Chavez and Yeatts Homer as Guest Handles Miners in UNM Win
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— New Mexico freshman McKenna Guest took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, while the Lobo offense scored four runs in the third and two runs in the sixth to defeat UTEP 6-1 on Tuesday.
Guest threw her seventh complete game of the season, in which she retired nine consecutive Miners between the fourth and seventh innings and finished with six strikeouts, no walks allowed, two hits and one run in the win, her seventh of the season.
At the plate, UNM registered eight hits with three Lobos going 2-3 in Rachael Hathoot, Keyannah Chavez and Chloe Yeatts. Chavez led with two RBI, with Hathoot, Yeatts, Emma Bramson and Katherine Brunner contributing one apiece.
Guest was in control early, retiring the Miners in order in the first inning, which included her first strikeout of the game, and added two more strikeouts in the second. The freshman again retired the side in order in the third, needing just seven pitches, and had one Miner reach on a hit-by-pitch in the first three innings.
The Lobos broke the game open in the bottom of the third as Hayden Luderer reached safely on a leadoff bunt, with Sydney Carithers sacrificing her over to second as the lineup turned over. Hathoot delivered the first run of the game on a single up the middle with Luderer scoring on the play. Hathoot moved to second on the next at-bat and took third on a wild pitch. With two outs and facing a 2-2 count, Chavez drove the ball over the wall in right for her fourth home run of the season.
Her team lead in home runs didn’t last long as Yeatts sent the first pitch she saw over the fence in left field for her fourth home run of the season to extend UNM’s lead to 4-0 and force a Miner pitching change.
UNM scored four runs on four hits in the inning, with three of the runs coming with two outs.
The defense continued to execute at a high level in the fourth as after a leadoff hit-by-pitch, Guest struck out the next UTEP batter on three-straight pitches and Carithers snagged a liner at third, throwing to Bramson at first for the inning-ending double play. It was UNM’s 12th double play of the season.
Guest retired the side in order in both the fifth and sixth, while adding another strikeout to her tally in the sixth, with only two Miners reaching on hit-by-pitches through six innings.
UNM plated two runs in the six on three hits with Chavez leading off with a single through the right side following a full count, followed by a single to left field by Yeatts to put the first two on. Brunner singled to right center to bring in Chavez, and Bramson hit the ball to the warning track in left for the sacrifice fly as pinch runner Macie Andrews tagged up from third.
Guest got the first out of the inning on a grounder to Hathoot at short before UTEP broke up the no-hitter on a home run to right and added a single down the left field line. Guest recorded her final strikeout of the game for the second out and a grounder to Gabrielle Briones at second closed the game.
The Lobos resume conference play against UNLV with a three-game series starting Friday at 6 p.m. Admission for all three games against the Rebels is free.