray hit a single up the middle to collect a RBI and start the two-out rally for the Jackets. Junior Shelby Bagwell followed up with a RBI single to second base to cut the Crusaders lead to 7-2.
 
UMHB went on to extend the lead by scoring eight runs in the next three innings to extend the lead to 15-2 in the top of the sixth. LETU put two more on the board in the bottom of the sixth from a two RBI double from Roach but it was not enough to stop the run rule coming into effect after the sixth.
 
Senior Courtney Matulis drops to 1-1, allowing four runs on five hits in one inning. Relief pitching by Cantu and sophomore Faith Genoway was not enough to hold off the Cru from scoring 11 runs between the two.
 
The Jackets were led at the plate by freshman Shelby Youngblood who collected a pair of singles to go 2-for-3. Roach also contributed to the Jackets' batting when she logged a two RBI double in the final inning to go 1-for-4 in the final game.
 
LETU will be back in action on February 17^th when they travel down Highway 80 to begin a conference series against rivals, East Texas Baptist University Tigers. The three-game series will kick off with the first pitch set for 6 p.m.