ODESSA, Texas (April 10, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin softball team hosted Sul Ross State University on Friday. Game one saw sophomore Jessica Cantrell shine with a two-hit shutout while also aiding her own cause with a solo home run in what was a 4-0 win. Game two saw home runs from freshmen Amathyst Gonzalez and Alivia Robinson as UTPB tried to rally, but the Falcons came up just short by a score of 5-4.

Now with five conference wins on the season, UTPB surpasses its win total in Lone Star Conference play from each of the last two seasons.
 
Game 1 (UTPB 4, SRSU 0):

• Cantrell (9-7) pitched a two-hit, one-walk shutout and added a solo home run to help her own cause at the plate. She also struck out seven batters, threw 95 pitchers, and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning.
• Cantrell hurled a 1-2-3 first inning, throwing eight of her nine pitches for a strike.
• After hitting 6-for-10 last week against No. 12 Angelo State University, freshman Odalys Solis kept hitting with a hard-hit double off the third baseman and then down the left field line in the bottom of the first. That put two runners in scoring position with one out, and then an RBI-groundout by Gonzalez scored Carlee Quintero (infield single) for the first run of the game.
• Solis then added a two-out RBI-knock with a single to right field to score Keri Sanford (two-out single to shortstop) and make it 2-0 in the third inning.
• Cantrell did not allow a hit until a single to right field with one out in the top of the fifth inning. The only other previous batter to reach against her was via a two-out walk in the second inning.
• After getting a lineout to third base and a groundout to shortstop to stand the first hit by the Lobos in the top of the fifth inning, Cantrell smacked one to center field, and it just kept carrying for a leadoff home run, making it 3-0 Falcons in the bottom of the fifth.
• Later in the inning, Gonzalez added her second RBI of the game with a two-out single just under the glove of the shortstop to make it a 4-0 lead.
• Quintero (2 runs scored) and Solis were both 2-for-3 in game one.
• Cantrell, who tossed four 1-2-3 innings and faced 24 batters, just three over the minimum, outdueled Jaclyn Pate (2-11), who also pitched a complete game for Lobos. She allowed eight hits, four runs and one walk in six innings. Just two weeks ago, Pate became the first Lobo in program history to earn a weekly LSC award after being named the Freshman of the Week following a complete-game shutout in a 9-0 win at The University of Texas at Dallas.

 
Game 2 (UTPB 4, SRSU 5):

• SRSU started off the game with a bunt single, but three straight outs by Priscilla Medina (3-11) stranded the runner on third base.
• Sanford beat out an infield single to lead off the Falcons' half of the first inning, but then Addison Castilleja (3-5) stuck out the side swinging. The hit by Sanford would be UTPB's only hit against Castilleja in the first three innings.
• SRSU scored first in the top of the third inning as with two outs, two wild pitches by Medina moved the runner from first to third, and then a hard-hit liner off of Medina scored the run.
• SRSU started off the fourth inning with three straight singles, but Medina limited the damage to two runs on a sacrifice fly and an unfortunate single that hit off the bag at third base, allowing the Lobos to take a 3-0 lead.
• With two outs and two on in the bottom of the fourth, Gonzalez rose to the occasion and sent the 2-0 pitch over the fence in left field to tie the game at 3-3.
• Looking to answer in the top of the fifth, Sul Ross hit a double over the right fielder, and then a sharply-hit single off of shortstop and into center field put runners on the corners with no outs. A groundout to second base brought in the go-ahead run, and then with two outs and again runners on the corners, another single just off the glove at shortstop brought in one more run to make it 5-3.
• With two outs and a runner on second in the bottom of the fifth for UTPB, Solis gave it a ride to left field, and it looked like it might carry out of the ballpark to tie the game, but instead a nice over-the-shoulder catch by the Lobos' fielder ended the inning.
• Back-to-back swinging strikeouts by Cantrell left runners on the corners in the top of the sixth, keeping UTPB within striking distance.
• A one-out double smoked to left center by Kelsey Valo gave UTPB an opportunity to cut it to a one-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth. However, another deep catch by the Lobos, this time to center field for the second out, robbed Gonzalez of potential extra bases and kept Valo at second base.
• Robinson led off the bottom of the seventh with a pinch-hit home run to make it 5-4, but three more outs by Castilleja was all she wrote.
• Sanford led the UTPB offense with a 2-for-4 effort.
• The SRSU offense broke out for 13 hits while Castilleja pitched a complete game, allowing seven hits, four runs, one walk and six strikeouts in seven innings.
• Last week, Castilleja threw the second no-hitter in SRSU history as just a freshman as the Lobos swept Texas A&M International University.

 
Team Records:

• UTPB's record moves to 14-23 overall and 5-21 in the LSC while SRSU's moves to 7-28 and 5-23.
• The Falcons and the Lobos are 3-3 against each other in conference play since SRSU joined the LSC last season.

 
Coach's Quote:

• UTPB Head Softball Coach David Martinez said, "Game one was a great win and was another outstanding performance by Jessica. She struck out seven batters and just did her job in the circle as well as helping herself at the plate. I also want to give a shoutout to Odalys for her clutch hitting to get us started. Overall, I am just very proud of the team. Our defense was good and everybody played well while Jessica just did her thing. We got timely hitting in game two after starting off slow. Amathyst and Alivia came up clutch, and it just shows the character of our freshmen. Overall, we cannot start playing late, it was too late when we started hitting, but I am proud of our fight. The girls had a never-quit attitude, but we just came up short. Hopefully we learned today that we are never out of the fight until the last swing. They are still learning how to win, how to try our best to sweep a team. At the beginning of the year, that was something we never talked about, but now we are talking about it. You have to learn how to sweep a team, and we are still learning."
• On his team surpassing its LSC win total from the previous two seasons, Martinez added, "It means a lot, especially for these seniors. It shows how the program is changing. The seniors are really grasping the culture change, and they should get a lot of credit for that. They get all of the credit because they took Coach Brooke and I in, and are learning how the program should be."

 
Series Combined Statistical Leaders:

• Keri Sanford and Carlee Quintero were both a combined 3-for-7 (.429) on the day.
• Quintero also scored three runs.
• Amathyst Gonzalez was 2-for-6 with five RBI's and a home run.
• Jessica Cantrell pitched in both games and combined to allow five hits, zero runs, two walks and 10 strikeouts in 9.1 total innings.

 
Next Up: UTPB will finish off the weekend vs. Western New Mexico University starting at 12 p.m. on Sunday, April 12.