EL PASO, Texas— A complete-game masterful performance from McKenna Guest combined with three home runs powered the Lobos past the Miners by the score of 3-2 for their fourth consecutive win and seventh win in the last eight games.
Guest finished with a season-high eight strikeouts in her fourth complete game of the season and 22nd of her career. The junior struck out five in the first three innings and didn’t allow a hit until there was one out in the fifth inning. Up until that point, only two Miners had reached base on a walk and a hit-by-pitch and Guest had recorded six strikeouts.
It took all of two at-bats for the Lobos to take the lead with Allie Williams hitting a solo home run to right, her third of the year, and added consecutive home runs from Miracle McKenzie and Gabrielle Briones in the fourth. The Miners scored two runs in the sixth with UTEP having the tying run on third, but the Lobo defense prevailed with Guest getting the strikeout.
Holding a 1-0 lead, DeNae Vasquez-Dickson led off the third with a double to left center and moved to third on a grounder to second but a flyout to center left her in scoring position. In the bottom half of the inning, Guest struck out two with UTEP having a runner reach second on a hit-by-pitch and stolen base with a grounder to Estrella Rowe at third providing the final out.
Leading off the fourth, McKenzie blasted the second pitch of her at-bat over the fence in left center for her team-high fifth home run of the season, with Briones following suit with a home run to right on the second pitch of her at-bat for her third home run of the season. Of note, McKenzie’s five home runs through the first 19 games matches her season total from her freshman season.
Guest and the Lobo defense retired the side in order in the fourth and following a strikeout to start the bottom of the fifth, the Miners tagged Guest with her first hit allowed on a double to right. A flyout to right allowed the runner to tag to third for the second out, but a popup to Mya Pacheco at second ended the inning.
The Miners again had a runner reach scoring position on a leadoff double in the sixth, and after a flyout to left, scored their first run on a throwing error to first that allowed the runner from second to score. Following a Guest strikeout for the second out, the Miners made it a one-run game on a double to center that brought in a second run with the tying run taking third on a wild pitch on the next at-bat. However, Guest kept the Lobos in front with a strikeout.
In the seventh, UTEP had the tying run reach on a one-out single to the outfield with a grounder to McKenzie at first resulting in the second out and the runner advancing to second, and on the 1-2 pitch, a grounder to Rowe at third ended the game.
Each team recorded four hits in the game, with all four Lobo hits going for extra bases.
With the win, the Lobos improve to 10-9 on the season.