Vasquez-Dickson Walks Off Lobos as Linton Throws Complete Game
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— After Fresno State tied the game at three with two outs in the seventh, DeNae Vasquez-Dickson and the Lobos persevered and walked it off in the ninth on a hit to the gap in left center that scored Rachael Hathoot for the winning run on Thursday night.
Amber Linton struck out her fifth batter of the game to leave the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, and after a leadoff strikeout in the bottom half, Hathoot hit the first pitch she saw to center to put the go-ahead runner on. Hathoot stole second to set up Vasquez-Dickson who worked back from a 1-2 count to draw a full count before putting the ball in play and as the ball rolled towards the wall in left center, Hathoot promptly rounded third to score easily.
Vasquez-Dickson finished with a team-high three hits and two RBI in the game, one of three Lobos with multiple hits and one of eight Lobos with a hit as UNM outhit FS 12-9. Hathoot finished with two and Chloe Yeatts recorded two hits, one of which was a solo home run in the sixth to give UNM the 3-2 lead.
Of note, it was the third consecutive game that Yeatts has hit a home run, and with Keyannah Chavez’s home run in the first inning, it is the fifth time this season that the Lobos have hit multiple home runs. In addition, the Lobos are now 9-5 in one-run games, 3-2 in extra inning games, 12-0 when leading after six innings and have won five of their last seven games.
Linton and the Lobo defense retired the side in order to start off the game and Chavez put the Lobos on the board with a two-out solo home run to center for her seventh home run of the season.
However, the Bulldogs took the lead in their next at-bats with two runs on three hits with the Lobos preventing any further runs on a grounder to Sydney Carithers at third for the third out to leave the bases loaded.
The Lobos pulled even in the third following a leadoff double down the right field line from Emma Bramson and with the top of the lineup up, Hathoot put runners on the corners with a single through the left side and stole second on Vasquez-Dickson’s at-bat to put two runners in scoring position. Vasquez-Dickson delivered her first clutch hit of the game with a single to right field to bring in Bramson, forcing a Fresno State pitching change, and while Chavez reached on a hit-by-pitch to load the bases, consecutive outs stopped the Lobos from plating any more runs.
A scoreless fourth and fifth inning kept the game tied at two, and after the Bulldogs stranded a runner on third after a leadoff double and a sac bunt, Yeatts broke the tie on a two-out home run to left field.
Linton opened the seventh on a strikeout and following a single up the middle and grounder to Hathoot at short for the second out, a full-count walk put the tying run on second. FS hit a single to right to tie the game at three and resulted in a runner on third and a runner on second, but a grounder to Carithers at third left two more stranded.
UNM had an opportunity to walk it off in the seventh after Carithers led off with a single to right field and Hathoot sacrificing her over to second. Vasquez-Dickson singled to left as Carithers moved to third, and the Bulldogs chose to intentionally walk Chavez to load the bases with one out. A fielder’s choice with the force out at home for the second out and a grounder to third sent the game to extra innings.
Neither team was able to get a runner on in the eighth, although the Bulldogs did load the bases in the ninth on two hit by pitches and another walk following a full count, but Linton ended the threat with a strikeout, setting up the walk-off led by the top of the lineup.
Linton threw a season-high 173 pitches in the outing, 101 of them going for strikes, in the season-high 9.0 inning complete game for her first complete game of the season. Linton pitched seven scoreless innings and added five strikeouts to her career total to give the Lobo 353 and moved her into fourth all-time in program history.
Game two of the series is set for Friday at 1 p.m. MT.