Wednesday, April 01, 2015
LAS VEGAS, N.M. — Junior third baseman
Morgan Green (Carmichael, Calif./Del Campo HS/Sacramento City College) turned a pair of crucial double plays and belted a two-run homer as the Eastern New Mexico University softball team (15-18) split a doubleheader with New Mexico Highlands (13-19), Wednesday at Brandt Field. In the opener she started a double play in the fifth inning, before hitting a two-run homer in the sixth. Green started another double play in the sixth inning of the nightcap, with the game-tying run at the plate.
New Mexico Highlands held on to win the opener 4-3, while the Zias posted a 5-2 victory in the nightcap. With the split, Eastern won the season series from the Cowgirls, three games to one, after a home doubleheader sweep in February. Eastern is 31-23 all-time against the Cowgirls and has won six of the last seven meetings.
The Eastern New Mexico University softball team will return to action next Tuesday, for a home doubleheader against Lubbock Christian. The first game is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. MT.
Game 2Vanessa Ramirez (Sr., P, Lubbock, Texas/Lubbock HS) scattered six hits in the nightcap to improve her record to 3-1 on the season and fanned three batters. Eastern took the lead in the second inning, when
Kyra Sirag (Jr., C, Garden Grove, Calif./Rancho Alamitos HS) and
Susannah Chandler (So., SS, Farmington, N.M./Piedra Vista HS) led off with doubles.
Elizabeth Velasquez (Sr., LF, Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces HS) followed with a one-out single to give the Zias a 2-0 advantage.
Green continued the offensive fireworks and led off the top of the fifth with a double, took third on a wild pitch, and she scored on a single from
Elizabeth Velasquez. The Zias capitalized on a two-out error later in the inning, when
Audrey Velasquez (Sr., LF, Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces HS) followed with a two-run single for a 5-0 lead.
The Cowgirls finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning, with a solo homer from Ka'uilani Kamai, followed by a pair of singles and a RBI double from Gabby Hansell to close within 5-2. New Mexico Highlands had runners at second and third base with one out and the tying run at the plate in the form of left fielder Alysia Cavone. Green fielded a ground ball and threw to first base for the out, with
Audrey Velasquez firing home, where Sirag tagged Destiny Navarro for the inning-ending double play. Ramirez retired the Cowgirls in order in the seventh inning.
Eastern held a 10-6 edge in total hits.
Amanda Martinez (Sr., CF, Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown HS/El Paso CC) batted two-for-four, while
Elizabeth Velasquez and Chandler both hit two-for-three. Michelle Brincefield suffered the loss and allowed three earned runs over four innings.
Game 1Eastern got on the board first in the opener, with Green smashing a second-inning leadoff triple to right field, and sprinting home when Navarro was unable to catch a fly ball near first base from
Marleyna Piñon (Jr., RF, Rio Rancho, N.M./Volcano Vista HS). The Cowgirls quickly came back with a solo homerun from Jessica Brink to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.
Highlands took the lead for good on a two-out homerun from Hansell in the second inning. Katelyn Bates added a two-run single in the fourth inning to give the Cowgirls a 4-1 advantage. In the fifth inning, New Mexico Highlands had a runner on first base, when Green fielded a ground ball off the bat of Navarro and started an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play. Green also came up in the top of the next inning after a single from Chandler. Green took the first offering from Brink and deposited it over the left-centerfield wall for a two-run homer to pull ENMU within 4-3.
Sirag batted two-for-three with a double, while Green also went two-for-three. Ramirez blanked Highlands on one hit over the final two innings. Brink scattered six hits over a complete game to earn the win.
NotesAmanda Martinez has reached base in 26 straight games
Susannah Chandler has hit safely in five consecutive games
