BOISE, Idaho – The University of New Mexico softball team used its offense early in the game and held off Boise State to claim a 7-6 win over the Broncos, taking the Mountain West series Saturday afternoon. The Lobos improve to 22-20 on the season and 7-9 in MW play. Boise State drops to 12-33 overall and 4-13 in conference action.
“Boise State is a scrappy team,” said head coach Erica Beach. “They are going to keep fighting throughout the whole game. But it was really nice for us to finally close out a game.”
New Mexico got on the board first after the first three Lobo hitters loaded the bases off an error, a hit, and a hit-by-pitch. Junior Jasmine Casados singled up the middle to score freshman Cheyenne Smith from third.
Boise State answered in the bottom of the first with a run to tie the game. The Broncos took advantage of a Lobo error on a fielder’s choice that allowed the run to score on the next play.
The Lobos regained the lead in the second on a Bronco miscue. Casados hit a grounder to short that was bobbled into the outfield which scored Franc and Erickson. Casados then got in a run-down and was safe at second which helped Rimmer score, giving the Lobos a 4-1 lead.
The lead extended to 5-1 for the Lobos in the third as freshman Jade Gray doubled to right field and scored on an RBI triple from senior Karissa Haleman.
Two more runs came across for the Lobos in the fourth as Erickson led off the inning with a solo jack to center, her sixth on the season. Rimmer, who reached on a single through the left side and stole second, scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Chelsea Johnson, taking a 7-2 lead over the Broncos.
But the Broncos weren’t done yet as they put up two runs in the sixth and seventh innings, cutting the Lobos’ lead to 7-6. They got to Lobo starter Lauren Soles in the circle, forcing New Mexico to make a change in the seventh. Beach went to sophomore Krissy Fortner to close out the game.
Fortner closed out the game, recording the final two outs and earning the save, her sixth on the season. That save breaks UNM’s single-season record for saves, which Fortner owned after breaking it last year with five.
“Krissy has been instrumental for us to come in and close games. She is a different look than the rest of our pitchers and really moves the ball. It was a little interesting at the end but at the end of the day she came in and did her job.”
Soles recorded the win, improving to 5-7 on the season. She allowed six runs, five earned, off 10 hits while walking two and striking out four in 6.1 innings of work. Fortner allowed one hit and one walk in the four batters she faced in the seventh inning.
At the plate, Rimmer led the Lobos with a 2-for-3 effort. Erickson went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. As a team, the Lobos tallied eight hits to Boise State’s 11.
The Lobos will go for their first Mountain West sweep of the season tomorrow at noon. Live stats and a live stream will be available on GoLobos.com.