BOX SCORE (PDF)
HONOLULU, Hawai’i— Junior left-handed pitcher Kiana Spencer had a season-high four strikeouts, matching her season total, and pitched her third complete game of the season on Wednesday night at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, however it wasn’t enough as The University of New Mexico softball team fell 2-1 to the University of Hawai’i.
Spencer finished with a final line of 6.0 innings pitched, with five hits, two runs but only one of them earned, four strikeouts and no walks allowed on 24 batters faced. She threw a total of 88 pitches on the night with 52 of them going for strikes.
It is the fourth one-run game that the Lobos have had this season, and unfortunately have come out on the wrong end in all of them.
The Lobos could only muster three hits against Hawai’i starting pitcher Brittany Hitchcock and left five runners on base, none more pivotal than in the top of the sixth with the tying run stranded on third.
As was the case in the Lobos’ last game versus South Florida, also a 2-1 defeat, it was D’Andra DeFlora and Cameryn O’Grady that were the catalysts in getting UNM on the board. O’Grady and DeFlora were the only two Lobos to reach base when they led off an inning, and on the season, O’Grady and DeFlora are the only two Lobos that have recorded at least one hit in each game this season.
A leadoff single up the middle by DeFlora followed by a single to left center by O’Grady put runners on the corners with no one out. While Lauren Wilmert grounded out to third on the next at-bat, O’Grady was able to move up to second to put two runners in scoring position down 2-0. Monica Salas followed suit with a groundout to second, however, DeFlora was able to score from third and O’Grady advanced to third to put the tying run just 90 feet away. Maggie Buckholz made contact on a 3-2 pitch, sending it to the left field warning track, but the Rainbow Wahine outfielder was able to track it down for the third out to leave the tying run standing on third, ending what would be the last opportunity for UNM in the game.
UH (8-2) opened the game with a run in the bottom of the first on a double down the left field line that scored Brittnee Rossi from second. After the first three batters reached base and Hawai’I pushed a run across, Spencer settled in to record the first out with a strikeout and got out of the inning with two fly outs to DeFlora in center to leave runners on first and second. Hawai’i would end the game leaving a total of four runners on base.
Spencer would go on to retire nine consecutive batters and would finish the game with three innings of sitting down the Rainbow Wahine in order, which occurred in the second, third and fifth innings.
A home run by Callee Heen in the bottom of the fourth ended the streak for Spencer to put the UNM deficit at two, 2-0.
Offensively, the first hit of the game for UNM came on a Bailey Klitzke single in the top of the second, but the Lobos wouldn’t tally another hit until DeFlora’s leadoff single in the sixth.
UNM couldn’t get anything going in the top of the fourth after a leadoff walk by O’Grady, as Wilmert grounded into a double play followed by a strikeout by Salas. O’Grady’s walk was the only walk drawn by either team in the game, and DeFlora earned her way on base in the top of the first on a hit-by-pitch for the Lobos’ first baserunner.
Errors by Hawai’I in the top of the fifth gave UNM life with two outs in the inning as back-to-back throwing errors by short stop Sissy Pantastico on at-bats by Sydney Broderick and Kasey Halleen put runners on first and second with the top of the order up. However, a strikeout by Andrea Howard ended the inning with two runners left on base as the Lobos couldn’t capitalize on the two errors.
With the bottom of the lineup due up and down to its last three outs, UNM used two pinch hitters in the top of the seventh after Klitzke hit a liner back to the pitcher for the first out. However, Taylor Jones grounded out to third and Leslie Romero grounded out to first to end the game.
UNM (3-6) begins the Hawai’I Invitational tomorrow evening against DePaul at 6:30 p.m. MT.