Friday, February 17, 2017

SILVER CITY, NM — Susannah Chandler pounded out four hits, while Erikka Burke homered for the third straight game, as the Eastern New Mexico University softball team (7-9; LSC 2-0) successfully opened the Lone Star Conference portion of it schedule. The Greyhounds won the first game of its series at Western New Mexico University (0-13; LSC 0-2) 10-2, while the second game was halted due to darkness, with ENMU holding an 8-6 lead.

The win improved ENMU to 8-30-1 all-time against the Mustangs, and marked the third road victories for Eastern in the series. The victory also marked ENMU's first win in a LSC opener since a 9-1 win at Cameron in the 2014 season.

Burke's homer in the opener marked her third straight game with a round-tripper. The last time an ENMU player cracked a homerun in three consecutive games came in 2009, when Kristen Cruickshank had a five-game streak.

Game 1
Burke batted three-for-four in the opener with her sixth homerun of the season. The Greyhounds held a 9-5 edge in total hits and a 6-2 lead in extra-base hits. After taking a 3-2 lead in the fourth on a double from Kamalani Peneku and a fielder's choice off the bat of Adriana Carabajal, the Hounds put the game out of reach in the sixth.

ENMU took advantage of two Mustang errors in the sixth frame and scored seven runs on four hits. Chandler had a two-run double in the inning, and Samantha Brockman drove in the final run with a single.

Kaylee Rogers scattered five hits and fanned three to earn her fourth win of the season. Domi Shone went 5.1 innings and suffered the loss for Western New Mexico.

Game 2
ENMU trailed 3-0 after two innings in the nightcap and 4-2 after the fourth inning. The Hounds capitalized on an error in the fifth and plated five runs to take a 7-2 lead. After an exchange of runs, Eastern led 8-6 after the top of the seventh inning.

The contest was suspended due to darkness, and will be completed on Saturday along with the scheduled game at 11 a.m. MST.