Saturday, March 21, 2015

PORTALES, N.M. — Senior centerfielder Elizabeth Velasquez (Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces HS) pounded out four hits with two doubles as the Eastern New Mexico University softball team (14-12; LSC 2-8) dropped a Lone Star Conference doubleheader to visiting Cameron, Saturday afternoon at Zia Field. The Aggies (23-2; LSC 6-0) claimed the opener, 4-1, and won the nightcap by an 18-6 score in six innings. The teams combined for seven homeruns over the two games.
 
The teams will return to Zia Field on Sunday, to conclude the series. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. MT.
 
Game 1
In the opener, Aja Secheslingloff (Fr., P, Acampo, Calif./Lodi HS) limited the Aggies to a pair of two run homers, coming in the first and fifth innings. The freshman pitcher scattered six hits over four innings and struck out a pair of batters. Vanessa Ramirez (Sr., P, Lubbock, Texas/Lubbock HS) held Cameron scoreless on one hit over the final three innings.
 
The Zias held a 9-7 edge in total hits in the game, but stranded six baserunners through the first four innings. Eastern managed a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth, when Kyra Sirag (Jr., DP, Garden Grove, Calif./Rancho Alamitos HS) reached on an error by first baseman Sonora Zuckerman. One batter later, Aurelia Sandoval (Sr., C, Farmington, N.M./Piedra Vista HS) dropped a base hit between fielders on the right side of the CU outfield. The position of the hit caused a pair of Aggie players to collide, and an errant throw to third base allowed Sirag to score from first base and pull ENMU within 4-1. Back-to-back singles from Elizabeth Velasquez and Morgan Green (Jr., 1B, Carmichael, Calif./Del Campo HS/Sacramento City College) in the sixth inning brought the game-tying run to the plate, but Aggie pitcher Kelsey Watson retired the final five batters to preserve the win.
 
The contest marked the first time since February 19 (against Texas-Permian Basin), that Cameron had been out hit by an opponent and snapped a 14-game streak. Elizabeth Velasquez batted three-for-three for Eastern. Tara Martini and Paige Daino homered for the Aggies, while Watson went the distance and fanned five batters to earn the win.
 
Game 2
Cameron charged to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the nightcap on a Lauren Renneker grand slam followed by a Zuckerman solo homer. Eastern responded with a two-run blast from Audrey Velasquez (So., 2B, Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces HS), but could come no closer as the Aggies continued to explode offensively.
 
Susannah Chandler (So., SS, Farmington, N.M./Piedra Vista HS) registered an outstanding game for ENMU with a three-for-three performance. In the fifth inning, she smashed a three-run homer to cap her day. Audrey Velasquez hit two-for-four with her second homerun of the season. Zuckerman earned the win for Cameron and allowed six runs on nine hits over five innings.
 
Notes
The Aggies came into today's doubleheader ranked seventh in the country in hitting, eighth in scoring, third in homers and second in slugging
 
In the second inning of the nightcap, Sandoval caught a runner attempting to steal for the 38^th time in her career