LOGAN, Utah – After recording only one hit the day before, the University of New Mexico softball team pounded out 11 hits to capture a tight 8-7 victory over Utah State Saturday and tie the Mountain West series 1-1 for head coach Erica Beach’s 100th win at New Mexico.
“This was a gutsy game by both teams,” said Beach. “We had some clutch hitting throughout the whole lineup and executed very well on defense. I’m very proud of how our team never gave up and just kept fighting.”
The Lobos were on the board in the top of the first inning as sophomore Michala Erickson blasted out her fifth home run of the season to left field with one out.
Utah State answered in the bottom half of the inning with two runs but the Lobos put together a four-run second inning to take a 5-2 lead.
Mariah Rimmer led off the second with an infield single. She then scored off Mia Hignojos’ stand up double to center field. Hignjos then scored on the next at-bat as Lisa Rodrigues singled into left field. Shelbie Franc walked to put runners at first and second before Brandi Heimburg singled to center for another run. The final run of the inning came from Jasmine Casados’ single to center that scored Franc.
The Lobo starter in the circle Carrie Sheehan kept Utah State scoreless in the bottom of the second but allowed two more runs to come across, a run in each the third and fourth innings. Krissy Fortner came in to relieve Sheena with two outs in the fourth and registered the final out of the inning.
After two innings of going scoreless, the Lobos put up three more runs in the fifth to cap their scoring for the game. With one out, Rimmer doubled to center and advanced to third on Karissa Haleman’s ground out to third. Hignojos walked and Rodrigues took one yard to left field for three more runs, her fourth homer of the season.
Utah State started to chip away as the Aggies put together a run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings off Fortner. Beach made a change in the circle, bringing in Rodrigues with one out in the seventh. She got the final two outs of the game and the save, her first of the season.
Fortner recorded the win in the circle for her fourth victory of the season. She allowed three runs off four hits while walking one in 2.2 innings of work.Sheehan allowed four runs off eight hits while walking two and striking out three in 3.2 innings of work. In her first save of the year, Rodrigues allowed just one hit in two-thirds of an inning.
At the plate, Rodrigues went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Rimmer also went 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Hignojos pounded out two hits with an RBI and two runs scored. Erickson and Heimburg each had an RBI.
The Lobos are now 17-13 on the season and 1-1 in Mountain West play. Utah State is now 9-19 on the season and 1-1 in the Mountain West. The two teams will wrap of the three-game series Sunday with the final game starting at noon MT. Live stats and video will be available on GoLobos.com.