RICHARDSON, Texas (April 9, 2026) – Lubbock Christian University split a Lone Star Conference doubleheader Thursday at UTD Softball Field, rebounding from a two-hit, 4-1 loss in the opener with a gritty 8-7 victory in Game 2 after building—and ultimately holding onto—a 7-1 advantage.
 
GAME 1
UT Dallas capitalized on early momentum and a strong outing in the circle from Mere Cavazos to defeat Lubbock Christian 4-1 in the opening game of a the doubleheader. The Comets improved to 11-22 overall and 9-16 in conference play, while LCU dropped to 18-19 overall and 14-13 in the LSC.
 
Cavazos (3-8) limited the Lady Chaps to just two hits over seven innings, allowing one unearned run while walking two and striking out one. Lubbock Christian received its lone run in the opening frame, but struggled to generate offense the rest of the way. Junior Kadin Vire accounted for one of LCU's two hits with a double and scored the team's only run, while freshman Coryn Burris added a single.
 
Freshman Lexi Clark (7-7) took the loss, allowing three runs over 2.1 innings, while sophomore Kendall Ward provided effective relief, allowing one run and striking out four over the final 3.2 innings. UT Dallas was led by Avery Martin, who went 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI, accounting for the majority of the Comets' offense.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lubbock Christian struck first in the top of the first inning, as Vire delivered a two-out double to left-center and came around to score on a throwing error, giving the Lady Chaps a 1-0 lead.
 
UT Dallas answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Rachel Wallace was hit by a pitch to open the frame, moved to third following a groundout and a stolen base, and scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Two batters later, Martin connected on a solo home run to center field, giving the Comets a 2-1 advantage.
 
The Comets added to their lead in the third inning following a pitching change. Audrey Messer reached after being hit by a pitch, setting the stage for Martin, who delivered her second home run of the game—a two-run shot to left field—to extend the lead to 4-1.
 
Lubbock Christian threatened in the fourth inning, putting two runners on base with one out after Burris singled and Brianna Chambers-Lee reached on an error. A catcher's interference call loaded additional pressure, but Cavazos worked out of the jam with a groundout to keep the deficit at three.
 
From there, Cavazos settled into a rhythm, retiring nine of the final 10 batters she faced. The Lady Chaps were unable to mount another serious scoring threat, as UT Dallas closed out the 4-1 victory.
 
GAME NOTES
» It was a little Déjà vu for LCU, as LCU's 4-1 loss with two hits matched a season low from the opening game of their prior road doubleheader on Mar. 29 at Texas Woman's as LCU lost 4-1 and was held to two hits.              
 
» Riley Flores streak of reaching base safely ended at 15 games, as she failed to reach base and it ended the longest streak this season by a Lady Chaps member.
 
» LCU was 0-for-9 at the plate with runners on base.
 
GAME 2
Lubbock Christian University built an early cushion and survived a late surge from UT Dallas to claim an 8-7 Lone Star Conference victory in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader.
 
The Lady Chaps evened their record at 19-19 overall and improved to 15-13 in conference play, while UT Dallas slipped to 11-23 overall and 9-17 in the LSC.
 
LCU's offense set the tone early, producing 10 hits and drawing 10 walks, with freshman Coryn Burris delivering a key swing with a two-run home run and finishing with two RBI. Freshman Julie Muniz added a pair of hits and drove in three runs, while senior Ashlinn Hamilton contributed two hits and an RBI. Junior Kadin Vire also reached base three times and added an RBI, and junior Brianna Chambers-Lee went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI while reaching base five times.
 
In the circle, Kendall Ward (5-3) earned the win in relief, tossing the final 1.2 innings and working around traffic late. Ashlinn Hamilton started and allowed just one unearned run over four innings, while Reese Farrar bridged the middle innings. UT Dallas was led by Chloe Grimmer, who went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, while Sarah Olenick added two RBI. Savannah Vanderpool (2-3) took the loss despite returning to the circle late.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lubbock Christian wasted no time taking control, striking for three runs in the opening inning. After Kadin Vire drew a two-out walk, Coryn Burris launched a two-run home run to left field. Later in the frame, Ashlinn Hamilton singled and came around to score on an RBI double from Brianna Chambers-Lee to give LCU a 3-0 lead.
 
