TYLER, Texas (March 27, 2026) – Lubbock Christian University split its first doubleheader of the season in Lone Star Conference play, rallying for a 5-3 win in the opener behind a two-hit, six-inning performance from Lexi Clark and a three-hit effort from Coryn Burris that helped fuel a three-run seventh inning, before the Lady Chaps' late push in the nightcap fell short in a 5-2 loss to UT Tyler.
 
GAME 1
Lubbock Christian rallied with a three-run seventh inning to stun UT Tyler 5-3 in the opening game.
 
The Lady Chaps (17-13, 12-8 LSC) overcame an early deficit behind a balanced offensive effort and strong work in the circle from freshman Lexi Clark (7-4), who earned the win after allowing three runs on just two hits over six innings. Kendall Ward secured her eighth save of the season with a scoreless seventh.
 
LCU finished with 12 hits, led by Coryn Burris' 3-for-4 performance, while Kadin Vire added two hits and a key RBI. Julie Muniz and Piper Garcia each drove in runs, and Ashlinn Hamilton delivered a go-ahead RBI in the seventh.
 
Texas Tyler (25-7, 17-3 LSC) received RBIs from Dezirae Lopez, Kaelyn Lerma and Sydney Linn, while Addison Martindale (3-1) was charged with the loss after allowing the decisive runs in the final frame.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UTT capitalized early in the opening inning, taking advantage of a hit, a walk, a hit-by-pitch and a LCU error to push across two runs for a 2-0 lead despite recording just one hit in the frame.
 
LCU threatened multiple times early but broke through in the fourth inning. Burris and Brianna Chambers-Lee opened the frame with back-to-back singles before a sacrifice bunt moved both into scoring position. Muniz lifted a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 2-1, and Garcia followed with a run-scoring single—helped by an outfield misplay—to tie the game at 2-2.
 
Clark settled in from there, retiring nine of the next 10 batters, but UTT briefly regained the lead in the fifth. Keona Wells singled, advanced on a bunt and wild pitch, and scored on Lopez's sacrifice fly to make it 3-2.
 
LCU had an opportunity in the sixth when Madison Hunter, running for Burris, reached third base after a steal, but the Lady Chaps were unable to bring her home.
 
The breakthrough came in the seventh. Ava Castillo led off with a pinch-hit single, and Clark drew a walk before a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. Vire delivered a clutch RBI single to tie the game, and Hamilton followed with a groundout that plated the go-ahead run. Moments later, Vire scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 5-3.
 
Ward closed the door in the bottom half, allowing a one-out single before striking out a pinch hitter and inducing a flyout to seal the comeback victory.
 
GAME NOTES
» Coryn Burris had her first collegiate three-hit performance, as the freshman went 3-for-4. It is the eighth three-hit outing by a Lady Chaps member this season (no player has four hits in a game this season). She was 2-for-2 reaching base in leadoff at-bats and went 3-for-3 when batting with the bases empty (LCU was 7-for-14 when batting with the bases empty).
 
» With her eighth save of the season, Kendall Ward now has 13 career saves, as LCU's all-time leader in the category.
 
» UTT was 0-for-5 in at-bats with runners on base.
 
» LCU produced 12 hits, marking the ninth time this season they produced at least 10 hits. Along with Burris' multi-hit game, Kadin Vire went 2-for-4 for her team-leading 13^th multi-hit performance (10^th two-hit performance).
 
» The Lady Chaps improved to 3-10 when trailing after four innings and 2-12 when trailing after six innings.
 
GAME 2
LCU was unable to overcome a four-run deficit, falling 5-2 to UT Tyler in the second game of their doubleheader.
 
The Lady Chaps moved to 17-15 on the season, while UT Tyler improved to 26-8. UT Tyler's Kendall Selitzky (7-3) earned the complete-game victory, limiting LCU to two runs on five hits without issuing a walk. Ashlinn Hamilton (1-3) was charged with the loss for Lubbock Christian, allowing five runs—just two earned—over 3.2 innings, while Reese Farrar provided 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
 
Offensively, LCU was led by freshman Coryn Burris, who went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, and freshman Julie Muniz, who added an RBI single. Brianna Chambers-Lee also recorded a hit and scored a run.
 
UT Tyler capitalized on opportunities throughout the game, with Layne Reh going 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Dezirae Lopez collected two hits and scored twice.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless opening inning, UT Tyler broke through in the second without recording a hit. A walk and sacrifice bunt moved a runner into scoring position before a wild pitch advanced her to third. Layne Reh then reached on a fielder's choice, driving in the game's first run for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Patriots extended their advantage in the third inning, using a combination of timely hitting and LCU miscues. Dezirae Lopez singled to start the rally, and UT Tyler added two unearned runs, aided by a fielding error and an RBI single from Reh to take a 3-0 lead.
 
UTT added two more runs in the fourth, again benefiting from defensive errors. Back-to-back singles from Kaylee Cavazos and Lopez set the table, and both came around to score—one on a throwing error and another on a misplay in the infield—to push the lead to 5-0.
 
Lubbock Christian answered in the fifth inning, as Burris launched a solo home run to left-center to get the Lady Chaps on the board. Chambers-Lee followed with a single and advanced into scoring position before Muniz delivered an RBI single to cut the deficit to 5-2.
 
That would be as close as LCU would get. Selitzky retired seven of the final eight batters she faced, including setting down the side in order in the sixth. The Lady Chaps put a runner on in the seventh with a one-out single from Hamilton, but UT Tyler closed the door to secure the win and split the doubleheader.
 
GAME NOTES
» Coryn Burris launched her team-leading fifth home run of the season. She completed the day with 4 hits (4-for-7).
 
» Julie Muniz had LCU's only hit with runners on base, as she was 1-for-1 while the rest of the team was a combined 0-for-5 (team was 1-for-6 in the category).
 
» LCU produced 17 total hits on the day and out-hit the Patriots 17-9.
 
» Kadin Vire went hitless in the second game to end her 10-game hit streak (her second streak of at least 10 games this season) and her 13-game streak of reaching base safely (her season-high mark is 14). Brianna Chambers-Lee is now LCU's leader with an active hit-streak of five games. Riley Flores is LCU's active leader in consecutive games reaching base safely at 12 games.    
 
» The doubleheader split marked the first time this season LCU has split a doubleheader (the doubleheader was their 12^th completed this season).
 
» Friday's split places the Lady Chaps road record this season at 9-5.

HISTORY LESSON
LCU had lost 11 consecutive games in the head-to-head series against UT Tyler until LCU's win in the opener, which was their first against the Patriots since May 13, 2022. The split has LCU 4-14 all-time against the Patriots and 3-9 in Tyler (LCU has only hosted UTT five of the 18 all-time meetings).  
 
WHAT'S NEXT
LCU remains on the road and heads to Denton, Texas Sunday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Texas Woman's.