ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – After falling behind early 2-0, the University of New Mexico softball team used timely hitting to make a comeback and claim a 7-4 rubber-match victory over Colorado State for its fourth Mountain West series of the season Sunday afternoon at Lobo Softball Field.
“It is always good to win a conference series,” said head coach Erica Beach. “After losing the first game of the series and coming back, it’s a big testament to the toughness of our team.”
The Rams were on the board early as a wild pitch from Lobo starter Krissy Fortner gave the Rams their first run. The Lobos switched pitchers after 2.1 innings and went to Lisa Rodrigues but she gave up the second Rams’ run on a sacrifice fly.
The Lobos got their offense going in the fifth as they scored four runs off four hits. After attempting to squeeze Mariah Rimmer at home, the Lobos put a run on the board off Chelsea Johnson’s single through the left side that scored Karissa Haleman from second. With runners, at first and third, Michala Erickson took the first pitch of her at-bat over the center field wall, giving the Lobos a 4-2 lead, going into the fifth. Erickson’s home run was her seventh on the season.
The Lobos knew Colorado State wasn’t going to give up as it is always a dog fight with the Rams.
“We always have competitive series against Colorado State, no matter what the records are. That was a lot of fun. We had great pitching, great hitting and great defense today. It was a tough fought game. I knew that they would put runs up and I’m really proud of these girls of toughing it out and being gritty.”
Coach Beach put in Carrie Sheehan to close out the game after Rodrigues hit the first batter of the fifth. The Rams ended up scoring two runs in the inning to tie the game up at 4-4.
New Mexico’s offense came up clutch in the fifth inning as Rimmer blasted out her fourth home run of the season to score Jasmine Casados, who reached on a single up the middle.
Rimmer’s two-run shot gave the Lobos the lead for good as Sheehan came into the circle the next two innings and shut down the Rams, giving up only one hit and ending the game on a double play.
The Lobos did get an insurance run in the sixth as Gabrielle Stacey reached on a throwing error and scored on Rimmer’s ground out to second base.
Sheehan grabbed the win in the circle and she improves her record to 7-4 on the season. She allowed one run off four hits while striking out one.
The Lobos pounded out eight hits on the day. Rimmer went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Erickson was 1-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and a run scored.
New Mexico improves to 24-20 on the season and is now 8-7 in the Mountain West. Colorado State drops to 22-22 on the season and 3-9 in the MW. The Lobos take a break from conference action for the second episode of the Rio Grande Rivalry as they travel down to Las Cruces to take on NMSU. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. MT and will be available on ESPN3.com.
“It is always good to win a conference series,” said head coach Erica Beach. “After losing the first game of the series and coming back, it’s a big testament to the toughness of our team.”