Comets Rally To Earn Split At ASC Tourney

Comeback Against HPU Lessens Sting of Two Heartbreaking Losses

FARMER'S BRANCH, TX - The UTD softball team got rid of the bitter taste of a pair of heartbreaking losses Saturday afternoon with a big, come-from-behind 13-5 win over Howard Payne to leave the 2008 American Southwest Conference First Pitch Tournament with a .500 record intact.

UTD (4-4 on the season) won its opener at the chilly early-season tournament - which annually features ASC East Division teams against their West Division rivals - with a big 15-4 win over Concordia-Texas. But the Comets saw leads in games with Texas Lutheran and Hardin-Simmons evaporate behind big innings from their rivals and lead to 14-13 and 7-5 losses. The same scenario almost repeated itself against HPU, but UTD rallied to retake the lead and then cruised to a "run-rule" win over HPU in the finale.

Senior shortstop Amber Griffin (pictured) above had a huge weekend, going 11-for-16 at the plate, stealing five bases and belting both a double and her first home run of the season. She scored six times and drove in five more runs. Sophomore Tawni Ichimura (pictured right), fresh off the basketball court, was 7-for-11 and had the game-winning RBI single in the sixth inning of the HPU win.

UTD 14, CONCORDIA 5

The Comets got the first test against a vastly improved Concordia team and trailed early, 4-3. But UTD rallied with a four-run 4th, highlighted by a two-run homerun from sophomore Courtney Wright. The Comets then expanded on their 8-4 lead in the top of the seventh with seven runs behind eight hits. Griffin went a perfect 5-for-5 in the game.

TEXAS LUTHERAN 14, UTD 13

UTD jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but the Lady Bulldogs erupted in the 3rd inning with six runs behind five hits and an error, then added five more in the 4th to go up 11-7. The Comets chipped away, scoring in every inning, but TLU did the same over the final three innings. Down 14-10 going into their last at-bat, the Comets rallied and made things interesting. Karah Brazell got UTD to within a run with a three-run homer with one out, but Ichimura was called out on a close play at first for the second out before Dawn Wiedeman (representing the tying run) reached on an error and moved to second on a wild pitch before Lyndsi Ayers grounded out to end the inning.

HARDIN-SIMMONS 7, UTD 4

The Comets saw another early 4-0 lead disappear behind a big inning by an opponent. Shut out in their first two games and through the first four innings by Jana Cain, HSU had a walk and then four straight hits (including a three-run homer) to take a 5-4 lead after two outs. The Cowgirls added two more in the 6th before UTD tried another rally in their final at-bat. The Comets loaded up the basise with a walk and two hits, but a pop-up, a ground out and foul fly ended the threat.

UTD 13, HOWARD PAYNE 5

It was almost deja vu for the Comets in the tournament finale. UTD went up 2-0 in their first at-bat on a Wright home run, but HPU erased that lead quickly with five runs in the 2nd inning. UTD answered with RBI hits from Staci Sours and Griffin to trim the lead to 5-4, then blew the game open in the 3rd with 12 batters combining for eight runs on just four hits, but four walks and an HPU error. The big blow in the inning was a bases-loaded triple from Ayers and a 2-RBI double from Sours. Then needing just one run to get the "run rule" win in the 6th, freshman Natalie Duran doubled and then scored on Ichimura's seventh hit of the weekend.