TYLER, Texas – The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs' record-setting 2015 season came to a close late Saturday evening with a 5-1 loss to No. 2-ranked University of Texas at Tyler in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship - Tyler Regional.
At UT Tyler's Suddenlink Link, No. 14 TLU fell behind 3-0 in the first and behind 5-0 through three innings.
Taylor Grissom took the loss, dropping to 20-2. Grissom was pulled after the first weather delay. Sam Yenne and Amanda Lochte appeared in relief.
The game was stopped twice for weather delays. The first delay lasted about one hour and 40 minutes. The second one lasted about an hour. The game started at 7 p.m. and ended around 11:30 p.m.
TLU's lone run came in the fifth on an RBI groundout from senior Ashley Jacobsen. Jacobsen added to her school-record RBI total.
Jacobsen concluded her time at TLU with new school career records for at-bats (569), runs (181), hits (246), stolen bases (100), RBI (121) and batting average (.432). She broke the runs record by 57 and the hits record by 51.
"We tried our hardest," said Jacobsen, the 2014 SCAC Player of the Year, a 2014 Academic All-American, and the 2013 TLU Female Student-Athlete of the Year. "Tyler is great team. We fought until the end and tried to be as successful all the way to the end. We just didn't come out on top."
Earlier in the day, Jennifer Gallagher delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning as the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to defeat Whittier College (Calif.) 4-3.
Nicole Snow tied the game in the fifth with a pinch-hit RBI single that scored pinch-runner Aex Yarbrough.
TLU fell behind 2-0 after the first inning as Bulldog starter Veny Pizana struggled with her control. Pizana faced four batters, issued two walks, and gave up a hit. She was lifted after one-third of an inning.
Grissom relieved Pizana and went the rest of the way.
Grissom collected her 20th win of the year. Grissom (20-1) struck out three and allowed one run. Already the school record-holder for wins in a season, Grissom became the Bulldogs' first 20-game winner.
"I think what we had this year was magic," said Wilson. "We had a team that was so unbelievably unselfish. They bought into their roles. We did a lot of firsts this year for TLU Softball, and a large part of that success is due to these two players right here. They both graduated tonight. They were with us when we were not so good. And they have put TLU Softball on the map. I can't say enough positive things about these ladies."
TLU ended the year with a school-record 37 wins. The Bulldogs went 37-6, won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship for a second consecutive year, advanced to the NCAA Regional for a second straight season, and won a school-record 33 games in a row.
