Lobos Secure Senior Day and Series Win on Saturday
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— New Mexico earned a Senior Day and series win against Nevada on Saturday behind 10 hits while scoring in four of the six innings combined with solid pitching from starter Taylor Snow and solid defense behind her in the 6-3 victory.
Further, the series win is the first against Nevada since 2015 and the first three-game win streak against the Wolf Pack in program history.
After Snow retired the side in order to start the game and worked around a leadoff double in the second, the Lobo offense opened the scoring with three seniors contributing to the run. Peyton Robinson led off with a single to left, stole second and advanced to third on senior Leslie’s Romero grounder back to the pitcher, with senior Reyan Tuck hitting a sacrifice fly to left that allowed Robinson to tag.
UNM added on to its lead in the bottom of the third after Emma Bramson led off with a single to center and as the lineup turned over, the Lobos continued to put pressure on the Wolf Pack as Rachael Hathoot laid down a bunt and reached safely, and Keyannah Chavez battled to a full count before driving in Bramson on a single through the right side. Hathoot moved around to third on the play, with Ashley Archuleta scoring the Lobo shortstop on a sacrifice fly to center.
The Lobo defense again held strong after a leadoff double started the top of the fourth with the Wolf Pack runner stranded on third as Hathoot snagged a liner for the third out, and the offense continued to add on with two more runs on two hits.
Tuck led off with a single to left field with Maddie Boldt reaching on a fielding error by the Nevada shortstop. A Bramson single to center scored Tuck from second and moved Boldt to third with a Hathoot fly out to right deep enough to allow Boldt to tag for the 5-0 Lobo lead.
Following a fly out to right to start the fifth, Nevada had two runners in scoring position on a hit-by-pitch and ground-rule double, but the Lobos responded with Chavez making a diving catch in left for the second out and fly out to Robinson in center to keep the Wolf Pack off the board.
After Snow pitched 5.0 scoreless innings and allowed four hits and struck out two, Emmalyn Brinka entered to start the top of the sixth. The freshman walked the first two batters before settling in and recording the first out on a fly ball to Robinson in center. While both runners moved up a base, Brinka recorded a strikeout for the second out and a grounder to Bramson at third left two more stranded.
UNM added a final run in the bottom of the sixth with another senior accounting for the RBI. Hathoot hit a one-out triple to right, her seventh of the season, and Janae Cameron entered to pinch hit, driving in Hathoot on a grounder to second.
Down to its last two outs, Nevada attempted a comeback with an infield single, a walk and a three-run home run before Amber Linton entered in relief, striking out her first batter for the second out and a grounder to Archuleta at second recorded the final out.
Hathoot, Robinson, Tuck and Bramson all recorded two hits in the game with six different Lobos recording one RBI.
UNM closes out the series and the home schedule against Nevada on Sunday at 11 a.m.