Friday, April 10, 2015

PORTALES, N.M. — A seventh-inning single in the opening game of Friday's Lone Star Conference doubleheader extended the reached base streak of Amanda Martinez (Sr., CF, Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown HS/El Paso CC) to 29 straight games. The Eastern New Mexico University softball team (16-22; LSC 3-15) dropped the first game to second-ranked West Texas A&M (35-6; LSC 19-3), 13-2, and the Lady Buffs won the nightcap by a 23-0 score.
 
Martinez went 0-1 in the second game two, to end the second longest reached-base on record for the Zia softball program. The last time she did not safely reach base came against Fort Lewis College, on February 14.
 
The teams will conclude their LSC series with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The first game will begin at 12 p.m. MT.
 
Game 1
The Lady Buffs took advantage of three hit batsmen and a pair of walks, to seize a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the opener. Eastern capitalized on a one out walk to catcher Kyra Sirag (Jr., Garden Grove, Calif./Rancho Alamitos HS) in the bottom of the inning and scored after a wild pitch and two-out single from Susannah Chandler (So., SS, Farmington, N.M./Piedra Vista HS).
 
The Lady Buffs pushed their advantage to 7-1, before Audrey Velasquez (Sr., 2B, Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces HS) cracked her third homer of the season, in the fifth inning. WT plated six runs in the top of the seventh to seal the win.
 
West Texas A&M held a 14-8 lead in total hits. Audrey Velasquez and Chandler each had a pair of base hits for ENMU. Eastern turned a pair of double plays in the game and have 18 for the season (tied for 18^th on team list). Kilee Halbert went 4.1 innings for the Lady Buffs and earned her sixth win of the season with two runs allowed on six hits.
 
Game 2
In the nightcap, the Lady Buffs plated four runs in the first inning and never looked back. Eastern had five hits for the game, with a two-for-two performance from Morgan Green (3B, Carmichael, Calif./Del Campo HS/Sacramento City College). Aurelia Sandoval (Sr., C, Farmington, N.M./Piedra Vista HS) also batted two-for-two with a double.
 
Notes
The last 20-game reached base streak for a Zia was a 22-game stretch from Rebecca Quiñones during the 2010 season. Laura Thompson had a 20-game streak in 2009 and a 22-game stretch in 2008. Kristina Goodman had a 21-game streak in 2007. Nikki Gay had a 24-game stretch in 2003
 
The longest reached-base streak on record was Goodman in the 2006 season
 
The 22 earned runs allowed and nine homeruns was a record for a Zia opponent