The Lady Chaps added to the margin in the second inning, capitalizing on patience at the plate. Piper Garcia and Alexis Pacheco drew walks to set the table, and a sacrifice fly from Julie Muniz pushed the lead to 4-0. Vire followed with an RBI single up the middle, extending the advantage to 5-0.
 
LCU continued to apply pressure in the third, manufacturing another run. Chambers-Lee singled to open the inning and later scored on a bases-loaded infield RBI single from Muniz, making it 6-0.
 
UT Dallas broke through in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of a defensive miscue. Chloe Grimmer singled and eventually scored on an RBI single from Avery Martin, trimming the deficit to 6-1.
 
The Lady Chaps answered in the fifth inning, as Garcia singled and later scored on Muniz's second RBI hit of the game, stretching the lead to 7-1.
 
UT Dallas mounted a dramatic rally in the sixth inning, capitalizing on a combination of timely hitting and defensive miscues. Grimmer delivered the biggest blow with a three-run home run to left, cutting the lead to 7-4. The Comets continued to apply pressure with two outs, using a fielding error and a two-run single from Olenick to tie the game at 7-7.
 
LCU responded immediately in the seventh. Ava Castillo led off with an infield single, and after a sacrifice bunt attempt resulted in a throwing error, the Lady Chaps had runners in scoring position. With one out, Ashlinn Hamilton delivered the go-ahead run with an RBI groundout down the right field line, giving LCU an 8-7 lead.
 
Ward closed the door in the bottom half, working around a leadoff single before retiring the next three batters, including a strikeout and a pair of infield outs, to secure the one-run victory.
 
GAME NOTES
» LCU went from two hits (in the opener) to 10 hits for their 10^th game of at least 10 hits this season.
 
» Coryn Burris' home run out to left field marked her team-leading sixth home run of the season.
 
» Freshman Julie Muniz had her third multi-hit game of the season and was one of three Lady Chaps to produce a multi-hit game. Her sacrifice fly marked her third sac fly of the season, which matches the team lead (LCU has 11 sac flies this season). She finished with three RBI for her first multi-RBI performance of her LCU career.
 
» LCU drew a season high 10 walks, which is their highest walk total of the season. Toss in a hit batter and LCU drew 11 free passes, also matching a season high. On Mar. 22 against Eastern New Mexico, LCU also had reached on 11 (7 walks and 4 hit batters) free passes (The last time LCU had at least 11 batters reach on pitching struggles prior to that was on Mar. 20, 2022, as UTPB walked eight Lady Chaps and pegged five for 13 free-passes).      
 
» Ashlinn Hamilton (sixth of the season) and Kadin Vire each had a pair of hits for multi-hit games, as Vire's multi-hit performance was her team-leading 14^th of the season (10 two-hit performances).
 
» LCU missed out on further damage, as they were 1-for-7 in bases-loaded at-bats (3-for-17 with runners in scoring position) and they stranded 14 base runners.
 
» Piper Garcia was 2-for-2 reaching in a lead-off at-bat, as LCU was 5-for-7 in the game reaching their leadoff batter.
 
» Kadin Vire had a hit in each game to become LCU's active leader with a five-game hit streak, and she actively leads LCU with a streak of six consecutive games reaching base safely.
 
» LCU moves to 11=7 on the road with the doubleheader split.

HISTORY LESSON
The meetings were the first-ever meetings between the two programs, as UTD is the newest LSC member after moving in from NCAA Division III.  
 
WHAT'S NEXT
LCU returns home Friday April 17 for a huge LSC series against Texas A&M-Kingsville, which will get underway with a 3 p.m. first-pitch at Maner Park.