AUSTIN, Texas (March 7, 2026) – Lubbock Christian University completed a Lone Star Conference doubleheader sweep of St. Edward's Saturday at Diane Daniels Field, claiming a 3-2 win in the opener before rallying from a 4-0 deficit for a 7-4 victory in 10 innings in the nightcap. Coryn Burris provided the decisive swing in Game 1 with a sixth-inning home run, while Kendall Ward recorded her ninth career save to secure the win. In the finale, Ashlinn Hamilton drove in four runs and LCU scored three times in the 10th inning to secure the sweep and give head coach Daren Hays the 600th softball coaching victory of his career.
 
GAME 1
Freshman Coryn Burris delivered the go-ahead run with a solo home run in the sixth inning and Lubbock Christian held on for a 3-2 victory over St. Edward's.
 
Lubbock Christian (11-10) received a strong effort in the circle from sophomore Natalee Gray (5-2), who earned the win after allowing two runs (both unearned) on four hits over five innings with one walk. Sophomore Kendall Ward secured the save, tossing two scoreless innings while allowing two hits and striking out one for her fourth save of the season.
 
Burris led the Lady Chaps offensively, finishing 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and an RBI. Cat Prisock and Alexis Pacheco each added hits, while Alexis Clark and Brianna Chambers-Lee drove in runs as LCU produced three runs on six hits.
 
Haley Carmona (1-2) took the loss for St. Edward's (7-13, 4-5 LSC) despite a complete-game effort. The junior allowed three runs on six hits over seven innings while walking two and striking out two. Darian DeLeon led the Hilltoppers at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Sloane Hill and Ciana Rodriguez each recorded an RBI.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
St. Edward's struck first in the bottom of the opening inning. Hanna Zachary singled and later scored when Sloane Hill delivered an RBI single to right field, with the run going down as unearned after a LCU fielding error earlier in the frame.
 
Lubbock Christian answered in the third inning to take its first lead. Pacheco opened the frame with a single and Prisock followed with an infield hit to put two runners aboard. After both advanced on a wild pitch, Clark tied the game with an RBI fielder's choice that scored Prisock. Chambers-Lee followed by drawing a bases-loaded walk to bring home Ava Castillo and give the Lady Chaps a 2-1 advantage.
 
Gray settled into a rhythm from there, retiring six consecutive hitters and keeping the Hilltoppers off the board through the fourth.
 
St. Edward's pulled even in the fifth inning when Darian DeLeon singled and moved into scoring position before coming home on an RBI groundout by Ciana Rodriguez. The run was also unearned following a throwing error that extended the inning.
 
LCU regained the lead in the sixth. Burris led off the inning and launched a solo home run to deep left field, her first of the season, putting the Lady Chaps back in front 3-2.
 
Ward entered in the sixth inning and navigated late pressure from the Hilltoppers. In the seventh, DeLeon singled and Rodriguez followed with a base hit to put the tying and go-ahead runs aboard. Ward induced a groundout to move the runners into scoring position before getting Zachary to ground out to third base to end the game and secure the save.
 
GAME NOTES
» Kendall Ward notched her fourth save of the season and the sophomore moved into  sole possession of second place on the program's all-time career saves list with her ninth career save. She passes Taylor Franco (8 saves) and is one away from matching the all-time program mark, as Katera Eltsosie had 10 saves from 2014-2017.
 
» Burris hit her team-leading third home run of the season, which was part of her fourth multi-hit game of the season for the freshman. She also posted a season-high seven assists defensively.
 
» Teams struggled executing, as LCU (1/8) and SEU (1/13) combined to go 2-for-21(0.95) with runners on base.
 
GAME 2
Lubbock Christian erased a 4-0 deficit and scored three runs in the 10th inning to rally past St. Edward's 7-4 in second game of their Lone Star Conference doubleheader.
 
The Lady Chaps (12-10, 7-4 LSC) collected 13 hits and received clutch performances from Hamilton and Vire to secure the comeback victory. Hamilton finished 3-for-6 with a double and four RBI, while Vire went 3-for-6 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored.
 
