Tuesday, February 09, 2016
PORTALES, N.M. — The Eastern New Mexico University softball team (2-0) exploded for five runs in the fifth inning during Tuesday's season opener and never looked back en-route to a doubleheader sweep of Oklahoma Panhandle State (5-6) at Greyhound Field.
Morgan Green batted .667 with two homers and five runs batted in, as ENMU won the opener 11-6, before a 13-2 five-inning victory in the second game.
"Great job today," said head coach
Katie Welborn. "I couldn't be more proud of the girls. They really showed how seasoned we can be on the field today. I'm proud of every single one of those girls who pushed through from the get go."
The opener marked the first time the team opened the season successfully at home under a new coach since the 2003 season under Ron Landschoot. It also marked the first doubleheader sweep to open a season in team history. Over the doubleheader, the Greyhound pitching staff fanned six batters and allowed just a pair of walks.
Game 1The teams traded early homeruns, as the Aggies scored first when Anyssa Barbosa led off the contest with a solo shot.
Morgan Green answered to tie the game in the bottom of the first, with her own solo homer. A two-run blast from Madison Heathington in the third inning staked OPSU to a 3-1 advantage. Green struck again in the bottom of the third to halve Eastern's deficit, with an RBI single to plate
Audrey Velasquez.
The score remained knotted at 3-2 in the Aggies' advantage until the bottom of the fifth.
Natasha Kissell led off with a triple to centerfield, but OPSU relief pitcher Samantha Arledge retired the next two batters. After walks to Velasquez and Green to load the bases,
Erikka Burke gave the Hounds the lead for good, with a two-run single to right field. The Hounds sent nine batters to the plate in the inning and plated five runs on four hits to take a 7-3 lead.
OPSU scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning, but stranded the game-tying run in scoring position when
Aja Secheslingloff popped up the final two batters. Eastern tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the frame and retired the Aggies in order in the seventh.
The Hounds drove in nine two-out runs in the game. Secheslingloff allowed nine hits in the winning effort with four strikeouts. She also improved to 9-2 at Eastern in games played in February. Last season, she became the first ENMU pitcher to open a season with five straight wins. Burke batted three-for-four with two RBIs, while
Susannah Chandler doubled twice for four RBIs. OPSU starter Criselda Luna allowed five hits over four innings, with just two earned runs.
Game 2After Kissell pitched around a two-out walk in the top of the first inning, the Greyhounds wasted little time in putting the nightcap out of reach.
Kyra Sirag led off with a solo homer to centerfield, before
Simone Laurenz crushed the season's first grand slam of the season. Velasquez was struck by a pitch with the bases loaded to give ENMU a 6-0 lead it would never relinquish. Before the Aggies stepped to the plate in the second inning, Eastern already held a 6-0 advantage.
Oklahoma Panhandle pushed a pair of runs across the plate in the second inning, but Eastern immediately got one back with a RBI double from Marleyna Piñon. Green smashed a three-run homer in the third inning, while Velasquez and Burke drove in the final runs as Eastern cruised to victory. The game was stopped after five innings, due to the Hounds' lead being in excess of eight runs.
Kissell allowed just two runs in the winning effort. Burke had three hits with two doubles. Five Greyhounds finished the contest with multiple hits.
The Eastern New Mexico University softball team will return to action this Friday to open play in the West Texas A&M Invitational. The Hounds will open against Metropolitan State at 12:45 p.m. MT.
