May 7, 2006

Box Score

NATCHITOCHES, La. - One strike.

One strike stood between the UT Arlington softball team and the championship game of the 2006 BellSouth Southland Conference Tournament. Texas-San Antonio catcher Jessica Els took a two-out, 3-2 pitch over the center-field wall for her second home run of the game, her third of the tournament, to tie the game in the seventh inning and then Mel Torres belted a two-run homer to left field with one out in the ninth inning for a 7-5 victory late Saturday.

The loss drops UTA (31-21) into the losers bracket of the tournament and will face Texas State at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The winner will advance to face UTSA (36-12) at 1:30 p.m.

UT Arlington outfielder April Clougherty went 1-for-4 with a career high tying two RBI, including a two-run double to tie the game at 3-3 in the fourth inning. Katie Jones and Dee Jay Nelson had two hits apiece. Jones had her third home run of the season, a solo home run in the third inning.

Sophomore pitcher Laura Jones (11-6) kept UTSA off balance with a variety of change-up pitches, strilking out a career-high 16 batters. Ursula Mares (12-7) came out of the bullpen for six innings of relief for the win.

NOTES: All 14 UTSA runs scored in the tournament have come off home runs.