SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The University of New Mexico softball team fell to San Diego State in the eighth inning 5-4 on Saturday afternoon at the San Diego State Softball Stadium.
The Lobos gave up a solo home run to the Aztecs in the bottom of the eighth to drop to 25-22 on the season and 9-8 in the Mountain West. SDSU improved to 31-18 overall and 14-6 in the MW.
Unlike yesterday’s game, the Lobos started out on top. After a scoreless first inning, the Lobos took advantage of a couple of SDSU errors to take a 2-0 lead in the second. Karissa Haleman led off with a triple to right center. Lisa Rodrigues followed with a fielder’s choice to third. Haleman went home on contact and was safe due to SDSU’s catcher dropping the ball. Gabrielle Stacey singled into left and advanced Rodrigues home on a muffed throw by the centerfielder.
SDSU responded back with its first run in the second but the Lobos kept the pressure on as they bounced back with another run in the top of the third. Mariah Rimmer blasted out her sixth home run of the year over the left field wall to give the Lobos a 3-1 lead.
The game went back and forth the next inning and half as SDSU put up a run in each the third and fourth as well as the Lobos putting up a run in the fourth. The Lobos went into the next inning with a 4-2 lead over the Aztecs but did not score the rest of the game.
SDSU tied the game up in the sixth with a run before claiming the game in the eighth with its final run.
Lisa Rodrigues suffered the loss in the circle, dropping to 1-4 on the season. She allowed one run off three hits while striking out one in 1.2 innings of work. Lauren Soles, the Lobo starter, and Tess McPherson also threw innings for the Lobos, combining for four runs off five hits and nine walks in 5.1 innings of work.
At the plate, the Lobos out-hit the Aztecs 9-8. Stacey went 3-for-4 while Rimmer and Jasmine Casados each had two hits and an RBI.
The Lobos will look to win its fifth series of the season with the rubber match set for tomorrow at 11 a.m. PT/noon MT start time. Live stats and live video will be available on GoLobos.com.