Lobos Win Fourth-Straight Game Following 6-2 Victory Over Buffalo
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The bats remained hot for the New Mexico softball team on Saturday night, with three Lobos (Taryn Young, Reyan Tuck, Emma Bramson) going 2-for-3 at the plate and outfielder Andrea Howard leading the way with a perfect 3-for-3 performance at the plate that included two solo home runs.
Along with the timely hitting, the Lobos received another complete game from sophomore Amber Linton, who allowed just four hits and struck out nine while walking one.
After Linton retired the Buffalo batters with three strikeouts after the leadoff hitter reached, and as has been the case five times this season, the Lobos went straight to work on putting runs on the board to support Linton.
Howard singled to center field to start the two-out rally, with Bramson following on the next at-bat with a single to right field. However, on the play, the Bull outfielder misplayed the ball, allowing Howard to go to third and round for home, reaching safely for the first run of the game. Young kept the inning going with a double to the wall in left center, scoring Bramson for the early 2-0 Lobo lead.
UNM is outscoring its opponents 10-4 in the first inning and is 5-0 when scoring in the first inning and 7-1 when scoring first. Howard added to the lead in the bottom of the third with a two-out solo home run to right field, while the Bulls didn’t get on the board until the fifth with two runs on three hits to make it a 3-2 game.
Linton and the defense kept Buffalo off the board in the first four innings, allowing just one hit through the first four frames, struck out four of the first five hitters and retired the side in order in the third and fourth.
The Lobos added three insurance runs in the sixth, with Howard again hitting a home run, this time to center to lead off the inning. Bramson and Young both added singles to the outfield, and Briana Martinez executed a sacrifice bunt to move them both over into scoring position. A Tuck single to left field brought both runners in for the final runs of the game.
A fly out to Young in right, a final strikeout for Linton and a liner to Howard in center in which the Lobo tracked down the ball secured the 6-2 victory and the fourth-straight win for the Lobos.
Saturday was the third time this season that the Lobos have scored six runs and the third time allowing just three runs, going 3-0 in both instances.
With the win, Linton improves to 5-1 on the season with three complete games, and has struck out 43 hitters to 13 walks. Linton has pitched in all three games of the Lobo Classic with a 0.98 ERA and 20 strikeouts to four walks and two earned runs.
The Lobos improve to 9-3 on the season and 3-0 at home. In the three games of the Lobo Classic, Howard has tallied four hits, two of which were home runs, and a 1.250 slugging percentage. Bramson also has had four hits, with an .875 slugging percentage and a .636 on-base percentage.
UNM concludes the Lobo Classic against Tarleton on Sunday, closing the classic with a 12:30 p.m. game against the Texans.