May 21, 2010
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
It is fair to say a microcosm of New Mexico’s 2010 softball season was wrapped into the Lobos’ season finale vs. San Diego State, one of the top teams in the Mountain West Conference and an NCAA qualifier.
The game revealed a Lobo team that didn’t quite have enough to push more runs across the plate than the opponent. This flaw hurt UNM 37 times during the year.
The heated battle also showed a gutsy, heart-driven UNM team that went tooth-and-nail with the enemy — never rolling over, never saying die until the umps called, “Game.”
“We fought to the end,” said Lobo senior Shaunte Duarte, referring both to the 7-6, extra-inning loss to the Aztecs and to a season that saw the frustrated Lobos end with an 11-37 overall mark and a 1-14 MWC record.
“We never gave up and we came out every day still expecting to win the next game no matter what our record was, no matter who we were playing: the No. 1 team in the nation or the last-place team,” continued Duarte.
“We came out hard every day and we never gave up. I’m extremely proud of our team. I know they are going to do great things to come in the next few years.”
It was a bitter-sweet ending for the Lobos on several levels. The program said goodbye to five seniors — Cristin Anderson, Erin Brandow, Katie Gilmore, Duarte and Andria Martinez. The Lobos also said goodbye to four-year coach Ty Singleton, who resigned at the season’s end with a 69-123 record as a Lobo.
The Singleton Lobos of 2010 definitely took to the diamond with a team heavy on youth and youthful enthusiasm. At times, the only upperclassman on the field was Anderson, the only Lobo named to the 2010 All-MWC team. The Lobos opened the season with an 18-player roster that featured 13 freshmen or sophomores. The Lobos will have no seniors in 2011.
The Lobos also went into the 2010 season eyeing a demanding schedule and having to face those powers of the diamond with three Lobo hurlers — Samantha Gatson, Kaela DeBroeck and Kari Gutierrez — all in their first competitive season of Division I ball.
The Lobos played Washington, the 2009 national champs, along with Arizona, Missouri and Baylor. Brigham Young, SDSU and UNLV of the MWC all made the NCAA’s 2009 postseason guest list.
“It was a tough non-conference schedule and our conference is very good,” said Singleton. “This was a young team that had to face a lot of challenges, but there was a lot of fight and belief in them.”
Singleton said he once again saw the character of his Lobos rise up in the season finale against SDSU — a 2010 NCAA tournament team. “That effort is basically all character,” he said of UNM pushing the Aztecs into extra innings. “They decided in their hearts that they weren’t going to give up.”
Said senior Gilmore: “It’s been rough, but I enjoyed it.”
The Lobos started the season off 8-4 before losing 33 of their final 36 games. “A lot of games we should have won, but didn’t,” said Duarte. “A lot of things didn’t go our way. But we always played hard.”
One Lobo who always showed up with good effort and a better attitude was Anderson, a transfer who scratched her way on the All-MWC team with an all-conference attitude and solid production. The Lobos’ second baseman was the only Lobo to play all 48 games at the same position.
Anderson led the Lobos with 41 runs, seven home runs and 23 walks. She tied for the team lead with 20 RBIs, was second with 10 stolen bases and hit .363 with a team-leading .463 on-base percentage. Her on-base percentage was fifth among MWC players. She had 13 multi-hit games for UNM.
Senior Erin Brandow |
The Lobos also were distinguished this past season by an all-around student-athlete in Gilmore. The Arizona product was named to ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District second team by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
She is the first Lobo softball player to earn Academic All-District honors since Ryanne Hodgins was placed on ESPN’s first team in 2005.
Gilmore is majoring in elementary education and has a 3.56 grade point average. Gilmore fought numerous injuries in 2010, but ended with a .330 batting average and a .985 fielding percentage. She led UNM with a 12-game hitting streak. She cracked the UNM record books in several categories, including taking the No. 4 spot in career RBIs.
Brandow hit a respectable .290 on the year, good for the No. 3 spot on the team among Lobos who had 75 or more at-bats. She also tied for the team lead with 20 RBIs and led UNM with six multi-RBI games.
“I can’t say it hasn’t been a tough year,” said Brandow. “But I also know that you learn a lot about yourself as a person and a player when things aren’t coming easy, just as you learn things during good times.”
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net.