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LeTourneau University – Sports

 

WOMEN’S TENNIS

TYLER, Texas – Dropping two third set tiebreakers proved to be just enough of a difference as the LeTourneau University women’s tennis team came up short of pulling off the upset of number 37 nationally-ranked University of Texas-Tyler in a 7-2 loss at the Summers Tennis Center in Tyler, Texas on Monday, April 9.

Playing their second nationally-ranked opponent of the year, LETU falls to 6-8 overall and 1-1 in the American Southwest Conference while the Patriots improved to 12-5 overall and 4-0 in conference play.

How It Happened:
The YellowJackets picked up a victory at number two doubles from the duo of Gracie Favela and Katy Hall by a score of 8-6 but saw losses at number one and number three doubles give UTT a 2-1 lead heading into singles action.

LeTourneau’s only other victory of the afternoon would come from freshman Samantha Trevino with a 6-4, 6-2 win at number six singles despite seeing Lauren Rockwell (6-4, 4-6, 8-10) at number five singles and Favela (3-6, 7-5, 8-10) at number three singles go three sets in their respective matches. Other action in the games saw Maddison Brackenreg fall at number one singles by scores of 1-6, 1-6 while Terin Murray battle throughout her match in a 4-6, 4-6 loss at number two singles. Hall would fill the spot at number four singles for LETU, dropping her game by scores of 0-6, 1-6.

What’s Next?
Two matches in 24 hours will be next up for LeTourneau, starting on Friday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m. with an ASC match at Belhaven University. The YellowJackets will then have a crucial game with East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas on Saturday, April 14.

 

MEN’S TENNIS

TYLER, Texas – Looking to bounce back from a 5-4 loss on Saturday, the LeTourneau University men’s tennis team fell by a final score of 9-0 to the number 30-ranked University of Texas-Tyler at the Summers Tennis Center in Tyler, Texas on Monday, April 9.

With the loss, LETU now stands at 3-10 overall and 0-2 in the American Southwest Conference while the Patriots picked up their 15th win of the year to go to 15-3 overall and a perfect 4-0 in the ASC.

How it Happened:
UTT took all three doubles matches, with the YellowJackets falling in the number one and three doubles matches by scores of 8-4. The number two doubles match saw Robby Bundy and Zac Crowley-Kurth drop their game by a score of 8-1 to give the Patriots a 3-0 lead heading into singles play.

Despite intense efforts throughout the lineup, LETU would be unable to secure a point in singles play as Christian Farris fell by scores of 5-7, 2-6 and Jimmie Henson dropped his number two singles match 1-6, 2-6. At number three singles, Bundy would fall by a final of 0-6, 3-6 while Crowley-Kurth dropped a straight-sets match by scores of 0-6, 0-6 at number four singles. The Patriots proved too strong in all six spots of the singles lineup, with Cameron Wall for the YellowJackets dropping a 1-6, 0-6 decision at number five singles and Nash Best falling by scores of 2-6, 1-6.

What’s Next?
A three-match road trip continues for LeTourneau on Friday, April 13 with a 3:00 p.m. road match at Belhaven University. The Blazers are currently 6-7 overall and winless in the ASC at 0-2.

 

SOFTBALL

RICHARDSON, Texas – For the first time in her career, LeTourneau University softball junior Macey Mize has been named American Southwest Conference Co-Hitter of the Week for her performances during the week of April 2-8.

Mize shares the award with Lynsey Mitchell of Texas-Tyler after hitting a home run in all three games of a series sweep of Ozarks, with each homer coming as a two-run blast. In games two and three, the home runs allowed the YellowJackets to jump out to a lead and never look back, winning both games via run-rule. For the week, Mize hit .625 (5-of-8) with six RBI and a 1.750 slugging percentage.

A native of Waco, Texas, Mize is the daughter of Robert and Carol Jo Mize. Mize is currently majoring in elementary education at LeTourneau University.

 

MEN’S GOLF

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. – A day after shooting a first-round score of 305, the LeTourneau University men’s golf team improved by one stroke with a final round of 304 to finish in 11th at the Discover Dekalb Emory University Invitational at Smoke Rise Country Club in Stone Mountain, Georgia on Sunday, April 8.

Overall, LETU finished with a two-day total of 609, one shot back of 10th place Berry College who had a final day 300 to move up two spots in the team standings. Host Emory University was the only team to finish under-par on the day, shooting a team score of two-under 278 to win by six strokes with a final tally of 564.

Individually, a final round of two-over 72 gave senior Mason Terry a total of four-over 144 to finish in a three-way tie for 10th while fellow senior Daniel Kay finished tied for 29th after finishing with a final round of four-over 74. Chris Clark would be the next-best finisher for the YellowJackets, shooting a final round 79 to finish tied for 56th while Cory Gillespie improved one stroke from yesterday’s round to finish tied for 66th with a two-day total of 159. Cody Taylor also posted an individual score for LeTourneau, shooting a total of 167 and finishing 81st.

LETU will take the next three weeks to prepare for the American Southwest Conference Championships, where they will look to improve upon their seventh-place finish at the preview meet two weeks ago. The meet will be hosted by Concordia University Texas at Avery Ranch Golf Club in Austin, Texas starting Monday, April 30th.

 

BASEBALL

LONGVIEW, Texas – Limited offensive output and two big innings by Sul Ross State University would be too much for the LeTourneau University baseball team to overcome in losses by scores of 5-3 and 6-0 at Conrad-Vernon Field in Longview, Texas on Sunday, April 8.

