TYLER, Texas—The University of Texas at Tyler Softball (33-4) sealed a series victory over Louisiana College (21-16) Wednesday afternoon with a 5-1 road victory in the series finale.
 
Neither team could take a lead in the opening three innings despite chances for both teams. The Patriots had a base runner in each of the first two innings on a single by sophomore catcher Ashley Perez (Pflugerville, Texas) and walk to Mak Dominguez (Austin, Texas). Senior left-handed pitcher Colleen Bentke (Brenham, Texas) got out of a jam in the first inning with two runners on and then faced the minimum over the next two frames.
 
The scoring started in the top of the fourth inning when Perez led off the with a single to center field. After the next two batters were retired, senior infielder Serena Saldivar (Garland, Texas) sent an RBI-single to center field to plate the game's first run. The next batter, sophomore outfielder Haleigh Swinney (Crosby, Texas) was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Sophomore outfielder Shae Harris (Brenham, Texas) broke the game open with a triple to center field which allowed both runners to score and give UT Tyler a 3-1 advantage.
 
Louisiana College managed to get one run back in the bottom of the fourth inning to trim the lead to a pair. In the top of the fifth inning, Perez picked up her third hit of the game with a blast over the left field wall. The homerun was her fifth of the season and gave UT Tyler a 4-1 advantage.
 
For good measure, the Patriots added another run in the top of the seventh innings. Senior outfielder Nicole Garcia (Sugar Land, Texas) senior infielder Victoria Gonzales (Elgin, Texas) picked up a one-out single and walk while senior infielder Theresa Gonzales (Elgin, Texas) was hit by a pitch with two outs to load the bases. Dominguez then sent the first pitch she saw into right field to bring home Garcia and make it a 5-1 lead.
 
Junior right-handed pitcher Miranda Leal (San Antonio, Texas) faced the minimum in the top of the seventh to close out the ball game and seal the series win for the Patriots. Bentke earned the win after five innings of work and five strikeouts. She moved to 18-2 on the season and owns a 1.42 earned run average. Leal tossed the final two innings and faced the minimum.
 
At the plate, Perez was the lone Patriot to record multiple hits after going 3-4 with a homerun. Five other UT Tyler batters recorded a hit including Harris' two-RBI triple in the fourth inning.
 
The Patriots will now return to Suddenlink field for their final series of the 2019 season. UT Tyler will welcome the University of Texas at Dallas for a three-game series set to begin Friday at 6 p.m. The series will conclude on Saturday with a double header at 1 p.m.