Lobos Shut Out in Sunday Series Finale at Fresno State
FRESNO, Calif.— Junior Bailey Klitzke went 2-for-3 at the plate while starting the game in the circle for The University of New Mexico softball team, as the Lobos were shutout in Sunday’s series finale against Fresno State by the score of 4-0.
Both teams had opportunities to score in the first two innings at Margie Wright Diamond, but it was Fresno State who took the lead in the bottom of the third in an eerily similar situation to Saturday’s contest before adding to its lead in the fourth.
UNM left a total of seven runners on base in four innings, including having bases loaded in the third.
The Lobos had three players tally hits with Sydney Townes and Cameryn O’Grady recording a single a piece to go along with a single and a double by Klitzke. Three different Lobos reached base via a walk with Monica Salas, Aleyah Wilbon and O’Grady all earning their way on base.
Defense kept the Lobos in the game early on as Fresno State had a chance to score in the bottom of the first. With a runner on third with one out following a leadoff single, a stolen base and a sacrifice bunt, a the Bulldogs had two runners in scoring position after a walk and a grounder to first moved the runner to second, but a foul out to Monica Salas at third ended the inning with the two runners left stranded.
Klitzke tried to help her own cause in the circle in the top of the second with a one-out double to left center, sliding in safely for UNM’s first hit and first base runner of the game. It was also UNM’s first extra-base hit of the series. Although, the Lobos couldn’t put anything more together after back-to-back strikeouts ended the scoring opportunity for the Lobos.
Inning three was a déjà vu to Saturday’s second inning in which the Lobos couldn’t take advantage of a bases-loaded situation in the top of the inning, only to have Fresno State strike in the bottom half to take a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the third, Wilbon started a two-out rally with a walk following a full count, and a Townes’ single to shallow left moved Wilbon to second, putting a runner in scoring position for the second-straight inning. O’Grady walked to load the bases, but the Lobos couldn’t plate any runs following a strikeout to end the inning. The hit by Townes extended the senior’s on-base streak to four, while O’Grady and Wilbon both extended their streaks to three with their walks.
In the bottom half, Vanessa M. Hernandez advanced to second on a passed ball following a leadoff walk, which resulted in a run after a triple to left center by McKenzie Wilson. Wilson scored on a single that dropped in to shallow right two at-bats later to make it 2-0. Klitzke got out of the inning on three strikeouts, two of which were swinging.
Fresno State went on to add two runs after a two-run home run to center in the fourth before Kennedy Ferguson came in to replace Klitzke in the circle. With runners on the corners, the Lobo defense once again minimized the damage after Sydney Broderick threw the ball to O’Grady covering second, who chased down Wilson trying to steal for the second out. O’Grady then looked the runner back to third, which proved key as pinch hitter Emily Brodner fouled out to Broderick behind the plate to end the inning and strand the runner. It was the third time this series that the Lobos threw a runner out trying to steal, with all three times involving Wilson.
O’Grady and Klitzke both singled to put two more runners on base in the top of the sixth, but UNM couldn’t string together any more hits to push any runs across. The two hits were the first hits and first base runners since the top of the third for UNM. Klitzke’s hit also marked the eighth multiple hit game of the season for the junior.
Salas drew a leadoff walk following a full count but two strikeouts and a foul out kept Salas on first and the Lobos off of the board in the top of the seventh.
Klitzke finished with a final line of 3.1 innings pitched, with four runs on six hits, three strikeouts and two walks on 18 batters faced in her second-straight start of the series. Of the 76 pitches thrown, 46 went for strikes. Ferguson pitched 2.2 innings in relief and allowed just two hits on nine batters faced. Of her 33 pitches, 19 went for strikes as the freshman didn’t give up a walk or a run in her appearance.
UNM concludes its home schedule May 3-5 against San José State starting on Friday at 6 p.m. MT.