The UTD softball team has used an eight-game winning streak to break the 20-win plateau for the first time ever.
The team’s strong play late in the season has propelled the Comets to second place in the American Southwest Conference (ASC) East , sandwiched between nationally-ranked ETBU and Louisiana College.
The Comets (20-10, 12-4) control their own postseason destiny as the top two teams from the division make the conference tournament.
The team traveled to Arkansas for a four-game set against University of the Ozarks April 3-4.
The first game showcased a strong pitching performance by freshman Daci DeLeon and a four-run sixth inning as the Comets won 6-0.
DeLeon allowed only two hits while striking out eight in her complete game shutout.
The Comets were able to pull out a victory in the second Saturday game, beating Ozarks 2-1.
The team broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning when sophomore pitcher Stephanie Herrera had an RBI groundout that scored senior shortstop Laura Hatfield.
UTD saw its offense come alive the next day, recording 32 hits in the two wins.
Sophomore second baseman Sarah Arldt picked up four hits and two stolen bases, while senior outfielder Shaunna Lawrence added three hits in the first game. Every Comet batter got a hit in the 9-3 victory.
Herrera and DeLeon shut down the Ozarks in the final game while Hatfield went 3-for-3 with two RBIs as the Comets won 8-1 to complete the four-game sweep.
The team then travelled to play a doubleheader against LeTourneau, the last-place team in the ASC East.
In the first game, junior Jenelle Morrison and DeLeon combined for a shutout, allowing just five hits while striking out seven.
The offense took advantage of the four LeTourneau errors to score three unearned runs in the 5-0 win.
In the second game, the Comets exploded for 15 runs in the third inning on only six hits. LeTourneau pitching combined for nine walks in that inning alone.
The UTD pitching staff allowed just one hit in the game, a three run blast that gave LeTourneau its only runs of the day as the Comets won 17-3.
UTD returned home to play host to University of Dallas for a two-game, non-conference showdown on April 14.
The Comets routed the Lady Crusaders to sweep the Wednesday doubleheader 6-0, 19-1.
The Comets smashed 14 hits in the second game against the University of Dallas. The team scoring 12 runs in the second inning alone.
UTD has six games remaining, four against Louisiana College and two versus East Texas Baptist.
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