Tournament Website | ASC Championship Central | Live Stats | Live Video | Photo Gallery (Courtesy of East Texas Baptist)
 
MARSHALL, Texas – Coming back from deficits of 4-2, 5-4, and 7-5, the LeTourneau University softball team extended their season with an 8-7, nine-inning walk-off victory over Texas-Dallas on the opening day of the 2019 American Southwest Conference Softball Tournament hosted at Taylor Field on the campus of East Texas Baptist University on Thursday, May 2nd.
 
LETU advances to the double-elimination portion of the tournament and will play on Friday, May 3rd against Mary Hardin-Baylor while the Comets see their season end with a 17-21 overall record after splitting a pair of Thursday games.
 
Following two scoreless innings to open the game, the YellowJackets would break through in the bottom of the third with a Macey Mize RBI triple to score Kennedi Dillow who would spark a two-out rally with a double. Texas-Dallas knotted the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth by putting together three hits but would strand two runners on a prime opportunity to take their first lead of the game.
 
The back-and-forth continued as LETU reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of the inning with a Hana Bonner sacrifice fly before stranding two runners of their own to send things to the top of the fifth. Two errors by LeTourneau would allow a leadoff single to come around and score for the Comets as UTD found a way to tie things up yet again to grab momentum and work around a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning to keep things tied at two.
 
A two-run home run by UTD in the top of the sixth allowed the Comets to take their first lead of the game and put LETU in a late hole as the YellowJackets would have six outs to work with to try and tie things up. One run would be gained back in the bottom of the sixth as Ethel Warren would reach base on a hit-by-pitch and eventually come around to score on a Taylor Nichols sacrifice fly.
 
Defensively, LETU would get a one-two-three inning in the top of the seventh to try and keep the bats going as Mize would hammer a 3-0 pitch over the left center field wall for a no-doubt home run to tie things back up at 4-4 and send things to extra-innings.
 
Back-to-back one-out hits would be followed up by a two-out walk and RBI single for Texas-Dallas as the Comets would strike first in extra-innings to take a 5-4 lead. A bases-loaded groundout ended the threat by UTD as LeTourneau would keep the deficit at just one heading into their opportunity at the plate.
 
A throwing error would allow Warren to reach base and move to second to open the bottom of the eighth before a sacrifice bunt by Bonner put the game-tying run at third. Ashley Crawford would get in on the action and tie things at five all with an RBI single as it would appear LETU would score a walk-off victory before being thwarted by an inning-ending double play.
 
The top of the ninth would see the Comets respond yet again by reclaiming the lead on a one-out RBI double and would add a second run later in the inning to go up 7-5 with another opportunity to put the YellowJackets away for good. Down but not out, LeTourneau would once again take advantage of a leadoff error with Mize getting aboard before Haydn Parker and Katelyn Trombley both hit singles to load the bases with no outs. A game-ending three-RBI double to the left center field fence by Warren would prove to be the clutch hit needed as the YellowJackets cleared the bases and pulled out their fourth victory of the year over the Comets in thrilling fashion.
 
Pounding out 15 hits, LETU would see six different players end up with two hits and would be led by the three RBI from Warren to go along with two runs scored. Four of the 15 hits would end up going for extra-bases with Mize recording two of the extra-base hits while Silver Montgomery stole the only base of the game.
 
ASC Tournament
LeTourneau is now 4-6 all-time in the ASC Tournament and 1-1 against Texas-Dallas in postseason play. Tomorrow's opponent in Mary Hardin-Baylor will be the third all-time meeting between the two teams in postseason play as the two teams have split the previous two games. LeTourneau's win over the Crusaders in the ASC Tournament came in 2016 when the YellowJackets would pull out a 9-7, 17-inning victory in Tyler, Texas en route to a third-place finish in the tournament. Regardless of outcome of the 10 a.m. game, LETU will play a second game on Friday at either 4 p.m. or 7 p.m. against either East Texas Baptist or the winner of Sul Ross State and Hardin-Simmons.