DENTON, Texas (Feb. 13, 2026) - After opening the 2026 season with a pair of tournaments, Texas Woman's softball returned home to Dianne Baker Field to begin Lone Star Conference play against defending national champion UT Tyler Patriots. In a statement weekend for the program, the Pioneers earned their first-ever victory over UT Tyler, splitting the doubleheader in dramatic fashion behind a historic performance from freshman shortstop Tamia Cherry.
For the first time in program history, TWU defeated the Patriots, using timely hitting, resilient pitching and relentless energy to secure an 11-10 game two victory that electrified the home crowd and marked a milestone moment for the program. UT Tyler claimed the opener, 7-4, but not before the Pioneers showed their fight.
After entering game one early in relief for the Pioneers, Randi Crawford fanned seven batters to keep TWU in it, and the bats produced home runs from Madison Lux and Lizzie Smith. As a team, TWU dealt UTT the most strikeouts of the early season (7), as well as base runners caught stealing (2). However, despite committing a pair of errors in the game, the Patriots rallied to take the opener 7-4.
The Pioneer bats came alive in game two, jumping out to a 6-0 lead. The Patriots however rallied back, with a fourth-inning grand slam and additional run tying the game. TWU was able to withstand this rally thanks to a pair of home runs from Cherry, the first two of her career, and with some additional clutch pitching by Crawford to secure the win in a slugfest, 11-10.
Tamia Cherry finished with three hits, three RBIs and two home runs, while Espinoza tallied five hits across the doubleheader. Lux added three hits, three RBIs, three runs and a home run as the Pioneers celebrated a breakthrough victory to open conference play.
IMPACT PLAYERS (2 Games)
PIONEER POWER MOMENTS
Game One (UTT wins 7-4):
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Crawford entered the circle in relief for Mya Cherry in the top of the first, striking out two and tagging out the baserunner heading home to end the inning.
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Lux connected on the first pitch she saw in the bottom of the second, homering to deep center field to put the Pioneers on the board at 2-1 Patriots.
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After Madison Altman lifted a sacrifice fly to center field in the bottom of the seventh to score Zaryah Williams, Smith sent a pitch out to left field for a two-run homer, making the score 7-4 UTT.
Game Two (TWU wins 11-10):
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Tamia Cherry connected on a 2-2 pitch in the bottom of the second for her first homer of the game, sending it over the left-field wall to open the scoring for TWU.
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Malarie Medina dropped a 1-2 pitch into right-center field in the bottom of the third, doubling and scoring a pair of runs to make the score 5-0 Pioneers.
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After the Patriots rallied in the top of the fourth to tie the game, Tamia Cherry sent the first pitch she saw in the bottom half over the left-center-field wall, also scoring Lux from first to restore the lead at 8-6.
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A single by Lux in the bottom of the fifth scored a pair of runs, restoring a two-run lead for the Pioneers for a second time and making the score 10-8.
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Facing the bases loaded in the top of the sixth, Crawford recorded her second strikeout of the game to escape the jam and retain the 11-10 lead for the Pioneers.
NEXT UP
The Pioneers head south for a conference road swing, beginning with a pair of games in Kingsville against the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas on Friday, Feb. 20. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 4 p.m.
