TYLER, Texas—The University of Texas at Tyler Softball (36-4) closed the 2019 season and their time in NCAA Division III with a doubleheader sweep of the University of Texas at Dallas (16-20) Saturday afternoon at Suddenlink Field. The Patriots earned a 17-5 victory in five innings to begin the day before closing the season with a 13-5 six inning win.
 
UT Tyler jumped out to another early lead in game-two with four runs in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs, six-consecutive batters reached base via a hit beginning with singles from sophomore catcher Ashley Perez (Pflugerville, Texas) and senior infielder Theresa Gonzales (Elgin, Texas). Sophomore infielder Mak Dominguez (Austin, Texas) plated the first run of the game with a double while senior infielder Serena Saldivar (Garland, Texas) followed with a two-RBI double to right field. The fifth straight batter to get a hit was sophomore outfielder Haleigh Swinney (Crosby, Texas) who sent an RBI-single back up the middle to make it a 4-0 Patriot lead.
 
With a homerun in the top of the second inning, UT Dallas managed to get one run back, but the Patriots found another big inning in the home half. After a walk and back-to-back singles to Theresa Gonzales and Dominguez loaded the bases, a Comet throwing error allowed two runs to score with Saldivar at the plate. Swinney then drove in the seventh UT Tyler run with an infield single.
 
Senior outfielder Nicole Garcia (Sugar Land, Texas) led off the bottom of the third inning with a single to set up a two-run homerun for senior infielder Victoria Gonzales (Elgin, Texas). Her sixth long ball of the season went over the right center field wall and gave UT Tyler a 9-1 advantage. Perez then followed with a single back up the middle on a 3-0 pitch to set up another two-run blast. Theresa Gonzales picked up her team leading eighth home run of the season to make it a double-digit Patriot lead, 11-1. Dominguez was the fifth straight batter to reach base when she was hit by a pitch. Saldivar followed by sending the third homerun of the inning over the center field wall. Her second homer in as many days gave UT Tyler a 13-1 lead after three innings.
 
The scoring continued in the bottom of the fourth inning with four more UT Tyler runs crossing home plate. Freshman utility Brittany Sosa (Eagle Lake, Texas) recorded a one-out double before senior catcher Courtney Campbell (Bonney Lake, Washington) put runners on the corners with a single. Freshman infielder Carson Robertson (Carthage, Texas) drove in the first run of the inning with a with a single to left center field. She was followed by another pinch-hit single from freshman infielder Macie Pampell (Zachary, Louisiana) to drive in a run before sophomore outfielder Shae Harris (Brenham, Texas) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Freshman infielder Chaney Tart (Malakoff, Texas) and senior outfielder Dariann Resendez (Austin, Texas) picked up back-to-back RBI singles to give the Patriots a 17-1 advantage.
 
Despite the Comets putting four more runs on the board in the top of the fifth inning, UT Tyler managed to hold on for the 17-5 victory in the middle game of the series. Senior left-handed pitcher Colleen Bentke (Brenham, Texas) got the win after tossing the first 3.1 innings. She moved to 20-2 on the season after allowing just one run on two hits with four strikeouts. Senior right-hander Sam Junkin (Hunt, Texas) threw the final 1.2 innings to close the game.
 
For the third time in the series, the Patriots jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning with a pair of runs courtesy of a homerun by Victoria Gonzales. Her seventh of the season along with a solo homerun by senior utility Lynsey Mitchell (Liberty Hill, Texas) in the second inning gave UT Tyler a 3-0 advantage. Perez plated another in the second inning with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.
 
Two runs came around to score for UTD in the top of the third inning, but the Patriots answered with five runs of their own in the home half. Saldivar picked up an RBI-single to plate the first run before Resendez brought a run home with a sacrifice fly to right field. With the bases loaded later in the inning, Victoria Gonzales and Perez both picked up RBI's when they were hit by a pitch and walked for the seventh and eight Patriot runs. Theresa Gonzales made it a 9-2 ball game with a sacrifice fly late in the inning.
 
After the Comets trimmed the deficit to four, 9-5, in the top of the fourth, the score remained the same until the bottom of the fifth. Saldivar was walked with the bases loaded to double up the UTD score, 10-5. UT Tyler ended the game in the bottom of the sixth after the first four batters of the inning reached base. Mitchell was hit by a pitch before Resendez and Garcia both singled to load the bases. Victoria Gonzales was then hit by a pitch to bring home a run while Theresa Gonzales recorded a two-RBI single to put the Patriots up eight runs and seal a 13-5 victory and series sweep.
 
Junior right-hander Whitney Romero (Lafayette, Louisiana) recorded the win in the circle after four innings of work. Junior right-hander Miranda Leal (San Antonio, Texas) tossed the final two innings and faced just one batter over the minimum to close the contest.
 
With the season coming to a close, UT Tyler will compete in the Lone Star Conference next season as they continue their transition to NCAA Division II status.