The Temple College Leopards softball team traveled on Monday to Paris Junior College in a battle of ranked teams in the NJCAA non-conference play.

The Leopards jumped out front early in the opening game and came from three runs down in the second tilt as Temple swept Paris.

Scores of the doubleheader were 11-3 in five innings and 7-3.

Temple (18-4) scored a trio of runs in the opening frame. Lexi Dudeczka singled to lead off the game. With one out, Reese Cottrell blistered a 1-1 fastball over the left field fence. Two pitches later, Kayiah Ratu hammered a fastball over the center field fence to establish a 3-0 lead for the Leopards.

Cottrell got the call for game one in the circle and got past a double and a walk in the bottom of the first with an infield fly and pop out.

Peyton Peck's solo homer in the bottom of the second got the Dragons on the board.

The game stayed a two-run differential until the top of the fifth inning. A single by Marli Kennedy and fielder's choices by Brooklyn Walton and Dudeczka loaded the bases. On full-count fastball, Jasmine Benavidez launched a missile over the left field fence for a grand slam.

Uncomfortable with the status quo, the Leopards kept hammering away. Cottrell's double and KyLeigh Cambiano's walk set up a double steal that scored Cottrell's courtesy runner, Maycie Griffin. Angie DeLeon's fly ball was dropped in left field as Cambiano crossed the plate. With two outs, Kennedy deposited a pitch over the center field fence to complete Temple's eight-run inning and put the game in run-rule territory.

Christi McGuire's two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth brought the Dragons back to within eight runs, but Paris was unable to push the game out of a run-rule finish.

Temple used seven runs, two walks, and two Paris errors to aid in their 11-run output.

Cottrell and Kennedy had two hits and two RBI each, while Benavidez drove in four runs.

Cottrell picked up the win in her first complete game of her career, as she pitched five innings, allowed three runs on six hits, walked two, and struck out one.

McGuire and Esmeralda Soto had two hits each for Paris.

Hadison Fults took the loss for Paris. She dealt four innings, allowed eight runs on six hits, walked one and struck out one. Luna Aranda pitched an inning of relief, allowed three unearned runs on one hit, walked one and struck out one.

The Dragons scored in the bottom of the first in the second game. Following a pair of walks, Kaci Gobert drilled a pitch over the center field fence to give Paris a 3-0 lead.

The Leopards parlayed a pair of Dragon errors into runs in the third inning. Kennedy singled to start the inning, and Walton reached on an error. Dudeczka's single deep into hole at shortstop got TC on the board. Following a one-out walk to Cottrell, Ratu reached on an error that scored Walton. Cambiano's single scored Cottrell and Dudeczka to give Temple a 4-3 lead.

Izzy Garcia's single scored Benavidez and Cambiano to increase the Temple advantage to 6-3.

Garcia, who got the game two start, found her groove, retired eight straight and pitched around a pair of two-out walks in the fifth.

Cambiano's two-out single in the top of the sixth scored Benavidez.

Paris (23-5) got a one-out double from Isabella Jeter in the sixth inning, but Garcia slammed the door the rest of the way.

Cambiano and Garcia had two hits each as part of Temple's eight-hit attack. Cambiano added three RBI and Garcia added two.

Garcia went the distance in the circle for the victory. She pitched seven innings, allowed three runs on four hits, struck out seven, and walked four.

Jeter had two of Paris' four hits, and Gobert had all three RBI.

Grace Ann McDonald took the loss for the Dragons in the circle. She pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowed six runs (two earned) on six hits, struck out four and walked two. Reyleigh Shockley pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief, allowed a run on two hits, walked three and struck out three.

In the sweep of the doubleheader, Temple pitching held Paris to three runs in each game, six runs less than their 9.2 runs per game average. TC held the Dragons to six hits in game one and four hits in game two, less than the 9.5 hits per game average.

Temple is 9-4 against ranked opponents so far in 2026.

The Leopards will host Coastal Bend College (2-8) in a doubleheader scheduled for 11 am and 1 pm Wednesday at the Danny Scott Sports Complex. Temple will end the week on Saturday at No. 11 Galveston College (16-0).