UNM Run-Rules Tarleton Behind Guindon One-Hitter
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— For the third time this season, the Lobo softball team got the win in less than seven innings, shutting out Tarleton in five innings in an 8-0 win to conclude the Lobo Classic Sunday.
With the win, the Lobos have won their fifth-straight game and improve to 10-3 on the season.
New Mexico was solid in all facets on Sunday against the Texans, highlighted by lights out pitching by starter Emma Guindon, who threw her second one-hitter of the season and second complete game of the season, and finished with seven strikeouts and didn’t allow a single walk. Of her 77 pitches in the game, 51 went for strikes.
At the plate, the Lobos strung together nine hits, scoring two runs in the first and never relinquished control of the game. The Lobos are now 6-0 when scoring in the first, 7-0 when outhitting their opponent and 8-1 when scoring first.
Peyton Robinson and Sydney Broderick both went 2-for-2 in their plate appearances, with Robinson finishing with two RBI and Broderick with one RBI, while Andrea Howard continued her success at the plate with a 2-for-3 outing and drove in three RBI. Sunday marked Howard’s fifth multiple-hit game and fifth multiple RBI game this season.
Guindon retired the Texans in order to start the game with two strikeouts and the Lobos needed just three at-bats to get on the board. Ashley Archuleta led off with a walk and Robinson successfully executed a bunt, reaching safely herself to put the first two hitters on. Howard singled through the right side to score Archuleta with Robinson moving all the way around to third. Emma Bramson’s at-bat resulted in Robinson scoring to make it 2-0 before the inning ended.
The Lobo defense again turned a clean inning, retiring the side in the second, and the Lobo hitters went right back to work, adding five runs on five hits in the bottom half of the inning.
Briana Martinez led off with a single that reached the outfield and Reyan Tuck followed that up with another single to the outfield to put the first two runners on for the second-straight inning. Janae Cameron drew a walk to load the bases and Broderick hit a line drive to left that caused the Texan outfielder to backpedal, with the ball just missing her glove, to score a run and turning the lineup over. After a force out led to the first out, Robinson plated two runs on a single to right center, and stole second on Howard’s at-bat to put two more runners in scoring position. Howard delivered with a hit back up the middle to bring in Robinson and Archuleta for the 7-0 lead.
Guindon recorded her third 1-2-3 inning for the Lobos, ultimately retiring the first 11 batters before Tarleton recorded its first and only hit on a single up the middle in the fourth. Guindon went on to strike out the next hitter to end the inning.
The Lobo pitcher struck out two more hitters in the fifth in her final inning of work on the day.
Bramson led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk and Taryn Young reached on a fielding error by the shortstop that allowed Bramson to advance all the way to third. Martinez loaded the bases with a walk, and entering to pinch hit, Savannah Braun ended the game with a single to the gap in left center to bring in Bramson for the run-rule. Of note, it was Braun’s first plate appearance of the season.
UNM outscored its opponents 25-10 in the Lobo Classic, with the pitchers finishing with a 1.35 ERA with 29 strikeouts to seven walks.
Up next for the Lobos: UNM heads to Santa Barbara, Calif., and the South Coast Invitational to face Wagner, UCSB and Santa Clara starting on March 3.