Friday, March 25, 2016

PORTALES, N.M. — Kyra Sirag batted five-for-seven over Friday's Lone Star Conference doubleheader and became the fifth player in team history to register 200 career hits for the Eastern New Mexico University softball team (10-26; LSC 3-15). Texas A&M-Kingsville (12-19; LSC 4-10) used big innings in both games to sweep the doubleheader by scores of 8-5 and 4-0, at Greyhound Softball Field.

"This team is my family," said Sirag. "I do what I can to score for my team. This team is great and they push me to do my best."

Natasha Kissell had singles in both games to extend her hit streak to six straight games. Sirag has hit safely in four straight contests.

"We have to be able to make adjustments offensively," said head coach Katie Welborn. "We did a great job defensively, but we have a lot of adjustments to make offensively going into the next doubleheader."

The teams will conclude their LSC series on Saturday, with another doubleheader. The first game is scheduled to begin at noon.

Game 1
Erikka Burke's one-out single started ENMU's first-inning rally in the opener. Sirag followed with a single through the right side of the Javelina infield and Susannah Chandler drew a walk to load the bases. Morgan Green drove in the first run of the game, while Kissell had a two-out, two-run single for a 3-0 lead.

Texas A&M-Kingsville pulled within a single run on Lauren Oatman's two-run double in the top of the second, but Eastern retained the lead when Kiana Zerr fanned Hayley Boyett to end the inning.

In the top of the fourth inning, the first three Javelinas all singled, but ENMU managed to get an out when Alexei Gonzalez tried to score on a hit from Lauren Angelico. Audrey Velasquez recovered the ball and threw to the plate, causing a run down. Texas A&M-Kingsville ended up with two in scoring position after Gonzalez was tagged out by Sirag. After Oatman was hit by a pitch to load the bases, the Javelinas followed with three hits to seize a 7-3 advantage.

In the bottom of the fifth, Audrey Velasquez and Kissell both drew walks, before they scored on a single from Sirag. Texas A&M-Kingsville capitalized on an error to take an 8-5 lead in the seventh and held on for the win.

The Javelinas entered the game allowing the third fewest walks in the LSC, but Eastern drew three in the game, with all scoring. Sirag batted three-for-four with two runs batted in. She notched her 200^th hit on a third-inning double. Morgan Green batted two-for-four. Kari Smith went the distance for Texas A&M-Kingsville and earned her fourth win of the season.

Game 2
The nightcap was a pitcher's duel, with neither team managing to score through the first three innings. Texas A&M-Kingsville managed to get two runs on base with no outs in the first, fourth, and fifth innings, but the Hounds relied on defense and pitching to escape all three jams. In the second inning, Sirag fielded a bunt off the bat of Sanchez, and fired a perfect strike to force Gonzalez out at second base.

The Javelinas finally struck in the sixth inning, and plated four runs on five hits and a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the seventh, ENMU received hits from Kissell and Mariah Rodriguez, to bring the game-tying run into the on-deck circle. Velasquez delivered a RBI single to right field, but Rodriguez was tagged for the final out on a relay throw, while attempting to advance to third on the hit.

Sarah Gilbert earned the win for TAMUK, with 6.1 innings of seven-hit relief. Velasquez batted three-for-four with a double, while Sirag hit two-for-three. Kissell scattered 12 hits and tossed a complete game for the Hounds.

NOTES
Sirag joined an elite group of ENMU players with 200 career hits. The list includes: Alex Mayo-Otis (275, 2007-10), Rachel Mohler (245, 1999-02), Rebecca Quiñones (235, 2007-10), and Kim Paschall (208, 1998-01)