ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico fell in a 2-1 heartbreaker to Arkansas but came back in game two to claim a 6-5 come-from-behind win over Loyola Marymount Friday on day one of the Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, Calif.
In game one, the Lobos didn’t get much offense going as they only pounded out four hits on the game.
New Mexico did get on the board first as freshman Brooke Breland started off the second with a triple to right field. Sophomore Michala Erickson hit a grounder to second but scored Breland to take a 1-0 lead.
That run for the Lobos wasn’t enough as Arkansas worked their way back in the bottom of the third off Lobo starter Lauren Soles. The Razorbacks scored a run in the third off a walk and back-to-back singles.
The Razorbacks put the game winning run across the plate in the seventh. They started off the inning with back-to-back singles to right field. The Lobos went to sophomore Krissy Fortner in the circle. She forced the next Razorback batter to groundout but the next batter hit a sacrifice fly to center to score the game-winner.
Junior Jasmine Casados led the Lobos at the plate, going 2-for-4. Breland went 1-for-3 with a triple while Erickson had the only RBI for the Lobos. Senior Lisa Rodrigues recorded the only other hit for the Lobos, a single coming in the second.
In the circle, Soles took the loss, as she allowed two runs off four hits while striking out four and walking three in six innings of work. Soles is now 1-1 on the season.
Game two was a different story for the offense. The game started out with the bases loaded for the Lobos but all three were left on base.
LMU got on the board in the second and third inning, taking a 4-0 lead over the Lobos. They added another run in the fourth for a 5-0 lead.
New Mexico began to string hits together in the fifth, scoring two runs off a freshman Cheyenne Smith double to score Jade Gray and a Breland sacrifice fly to score Smith.
“We faced quite a bit of adversity this game, but fought well as a team,” said head coach Erica Beach. “We finally got those clutch hits and came through. This was a great learning game and I know we will be a better team after a win like this.”
Freshman Colette Robert, the started for the Lobos, began to tighten her game in the circle as she did not let LMU score the rest of the game which gave the Lobos a chance to make a comeback.
And a comeback is exactly what the Lobos put together.
New Mexico put together four runs in the sixth. Rodrigues started off the inning with a walk. She moved up to third on a Erickson double down the left line. She then scored on a Mariah Rimmer single through the left side.
A Casados single scored Erickson for the second run of the inning and forced a pitching change for LMU. Breland reached on a fielding error which scored Rimmer from third. The final run for the inning came across, as Karissa Haleman was hit by a pitch with bases loaded, scoring Casados.
Robert went three-up-three-down in the sixth but LMU threated in the seventh. Fortner came in the circle for Robert and shut the next three down to earn her second save of the season and seventh of her career. Robert earned her second win in the circle to improve to 2-2 on the season.
New Mexico is now 3-4 on the season. They return to action tomorrow, taking on Bethune Cookman at 6 p.m. MT and Pacific at 8 p.m. MT on the second day of the Mary Nutter Classic. Live stats will be available for the second game. Visit the Lobos’ schedule on GoLobos.com for the link.