CANYON, Texas – A sacrifice fly from Madison Johnson in the bottom of the seventh capped off a series sweep of the No. 6-ranked UT Tyler Patriots for the No. 3-ranked West Texas A&M softball team. The Lady Buffs improved their overall record to 11-1 and 3-0 in Lone Star Conference play while the Patriots fell to 8-4 overall and 0-3 in conference action.

The sweep marks the first time WT has swept UT Tyler and the first time the Patriots have been swept since March 6, 2020.
 
After Heidi Vortherms worked a flawless opening frame with a pair of strikeouts, WT came up to bat for the first time. Lauren Granger started off the inning with a single down the third-base line, beating the throw to first. Granger then moved into scoring position on a wild pitch before advancing to third on a throw down to first on Brittni Rufus' strikeout. With one out, pinch-runner Tatem Pendergraft slid in safely on a wild pitch to give the Lady Buffs the lead.
 
Following the run, both pitchers settled in to produce four scoreless innings. In the top of the fifth, UT Tyler plated three runs, all of which came with two outs, on four hits. A single up the middle started the inning but back-to-back strikeouts from Vortherms put the Lady Buffs in position to escape the inning. A triple from JT Smith landed on the right-field line, rolling into the corner to tie the game. A hit-by-pitch put runners on the corners where and two RBI singles put the Patriots up two.
 
WT scratched across a run in the bottom of the fifth as Johnson singled to second with the bases loaded to score Brittni Rufus. With two outs and the bases still loaded, the Patriots got out of the inning with a groundout to first base. The one-run difference held up until the bottom of the seventh with both teams threatening in the sixth.
 
Needing a run to extend the game, Granger started the inning with a walk. Back-to-back singles from Rufus and Emilee Boyer loaded the bases with no outs. With no open bases, Murtha drew a walk on a full count to score Granger, tie the game, and bring up Johnson. Johnson wasted no time to end the game as the senior lifted the first pitch of the at bat to right field, scoring Rufus.
 
WT hits the road for its first Lone Star Conference road trip when the Lady Buffs go to UT Permian Basin on Feb. 24-25. Saturday will see WT face the Falcons at 1 and 3 p.m. while Sunday serves as the series finale at 12 p.m.