PORTALES, NM —With her record-tying 33
rd homerun,
Erikka Burke lifted the Eastern New Mexico University softball team (15-19; LSC 8-10) to a 3-2 win in the opening game of Saturday's Lone Star Conference doubleheader. The senior first baseman also pounded out a career-best four hits as the Hounds defeated UT Permian Basin (12-24; LSC 1-14), 5-0 in the nightcap at UTPB Softball Field.
Homeruns in the Book
- Eastern is just two homers away from its fourth most homers in a season (36 in 2007)
- Burke has 11 homers this season and at least nine in each of her three seasons
- Kristen Cruickshank set the single-season record of 14 homers in 2009
- Rachel Mohler bashed her 33rd homer on March 16, 2002
Also In the Record Book
- Head Coach Katie Welborn picked up her 23rd Lone Star Conference win
- She joins Kathleen Rodriguez as the only ENMU softball coach to reach the 20-win mark in LSC play
- Welborn is also just one victory away from joining Rodriguez and Lauren Sigwing as the only coaches to win 50 games for the program
In the Series
- ENMU improved to 18-10 against the Falcons with a 4-5 record on the road
- Today gave ENMU its first road wins in the series since sweeping a doubleheader in 2000
Game 1
- Jennifer McElroy led off the Greyhound fourth with a double
- She sprinted home for the game's first run on a two-out single from Precious Aguirre
- McElroy extended Eastern's lead to 2-0, hitting a sacrifice fly in the fifth to plate Ashley Lopez
- After pitcher Leslie Reyes had retired 11 consecutive batters between the first and fourth innings, the Falcons threatened in the fifth
- With one out and two in scoring position, Reyes induced a ground ball from Aubree Avila and fanned Alyssa Lopez to escape the jam
- The Falcons capitalized on two leadoff hit batsmen followed by a single in the sixth, and tied the game at 2-all on April Arellano's two-out infield single
- One out into the Greyhound seventh, Burke faced a 2-0 count and drove her 11th homer of the season to left field for the winning run
- Reyes allowed two runs on four hits to earn her seventh win of the season
- Karina Moreno and Elysa Rodriguez each had a hit for ENMU
Game 2
- Kimberly Herron scattered four hits over seven innings to garner her first shutout of the seasonS
- Jennifer McElroy's two-out, two-run homer in the top of the first inning gave the Hounds a lead they would not relinquish
- Samantha Glover and Aguirre also drove in runs as the Hounds seized a 4-0 lead in the first inning
- McElroy continued her productive day with a RBI double in the fourth to give Eastern a 5-0 lead
- Burke had hits in the first, second, fourth and sixth innings to register the first four-hit game of her career
- McElroy batted 2-for-4
- Sloan Springfield allowed one run over 6.1 innings of relief for the Falcons
Up Next
- The Eastern New Mexico University softball team will visit Colorado Christian on Tuesday
- The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled for 12 p.m. MT