Lobos Split Saturday at Tarleton Invitational
STEPHENVILLE, Texas— The Lobos showcased plenty of offense between Saturday’s two games, scoring 19 runs on 22 hits including 11 for extra bases, getting the split with a 10-5 win over Texas Southern and losing the lead late in the top of the seventh against North Dakota, 10-9. The 10 runs were the most runs scored by the Lobos this season, with the nine runs in game two the second highest.
Of the 22 hits, UNM hit six doubles, two triples and three home runs, with Jessica DeLeon hitting her second of the season, Sydney Carithers her first of the season, and Ella Dawson with her second pinch-hit home run, this time of a grand slam variety. Ashley Archuleta led the team with four hits, with two triples and one double, while DeLeon led the team with five RBI.
In the circle, Natalie Fritz was on record for both games and finished the day with 12 strikeouts.
GAME 1
Texas Southern had its leadoff hitter reach on a single up the middle and later stole second, with the Tigers getting runners in scoring position following a bunt and a passed ball, but Fritz got out of the inning with a strikeout, a popup to Katherine Brunner at short and another strikeout.
Archuleta led off with a walk, and following a fielder’s choice, Allie Williams walked to put two on for DeLeon, who drove the 2-2 pitch over the wall in right field for the 3-0 lead. It was the sixth time that the Lobos have scored in the first inning this season.
Fritz struck out the side in order in the second to give her five strikeouts on eight batters faced in the first two innings, and in the third added two more strikeouts. Between the third out of the first inning and the third inning, the freshman struck out five consecutive hitters and six of the seven Tigers faced with Carithers making a diving catch to get the foul out, accounting for nine straight Tigers retired before a single to start the fourth inning.
Offensively, the Lobos added three more runs on four hits in the bottom of the second with all runs occurring with two outs. Archuleta hit her first triple of the day to left center to score Carithers from second, with DeNae Vasquez-Dickson hitting a double down the left field line to score Archuleta and Williams hitting a double of her own to the gap in left center to score Vasquez-Dickson.
The Tigers scored a run in the top of the fourth on two singles, a sac bunt and a groundout to Archuleta at second, but the Lobos answered right back in the home half with three runs. Hayden Luderer reached on a hit-by-pitch to start the inning and Archuleta brought her around on a double to the gap in left center. Following a sac bunt by Vasquez-Dickson to advance Archuleta to third, Williams hit her second double of the game to score Archuleta. With runners on the corners and two outs, Keyannah Chavez reached on an error by the Tiger first baseman that allowed pinch runner Ava Castillo to score for the 9-1 lead before the inning came to an end.
Texas Southern scored three runs on one hit in the fifth to extend the game, with the Lobos adding a run in the bottom of the inning on a bases-loaded walk by DeLeon. The Tigers scored one final run in the top of the sixth on a home run before Fritz struck out two more in the sixth and one in the seventh.
The Lobo freshman pitched a total of 6.1 innings, throwing the first 4.0 innings and reentering with two outs in the fifth to throw the remaining innings. She finished with 11 strikeouts, the most for a Lobo in a game since 2023, as well as the most by a freshman since 2019 and tied for the second most by a Lobo freshman pitcher since 2013 when Lauren Soles struck out 14.
DeLeon led with four RBI on 2-3 hitting, with Archuleta and Williams finishing with two RBI apiece after Archuleta went 2-2 with a double and a triple and Williams went 2-3 with two doubles.
UNM finished with 11 hits, with six extra bases: four doubles, one triple and one home run.
GAME 2
The second game was the ultimate high and low with North Dakota scoring the first four runs of the game before UNM rallied with a seven-run third inning, adding a run in the fourth and sixth for a 9-5 lead, and the Hawks scoring five runs in the top of the seventh for the 10-9 final.
UND opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first after a leadoff double came around to score and added a three-run home run in the top of the third.
Carithers started the bottom of the third with a home run to left field on the first pitch of her at-bat, with Luderer singling up the middle on the next at-bat. Vasquez-Dickson drove in UNM’s second run of the game on a double to right field with Luderer scoring and after Vasquez-Dickson moved to third on a wild pitch and DeLeon walked, Miracle McKenzie hit a liner back to the circle with Vasquez-Dickson scoring on the play. Brunner kept the inning going with a single through the right side to load the bases and Dawson drove a 3-2 pitch to right center for the grand slam and 7-4 Lobo lead.
UNM scored seven runs on six hits and five of UNM’s runs in the inning came with two outs.
A double play ended the top of the fourth and the Lobos added another run in the bottom of the inning after Archuleta led off with a single and Vasquez-Dickson moved her to second on a sac bunt. A single by Williams put runners on the corners and DeLeon hit a sacrifice fly to center with Archuleta tagging for the run.
The Hawks were aided by an error to score a run in the sixth with the Lobos matching the run in the home half following a triple by Archuleta and a single to left from Vasquez-Dickson to score Archuleta.
UND rallied in the seventh with a leadoff walk and single down the right field line to put its first two on, and following a walk to load the bases, a single up the middle scored two to cut the lead to two. On the next at-bat, the Hawks took the lead on a three-run home run, with all five runs occurring with no outs.
The Lobos were unable to get the tying run on in the bottom of the seventh for the 10-9 final.
UNM closes out the Tarleton Invitational on Sunday with a game against Texas Southern at 9 a.m. MT and a game against Tarleton State following the conclusion of the TSU game.