TYLER, Texas – In the second-longest game in American Southwest Conference Softball Tournament history, the Concordia Texas softball team fell just short against #3 UT Tyler 4-3 in 11 innings Saturday at Suddenlink Field.

The Tornados got a stellar pitching performance from Jorden Russell who pitched 10.2 innings while striking out eight batters as CTX fell to 25-17 on the season.

The 11 inning game was also tied for the longest in school history with a game on March 6, 2006 against Howard Payne.

Russell, a junior from Leander, Texas, tossed 171 pitches and now sits just six strikeouts short of setting the school record for strikeouts in a season.

Brittani Whitten started the game off with a bang when she ripped a solo home run in the first at-bat of the game to give the Tornados an early lead.

The score remained 1-0 until the fifth inning when Russell doubled down the left field line and Payton Walker hit a single up the middle to bring home the pinch runner Taylor Smith to put CTX ahead 2-0.

The Patriots tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning on three singles, but Russell got a groundout to end the frame and send the game into extra innings.

In the ninth, the Tornados once again took the lead when Mycahla Howard reached base on an error, advanced to second and was subsequently brought home by a single off the bat of Haley Dennett.

UTT struck back once again in the bottom half of the inning, however, as they used three singles once again to tie the game at three.

After the first two batters reached in the 11th inning and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, Russell got a strikeout and a groundout to make it two away in the inning. Nissa Garcia then lifted a single into left field to seal the walk-off victory.

Dennett led CTX at the plate going 2-for-4 with an RBI while Whitten, Russell and Walker all added a hit apiece.

The Tornados will have another shot at advancing to the ASC Championship in an elimination game Sunday at 10:00 a.m. against #14 East Texas Baptist. CTX defeated ETBU 4-3 on Friday morning. The winner of the CTX-ETBU game will take on UT Tyler at 1:00 p.m. and will need to win twice to take home the ASC Tournament crown.