Hamilton did not figure into the decision, but helped mount the LCU comeback in the circle, tossing three scoreless innings. She allowed just two hits while striking out one. Kendall Ward was in the circle the final 3.2 innings to garner the win and improve to 3-2 on the season. St. Edward's starter Kylen Padgett (5-6) took the loss after allowing three runs over 5.1 innings before Maddie Aguilar surrendered four runs across the final four frames.
 
St. Edward's (7-14, 4-5 LSC) built an early lead behind a three-run fourth inning and finished with 10 hits, led by Darian DeLeon, who went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Hanna Zachary added two hits and an RBI for the Hilltoppers.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The game remained scoreless through the first two innings before St. Edward's broke through in the third. Ciana Rodriguez walked and later scored on an RBI single by Hanna Zachary to give the Hilltoppers a 1-0 lead.
 
SEU expanded the advantage in the fourth inning with a flurry of extra-base hits. Dafne Mercado and Alyssa Burdge opened the frame with back-to-back doubles before Darian DeLeon delivered a two-run double to left-center. DeLeon later scored on a sacrifice fly from Alea DeSerrano, giving the Hilltoppers a 4-0 lead.
 
LCU began its comeback in the sixth inning. Alexis Clark worked a walk and Vire followed with a single before Hamilton lined a two-run double to deep right field, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Later in the inning, Kenzie Kauk reached on a throwing error that allowed Hamilton to score, trimming the margin to 4-3.
 
The Lady Chaps evened the score in the seventh. Ava Castillo reached on a dropped third strike and advanced when Clark reached on an error. Vire loaded the bases with a single before Hamilton drove in Castillo with a single through the right side to tie the game at 4-4.
 
Both teams threatened late but could not break the tie in regulation. Ward escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning when Arianna Vidales was called for batter's interference to end the threat. Vidales had ended the game twice with walk-off singles, but was called twice for illegal batted balls, with the second resulting in an out to end the premature celebrations.
 
LCU finally broke through in the 10th inning. Pacheco was hit by a pitch (in the helmet) and Prisock singled to put runners on the corners. Castillo followed with a walk to load the bases before Vire delivered the decisive blow with a two-run double up the middle, scoring Prisock and Castillo for a 6-4 lead. Hamilton added an insurance run with an RBI single to right field, plating Vire.
 
Ward closed the door in the bottom half of the inning, retiring the Hilltoppers in order to seal the comeback victory.
 
GAME NOTES
» The pair of wins provided Daren Hays with 600 career wins. The 16^th-year head coach of the Lady Chaps is 600-228 and is the 25^th active head coach in NCAA Div. II to reach 600 career wins. His win percentage of 72.4% ranks 11^th among the head coaches. Toss in his eight seasons coaching LCU baseball and Daren holds an all-time wins mark of 956. He has coached in 1,347 games if you combine the two sports.
 
» The 10-inning decision marked LCU's second game this season to go at least 10 innings and it was their third extra inning game of the season. LCU is 2-1 in games needing extra innings.   
 
» Riley Flores had a hit in each game (2-for-6 on the day) and actively leads LCU with a four-game hit streak. Cat Prisock actively leads in reaching base safely, reaching in seven straight contests.
 
» Hamilton produced the first three-hit game of her career, as she was 3-for-6 with four RBI. She leads the team with five multi-RBI games.
 
» Vire went 3-for-4 with two RBI for her team-leading 10^th multi-hit game of the season. The three hits match a career high and she has eight 3-hit games in her LCU career (three this season).
» Kenzie Kauk (2-for-5) and Ava Castillo (2-for-4) each had multi-hit games, with Kauk producing the first of her LCU career. Castillo had her first multi-hit game since a 3-hit opening day outing against Augustana.
 
» LCU completed their fifth doubleheader sweep of the season, with their fourth obtained on the road, as LCU has now swept Vanguard, Midwestern State, Cameron and St. Edward's in road doubleheaders this season. The pair of wins place them with an 8-2 road mark on the season.

HISTORY LESSON
LCU improved to 30-10 all-time against SEU, with a 13-7 record against the Hilltoppers in Austin.  
 
WHAT'S NEXT
LCU heads to San Antonio, Texas Sunday and will face St. Mary's at 1 p.m. for a Lone Star Conference doubleheader at St. Mary's Softball Stadium.