TYLER, Texas—The University of Texas at Tyler Softball (34-4) opened their final series of the regular season with an 11-0 five-inning victory over the University of Texas at Dallas (16-18) Friday evening at Suddenlink Field.
 
Senior left-hander Colleen Bentke (Brenham, Texas) had the Comets guessing early striking out the first two batters she faced. Her efforts set up the Patriots to take the lead in the home half of the inning when senior infielder Victoria Gonzales (Elgin, Texas) singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. She was brought home by senior infielder Theresa Gonzales (Elgin, Texas) who send a two-out single to right field.
 
Power was the theme of the second inning with two Patriots sending homeruns over the outfield wall and plating five combined runs. Sophomore outfielder Shae Harris (Brenham, Texas) sent a ball over the right field wall for her first of the season and brought home a pair of runs. A three-run shot by sophomore catcher Ashley Perez (Pflugerville, Texas), her sixth of the season, later in the inning gave UT Tyler a 6-0 lead.
 
UT Tyler put five runs on the scoreboard again in the bottom of the fourth inning highlighted by another long ball. Senior outfielder Dariann Resendez (Austin, Texas) led off the inning with a single before senior outfielder Nicole Garcia (Sugar Land, Texas) doubled to left. Victoria Gonzales was walked to load the bases and a wild pitch scored the first run of the inning. With two runners in scoring position, sophomore infielder Mak Dominguez (Austin, Texas) brought home two more runs with a double off the center field wall to make it a 9-0 advantage. It was senior infielder Serena Saldivar (Garland, Texas) that sent a pitch over the wall for her team-leading seventh homerun of the season. The two-run shot plated the final runs of the game to give the Patriots their 11-0 victory.
 
Bentke retired all three batters she faced on five combined pitches in the top of the fifth to close the game. Allowing just two hits and striking out five, she now owns an 19-2 record on the season and a 1.36 earned run average.  
 
The series and the season will come to a close on Saturday when the two teams square off for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. UT Tyler softball will honor nine graduating seniors in between games.