TYLER, Texas - The Howard Payne University softball team fell, 10-0 and 17-0 in a doubleheader vs. #1 the University of Texas at Tyler on Friday evening.

UT-Tyler (21-2) received some stellar pitching, with both their starting pitchers going the distance in the circle while blanking the Lady Jacket bats over 11 innings of action. The Patriots were then able to piece together several scoring rallies to capture the two-game set with the series concluding tomorrow.

UT-Tyler used a two-out rally to jump out to a 3-0  lead in the bottom of the first inning. Tonya Thompson had retired one batter and forced the other into a groundout before UT-Tyler made their scoring push. 

They went on to score one more run in the second inning after a RBI single to right field to make it 4-0.  Thompson would settle in and hold the Patriots scoreless over the next inning. Up until that point, Thompson had only surrendered one earned one, the other three runs were unearned.

UT-Tyler was able to load the bases in the bottom of the fourth inning and Head Coach Jose Mata elected to go to his bullpen to finish out the inning. Audrey Simpson would then enter the circle for the Lady Jackets and try her best to get her squad out of a pinch.

The Patriots would go on to score two more runs in the inning, pushing their lead to 6-0. After both teams exchanged scoreless fifth innings, UT-Tyler was able to put runners into scoring position. After a three-run home run to left field, they held on to capture the 10-0 victory in six innings of play during game one. 

Kayla Boucher, Kodi Glosson, and Sabrina Ochoa each finished with one hit apiece on 1-2 hitting and Tonya Thompson and Audrey Simpson combined to face 35 batters over 5.2 innings of pitching.

During game two, the Patriots were able to get their bats going right out the gate. Howard Payne used three pitchers over the span of the game with Audrey Simpson facing the majority of the batters over the game's five innings of play.

UT-Tyler would score five runs in the first inning, only to follow it up with an eight-run inning in the second to take a 13-0 lead into the third inning. The Lady Jackets would settle down and hold the Patriots bats quiet in the third inning before they were able to score four more runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the 17-0 lead.

After forcing Howard Payne into a three and out in the top of the fifth, UT-Tyler would hold on to sweep the doubleheader with the 17-0 victory in game two.

The series will conclude with a 12:00 PM matchup between the two sides tomorrow, March 18th in Tyler, Texas. Fans can find live video and stats at HPUSports.com and follow along on Twitter @HPUsoftball for in-game updates, interactive content and more.