Friday, March 27, 2015
KINGSVILLE, TEXAS —
Amanda Martinez (Sr., CF, Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown HS/El Paso CC) and
Jacqueline Candelaria (Sr., INF, Los Lunas, N.M./Los Lunas HS) combined to bat .500, but the Eastern New Mexico University softball team (15-15; LSC 3-11) dropped Friday's Lone Star Conference doubleheader to Texas A&M-Kingsville (11-14; LSC 3-7). The Javelinas won the opener, 4-2, and rallied for an 11-10 win in the nightcap.
Eastern had won eight of the last 11 meetings prior to today's doubleheader and posted their first win in a road series against the Javelinas, during the 2013 season. In the nightcap, Candelaria extended her team record, with the 26
th sacrifice bunt of her career. Martinez added a pair of stolen bases and trails Kim Paschal by just five for third on the career list.
The teams will conclude the series on Saturday, with another doubleheader. The first game is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. MT.
Game 1The Javelinas quick start in the opener allowed them to surge to an early 2-0 lead. Texas A&M-Kingsville sent seven batters to the plate in the bottom of the first inning and received a RBI double from Valerie Ramirez and a RBI single from Isabel Flores.
Aja Secheslingloff (Fr., P, Acampo, Calif./Lodi HS) retired the next two batters to strand runners at second and third base.
Audrey Velasquez (So., 2B, Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces HS) delivered a two-out single down the third-base line in the third inning to score Martinez from second and cut Eastern's deficit in half. One batter later, Candelaria came home from third when Ramirez was unable to handle a ball off the bat of
Kyra Sirag (Jr., C, Garden Grove, Calif./Rancho Alamitos HS). The Javelinas capitalized on an error in the fourth inning to seize a 4-2 lead they would not relinquish.
Texas A&M-Kingsville held a 9-6 edge in total hits in the game. Secheslingloff allowed three earned runs over six innings, while Carlie Clark scattered six hits to earn the win. Candelaria and
Audrey Velasquez each had two hits for Eastern.
Game 2The nightcap turned into a shootout, with the teams combining for 21 runs, 31 hits and 10 errors. With the score knotted at 5-all after two innings,
Morgan Green (Jr., 1B/DP, Carmichael, Calif./Del Campo HS/Sacramento City College) led off the Zia third with a double down the left field line. After an
Elizabeth Velasquez (Sr., LF/3B, Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces HS) sacrifice, Green scored the go-ahead run on a single from
Aurelia Sandoval (Sr., RF/C, Farmington, N.M./Piedra Vista HS). Eastern capitalized on an error in the fourth inning and pushed their lead to 7-5, when
Elizabeth Velasquez's two-out single scored
Susannah Chandler (So., SS, Farmington, N.M./Piedra Vista HS).
The Zias appeared to have control when
Audrey Velasquez cracked a two-run double in the fifth, and scored to give ENMU a 10-5 lead on Chandler's RBI double, but the Javelinas struck for four runs in the bottom of the frame. Texas A&M-Kingsville took advantage of an errant throw in the bottom of the sixth inning and tied the game at 10-all on a RBI single from centerfielder Haley Boyett. The Javelinas took their only lead of the game on Jaleen Castro's one-out, walk-off single in the seventh.
The Javelinas held a 17-14 edge in total hits and handed Eastern its first loss of the season when leading after four innings. Chandler batted three-for-five with a double. Eastern had five batters in the game with multiple hits. Bella Rosas earned the win for Texas A&M-Kingsville and allowed just one hit over the final 2.2 innings.
