Friday, April 08, 2016

CANYON, TEXAS — A three-run first-inning homer off the bat of Morgan Green staked the Eastern New Mexico University softball team (11-33; LSC 3-19) to a 3-0 lead over second-ranked West Texas A&M (42-2; LSC 24-2). The blast gave the Greyhounds their first lead over the Lady Buffs since a similar first-inning 3-0 lead on April 24, 2013. WT went on to sweep the doubleheader by scores of 9-1 and 13-5, Friday at Shaeffer Park.

The home run marked the 21^st game this season in which West Texas A&M has faced a deficit. The last time ENMU held a lead on the road against WT, came on April 29, 2011. In the opener, Kyra Sirag reached base for the 11^th consecutive game, while Marleyna Piñon extended her hit streak to six straight games.

The teams will conclude their LSC series on Saturday, with another doubleheader. The first pitch is set for 2 p.m. MT.

Game 2
Two outs into the nightcap, Erikka Burke and Susannah Chandler hit back-to-back singles to start a Greyhound rally. Green followed by driving her fifth homer of the season, inside the left field foul pole. The hit was her first homer since a home game against Lubbock Christian on March 1.

Kissell worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, and allowed ENMU to maintain its 3-0 lead into the second inning. She also retired the first two batters in the Lady Buff second inning, but WT managed a walk followed by consecutive doubles from Shayne Starkey and Brittany Cruz, to pull within 3-2.

A two-out RBI double from Katie Ripple in the fourth inning allowed Eastern to push its advantage to 4-2, but West Texas A&M exploded for six runs in the bottom of the frame to seize an 8-4 advantage. The Hounds continued their two-out magic in the fifth, as back-to-back doubles from Burke and Chandler allowed ENMU to pull within three runs, 8-5. WT plated the final five runs in the game, which ended in the sixth, on a RBI double from Brittany Gehle.

Green and Chandler both batted two for three, while Burke hit two for two. Shea Ibrahim paced WT with four RBIs. Alexis Alfonso tossed 4.2 innings and moved to 9-0, while Tori Bayer notched her eighth save of the season.

Game 1
Home runs dominated the line score of the opener, as the Lady Buffs took a 4-0 lead on a grand slam from Cruz. A fourth-inning grand slam from Gehle stretched WT's advantage to 8-0, before the Hounds scored in the fifth. Piñon led off with a triple to right field and Natasha Kissell followed with a single up the middle. Andrea Sitter had the fourth homerun of the game in the bottom of the fifth, and the game was ended due to the Lady Buff's eight-run lead.

Piñon batted two-for-two for the Greyhounds. Kilee Halbert tossed a four-hitter for WT and moved to 17-1 on the season.