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Lobos Split Doubleheader at Colorado State

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The University of New Mexico softball team earned a 5-3 victory in 10 innings to open Saturday’s doubleheader at Colorado State, but the day finished on an 8-0 loss for UNM as the Rams claimed game two in six innings.

Offensively, senior Chelsea Johnson led the Lobos on the day going 3-for-8, blasting a double and driving in a pair of runs. On the defensive side, senior Krissy Fortner entered in relief in game one and finished the final six innings pitching near-flawlessly. She allowed just three hits and no runs while tying her career-high strikeouts (7).

With the split, the Lobos are now 11-27 on the season (4-7 MW) while Colorado State is 20-11 (4-4 MW).

GAME 1 – New Mexico 5, Colorado State 3 (10 Innings) | BOX SCORE (PDF)

Sophomore Jensen Main started in the circle for the Lobos in game one and pitched effectively for four innings, but after the Lobos allowed a pair of runs to give CSU a 3-1 advantage in the fifth, Fortner entered the game.

Fortner pitched 6.0 innings and was the pitcher of record when the Lobos tied it up in the seventh and came back for the win in the 10th. She improves to 3-6 on the season.

After the Lobos stranded a runner in the top of the first, it was Colorado State that got on the board first in the bottom of the frame. 

A single, a walk and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs before Main walked CSU’s Danni Klein to plate a single run. Main delivered a fly out to right center, caught by junior Sydney Townes, to end the inning and minimize damage with the bases loaded. 

The Lobos got on the board in the top of the third. Freshman Sydney Broderick led off with a single through the left side and advanced to second on a successful sacrifice bunt by junior Aleyah Wilbon. A fly out to left center moved Broderick to third and she scored on a single to left field by Johnson to tie up the score, 1-1.
 

Main and the Lobo defense worked out of another inning with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth as Main threw out a runner headed home, followed by a groundout to second to close the inning.

The Rams broke the tie in the bottom of the fifth, getting ahead by two runs, 3-1. The Rams led off with a double, followed by a hard, RBI single up the middle. DeFlora rocketed the throw home from center field, nearly getting the out, but the run scored to put CSU up one, 2-1.

Another single and a Lobo throwing error with no outs plated an unearned run to put CSU up two, 3-1, and Fortner entered the circle. Fortner delivered back-to-back strikeouts, a walk and a single before a groundout to sophomore Cameryn O’Grady at short closed the inning. CSU left the bases loaded for the third time in the game.

The Lobos went on a two-out rally in the top of the seventh to tie it up 3-3 and force extra innings. O’Grady blasted a two-run double, advancing to third on the throw home, to even the score, plating Halleen, who singled, and Wilbon, who walked. (below Tweet has triple, but it was determined after the game to be a double)
 

It was a battle in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings as Fortner was excellent in the circle.  The Lobos claimed the win in the top of the 10th when Townes singled to third base with one out followed by a Johnson double to score Townes, 4-3 UNM. 

After a Lobo strikeout, freshman Andrea Howard singled to short to advance Johnson to third, putting runners on the corners. Junior Monica Salas followed with a single up the middle to score Johnson for the ultimate 5-3 final.
 

The Lobos outhit the Rams in game one 10-9 and earn the victory after holding 15 CSU runners on the bases. 

GAME 2 – New Mexico 0, Colorado State 8 (6 Innings) | BOX SCORE (PDF)

Freshman Alexis Ruel registered her fifth career complete game in game two, logging 5.2 innings. She allowed eight runs, six earned, on 11 hits while striking out one.

The Rams jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. A one-out single to right field and a Lobo fielding error caused the leadoff runner, who walked, to cross the plate while the batter reached third, 1-0 CSU. A wild pitch scored the runner from third for the 2-0 lead, both runs were unearned.

Colorado State added one more in the second and the third innings to get out to a 4-0 lead over the Lobos, despite UNM leaving three runners stranded on base over the frames.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Rams put the game out of reach with a three-run inning. With one out, three straight rams singled to make it 5-0 and a double scored two more to make it 7-0. Ruel delivered a fly out to right and a ground out to third to end the inning and keep the Lobos alive.

UNM’s Johnson led off the top of the sixth with a single through the left side, but failed to advance to second after junior D’Andra DeFlora reached first on a fielder’s choice. Howard followed with a walk to put two on base, but a pair of straight outs ended the half inning.

Colorado State scored the final run to end the game on the eight-run rule in the bottom of the sixth. CSU led off with a single down the right line that scored on a walk-off double to right-center field.

UNM was outhit 11-3 in game two leaving seven runners on base compared to four for CSU. The three UNM hits in the second game came from Johnson, DeFlora and Salas.

UNM and Colorado State return to action on Sunday for a noon contest in Fort Collins. The game is schedule to air live on the Mountain West Network.

 

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