LUBBOCK, Texas (February 20, 2026) – The beginning of Lone Star Conference action for the UT Permian Basin softball team got off to a promising start with a 1-0 lead through the first three innings of game one thanks to three scoreless innings pitched and a solo home run by Jessica Cantrell. However, Lubbock Christian University scored 23 unanswered runs between the two games and won by scores of 9-1 in six innings in game one and 14-0 in five innings in game two.
 
Game 1 (UTPB 1, LCU 9):

• Cantrell (3-1) helped her own cause with a leadoff home run to center field in the top of the third inning. It was her second home run of the season, and was the fourth by a UTPB pitcher.
• Cantrell followed with a 1-2-3 bottom of the third inning, her second 1-2-3 inning in a row.
• After a one-out single to shallow left field in the bottom of the first, Cantrell retired eight straight batters.
• Unfortunately, a leadoff home run to left field for LCU (Alexis Pacheco) in the bottom of the fourth inning ended that streak.
• Cantrell then gave up a hit by pitch, an infield single and an RBI-single to right center field. She tried to get out of the inning with back-to-back infield popups, but back-to-back two-out RBI-hits, first an RBI-single to center field and then a two-run double to left field, finished off a five-run fourth inning for the Lady Chaparrals.
• LCU again got back-to-back out-two RBI-hits in the fifth inning, first an RBI-single to center field and then a two-run single through the left side, making it an 8-1 lead.
• After an error by the Falcons to start the bottom of the sixth, the Lady Chaps scored the final run on an infield single by Pacheco.
• Pacheco would finish 3-for-4 with two RBI's and a home run to lead the Lady Chaps' offense in game one.
• Cantrell was the only Falcon with two hits (2-for-2) in game one, including her solo home run.
• In the circle, Cantrell allowed 10 hits, eight runs, zero walks and five strikeouts in her five innings pitched.
• For LCU, sophomore Natalee Gray (3-0) pitched all six innings and allowed five hits, one run, one walk and five strikeouts.
• In UTPB's final game against LCU last season, Gray threw a five-inning no-hitter in an 8-0 win against the Falcons. Then just this past week, Gray threw the second perfect game in LCU softball history in a 4–0 road win at Vanguard (Costa Mesa, Calif.), retiring all 21 batters she faced on just 73 pitches while recording her second career no-hitter.

 
Game 2 (UTPB 0, LCU 14):

• UTPB's lone hit was a leadoff single in the top of the second inning by Carlee Quintero, who also drew one of UTPB's three walks in the game.
• The bottom of the first inning saw LCU score five runs on four hits, two walks and two errors, including two runs coming home on a double steal of second base and home plate. Only two of the five runs in the first inning for LCU were earned runs.
• In the bottom of the second, the Lady Chaps added four more runs, had four hits for the second inning in a row, and took advantage of the third UTPB error within the first two innings of the game.
• It was a tough day defensively for UTPB (5 errors between both games), which came into the start of conference play ranking second in the LSC with a .968 fielding percentage. The Falcons had previously committed just eight errors in their first nine games of the season.
• In addition, the UTPB offense that came into the weekend ranking fifth in the LSC in slugging percentage (.471) and sixth in batting average (2.98) was held scoreless for 10 out of 11 innings on the day.

 
Team Records:

• The 2026 UT Permian Basin softball team was off to a 7-2 start, marking their best start to a season in program history since at least 2011 under first-year head coach David Martinez. Unfortunately, UTPB now falls to 7-4 overall and 0-2 in the LSC.
• LCU, meanwhile, improves to 8-6 overall and 4-0 in the LSC. LCU has successfully rebounded from an 0-5 start to win eight of its last nine games, including a current winning streak of six straight games.
• LCU now holds a perfect 43-0 all-time record against UTPB. LCU has run-ruled UTPB in 18 of those 43 matchups. Lastly, LCU has scored 374 total runs in the series, averaging 8.7 runs per game.
• The Lady Chaps are coming off a 36-22 season last year that included the program's fifth NCAA postseason appearance and a No. 5 seed in the Lone Star Conference Championship. The Lady Chaps posted a 26-18 mark in conference play and advanced to the NCAA South Central Regional. This year, the Lady Chaps were picked fifth in the LSC preseason poll.

 
Coach's Quote:

• Coach Martinez concluded, "It was not the start to conference play that we wanted, but the team stayed up and positive throughout both games. They had some good at bats, we just missed out on our opportunities in game one with runners on base. We did not get the timely hitting needed to compete with LCU. It is a long season, and we are looking forward to rebounding on Sunday."

Next Up: UT Permian Basin finishes up its opening weekend of conference play at Midwestern State University starting at 1 p.m. on Sunday, February 22.