Saturday, April 18, 2015

DENTON, TEXAS — Susannah Chandler (So., SS, Farmington, N.M./Piedra Vista HS) and Elizabeth Velasquez (Sr., LF/3B, Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces HS) batted .400 for the Eastern New Mexico University softball team (16-28; LSC 3-19) in Saturday's Lone Star Conference doubleheader, in Denton, Texas. Texas Woman's University (22-18; LSC 14-6-2) won the opener by an 8-0 score and claimed the nightcap, 5-1, at Pioneer Field.
 
Junior third baseman Morgan Green (Carmichael, Calif./Del Campo HS/Sacramento City College) extended her hit streak to six games with a single in the fifth inning of the opener, but saw her run snapped in the nightcap.
 
The teams will conclude their series on Sunday. The first game of the doubleheader will begin at 12 p.m. MT.
 
Game 2
Nicole Nordie led off the nightcap with a single up the middle and staked the Pioneers to a 1-0 lead on a two-out single from Alyssa Galaz. The Pioneers added two runs in the second inning to seize a 3-0 advantage.
 
Pioneer pitcher Tori Bice was working a shutout and limited Eastern to two singles over the first four innings.  Aurelia Sandoval (Sr., RF, Farmington, N.M./Piedra Vista HS) led off the Zia fifth with an infield single, while Elizabeth Velasquez and Katie Ripple (So., 1B, Rio Rancho, N.M./V. Sue Cleveland HS) followed with hits to load the bases with no outs. Audrey Velasquez (So., Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces HS) plated Sandoval with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to left, but Bice retired the next two runners to retain the 3-1 advantage.
 
Tylia Sylestine's two-run double in the bottom of the inning gave the Pioneers a four-run advantage. Eastern received base hits from Chandler and Audrey Velasquez in the sixth and seventh inning, but were unable to push any runs across the plate.
 
TWU held an 8-7 lead in total hits. Chandler and Elizabeth Velasquez both batted two-for-three. Vanessa Ramirez (Sr., P, Lubbock, Texas/Lubbock HS) went the distance and scattered eight hits. Bice allowed seven hits and struck out two batters to earn the win for the Pioneers.
 
Game 1
In the opener, Amanda Martinez (Sr., CF, Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown HS/El Paso CC) reached on a one-out single, before taking second base on a ground ball. The Pioneers escaped the jam took a 3-0 lead on Kendra Sancet's three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. TWU sent nine batters to the plate in the inning and seized a 6-0 lead. Texas Woman's added two runs in the third inning and the game ended after five innings, due to the Pioneer's eight-run lead.
 
Ramirez entered the game in the second inning and limited the Pioneers to just a pair of earned runs on two hits the rest of the way. Texas Woman's held a 5-2 edge in total hits. Martinez and Green both batted one-for-two, while Jacqueline Candelaria (Sr., 2B, Los Lunas, N.M./Los Lunas HS) drew a walk. Bice went five innings for TWU to notch her 13^th win of the season.