SAN ANTONIO, Texas – After only getting six hits in Friday’s games, the Lobos pounded out 27 between the two games Saturday, putting together two victories. The Lobos downed Incarnate Word 11-0 and came from behind in game two to win 5-4. The Lobos are now 6-8 on the year.
“It was great to see the team bounce back after a rough spell,” said head coach Erica Beach. “They busted out the bats today and were really great at stringing things together. We finally got those clutch hits that we’ve been missing.
“We had good pitching all around as well. I’m really pleased to see this team show grit and fight back in game two. It was a tough test and they fought hard.”
The Lobos came out with hot bats in game one, pounding out 15 hits for 11 runs. The day started off with Shelbie Franc leading off the game with a walk. She then stole second and scored on D’Andra DeFlora’s single up the middle, taking a 1-0 lead over Incarnate Word. Another run came in the second inning for the Lobos, as Callie McGarrigle scored on a fielding error by the Cardinals.
The bats really started to get going in the fourth inning. McGarrigle scored for the second time off Cheyenne Smith’s single to center field. Jasmine Casados cleared the bases with one out, scoring Franc and Smith off a shot into center field, pushing the Lobos’ lead to 5-0.
Two more runs in the fifth extended the lead to 7-0. With one out, Lauren Wilmert drew a walk and advanced to second on McGarrigle’s single up the middle. The two scored on Franc’s single up the middle.
The offense continued in the seventh with four more runs. McGarrigle doubled to left field and scored on a sac fly by Franc. Casados cleared the bases again, plating two runs off a single to left field, scoring DeFlora and Smith. Later in the inning, Casados scored the final run off Michala Erickson’s sac fly to right center.
But it wasn’t just the offense that came out firing, as defense and pitching was key in securing the victory. Freshman Jensen Main kept the Cardinals off balance the entire game. She face 24 batters, just three over the minimum of 21 in seven innings, and allowed just four hits in her first complete game shutout as a Lobo. Her record improves to 2-3 on the season. She forced the Cardinals to groundout 12 times and fly out eight times. The Lobo defense did not record an error.
In game two, the Lobos fell behind 2-0 in the second inning to UTSA but responded in the third with a run, cutting the Roadrunner’s lead to 2-1. That run was produced by Chelsea Johnson’s single to center, which scored Franc from second.
UTSA extended their lead to 4-1 in the fifth but New Mexico had an answer again, this time three runs to tie the game up 4-4. Erickson led off the inning with a home run, her second on the season. Angelica Lujan followed with a double to left and eventually scored on DeFlora’s single up the middle. Franc scored her second run of the game to tie the game up off Casados’ single to right center.
In the seventh, McGarrigle and Erickson hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. The two would advance up a base off a sacrifice bunt from Lujan. With one out, Cheyenne Smith hit a ball to short for a single, which allowed McGarrigle to score.
Krissy Fortner, who came into pitch in the fifth inning for Tess McPherson, held off the Roadrunners in the sixth and seventh innings. She claimed the victory, her first on the season. She allowed just three hits while in her three innings of work
On the day, McGarrigle led the Lobos at the plate, going 5-for-8 with five runs scored. Jasmine Casados finished with five RBIs on the day.
The Lobos will look to finish strong, as they wrap up the UTSA Classic Sunday with a single game against Texas State at 9 a.m.