The losses leave LETU with a 16-12 overall record and 8-6 mark in the American Southwest Conference while the ASC-leading Lobos improved to 19-11 overall and 13-4 in conference.

Game One:
An early 1-0 lead after one inning of play did not prove to be enough as the Lobos would respond with a run of their own in the top of the second and take a 2-1 lead in the top of the third on a two-out RBI single. The score would remain at 2-1 in favor of SRSU until the top of the sixth when a leadoff single followed by back-to-back walks loaded the bases with no outs for Sul Ross. A strikeout would set the YellowJackets up to find their way out of the inning, but see a balk and a throwing error allowed for three runs to score in the inning to put the Lobos up 5-1.

LeTourneau would look to mount a rally in the bottom of the seventh and final inning of the opener, using a Will Bradshaw two-run home run to cut the lead to 5-3 before putting the game-tying run on second on a Jacob Jones double with one out. A groundout followed by a walk loaded the bases for LETU, but a groundout ended the rally short as the Lobos would claim the series opener by a two-run margin.

Despite allowing just two runs on two hits, Luke Ludwig took his first loss of the year after going five innings and striking out five. Ryder Lognion (0.1 innings) and Kolton Eberlan (1.2 innings) also made an appearance in the game.

Of the five-hit output from LeTourneau, five different YellowJackets recorded a hit in the game with the six-seven-eight hole hitters of Jones, Noah Mahoney, and Carson Dickey each providing one hit. Three of LETU’s five hits managed to go for extra-bases, but not enough timely hits were found to make the difference.

Game Two:
A dominant pitching performance from the Lobos shut the YellowJackets out for just the second time all season as LETU would scrape together seven hits, but only one inning with more than one hit recorded. Two scoreless innings to start things made way for a pair of two-out doubles down the left field line to score the game’s opening run for Sul Ross in the top of the third, finding a hole in the LeTourneau defensive lineup to push across a run.

SRSU added a single run in the top of the sixth after taking advantage of a leadoff single and stolen base coupled with a throwing error by LETU, sending things to the late innings with a two-run cushion. Things would be broken open in the seventh as the Lobos pushed across four runs on three hits and two errors, but left two runners stranded as part of seven runners left on base throughout the game.

The YellowJackets started to make some noise and mount a comeback in the bottom of the seventh by loading the bases with one-out, but an inning-ending double-play killed momentum as the Sul Ross lead stayed at 6-0. LETU would manage to put their first two runners aboard in the bottom of the eighth inning and again look to finally push a run across, but a second-consecutive inning-ending double play kept the deficit where it would end up as a final margin.

Starter Andrew Harlan fell to 2-3 overall after taking the loss, throwing six and one-third innings while allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and striking out three. Nate Hoelker faced four batters in one-third of an inning before seeing Haden Simmons pitch the final 2.1 innings of the game.

More offensive woes saw the seven-hit performance by LETU come in the form of singles, with Dickey, Jones, and Lee Hosie having two hits apiece. The only other single of the game came for LeTourneau came off the bat of Mahoney, with eight total runners stranded by the YellowJackets.

LETU will look to salvage the series tomorrow afternoon with a rare Monday game against the Lobos. First pitch is 12:00 p.m. at Conrad-Vernon Field.

 

SOFTBALL

LONGVIEW, Texas – Behind a four-run third-inning along with taking advantage of five errors from the visiting University of the Ozarks, the LeTourneau University softball team picked up an 8-0, five-inning win to earn a series sweep at the LETU Softball Field on Sunday, April 8.

The win marks the third-straight for LETU while improving to 10-18 overall and 8-16 in the American Southwest Conference. UO falls to 4-18 overall and 4-14 in the ASC following the loss.

In addition to the significant offensive output, the YellowJackets got a one-hit shutout from sophomore Julie Martinez, who allowed just a second-inning single while striking out four and facing only two batters over the minimum. LeTourneau’s only hitless inning of the game came in the bottom of the first when the YellowJackets would retired in order, but quickly overcome the slow start to breeze past the Eagles.

LETU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, using a Macey Mize leadoff single and wild pitch to move the junior into scoring position before two pop-ups allowed Ozarks to put two outs on the board. UO would appear to get out of the inning with a groundout, but see a dropped throw by the Eagle first baseman allow for Mize to score and give the YellowJackets the lead.

Another muffed throw in the bottom of the third gave LeTourneau their second run of the game to make the score 2-0, before seeing an Ashlin Roach RBI double and Mize two-run home run quickly put the score at 5-0 heading to the fourth. The two-run blast by Mize would be her third of the weekend, with all three home-runs coming as two-run shots.

Only one run would come across in the bottom of the fourth inning for LETU, taking advantage of a pair of Ozark’s errors, but leave the bases loaded with a chance to go up, even more, would go wasted. The missed opportunity didn’t seem to affect the YellowJackets much, however, as two one-out hits and a walk in the bottom of the fifth put the game-ending run in scoring position. Following a fielder’s choice that saw a runner cut down at the plate, Ozarks would have two wild pitches allow for runs to score and end the game early for the second-straight contest.

Of the 10 LeTourneau hits, Rocah, Mize, and Taylor MacKenzie all collected two hits while Kelsi Coleman and Roach each had one RBI to go along with the two from Mize. LETU only struck out once in 25 at-bats, collecting two-extra-base hits and two stolen bases.

The YellowJackets will have an off week from ASC play, but take on Centenary College in non-conference doubleheader action on Wednesday, April 11th at the LETU Softball Field starting at 5:00 p.m.

Matt Kinney
Sports Information Director