PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico softball team won both games on Saturday by final scores of 4-3 and 7-0 to win their fifth and sixth straight games of the season.

That sixth straight win secures the Greyhounds their longest win streak since the 2007 season and moves them to 6-3 in Lone Star Conference play. The 7-0 win in game two of the doubleheader is the second shutout for the Greyhounds of the season as senior Hanna Gary gave up just four hits in seven innings of work to pick up the win in the circle.

Gary teamed up with fellow senior and game one starter Kimberly Herron to provide 14 innings of solid work in the circle, surrendering just one earned run between the two games. Sophomore Kayla Marshall led the charge offensively to make the strong efforts in the circle count for the Greyhounds, going 5-for-8 for the two games, knocking in two RBI's and scoring two runs herself.

The lone earned run of the day charged against the Hound's pitching staff came in the bottom half of the first inning as the Falcons jumped out to a 2-0 lead, the only lead they would hold throughout the remainder of the day. Senior Emma Gary chipped into that 2-0 advantage by knocking in freshman Iliana Mendoza with a double off the center field fence that scored Mendoza.

Neither team put a run on the board in the ensuing inning as Herron mowed down all three batters in the top of the second and worked around a lead-off single in the top of the third before junior Samantha Brockman tied up the game in the bottom half of the same inning with a single up the middle that scored Mendoza once again. Marshall then broke that 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fourth with a single up the middle that scored sophomore Jennifer McElroy to give the Hounds a 3-2 advantage.

Back-to-back errors on the Eastern defense to lead off the top of the fifth allowed the Falcons to once again square up the game at 3-3 with a sacrifice fly that scored an unearned run. Herron worked out of the jam set up by the errors and conceded that lone run to avoid any further damage.

The Hound offense took a while to help get Herron the run she needed to ensure her fourth straight win in a row, getting retired 1-2-3 in both the fifth and sixth inning before Mendoza sent pinch-hitter Iliana Mendoza home in the bottom of the seventh to record the Hound's second-straight walk off win over the Falcons, 4-3.

Marshall finished game one of the day 3-for-4 and was the only Hound to record multiple hits as seven other players recorded a hit in the game to total 10 for the team effort.
Eastern New Mexico left no doubt in the third and final game of the series, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after solo home runs from junior Elysa Rodriguez and Brockman in the second and fourth inning, while Gary shut down the offense for the Falcons, allowing just one base runner to get past second base throughout the entirety of the game.

Brockman drove in her second and third runs of the game in the fifth by way of a single up the middle that cashed in Gary and Marshall to put the Hounds up 4-0.

Gary continued to cruise through the Falcon order and set her offense up to put the final touches on the convincing win in the bottom of the second, scoring three more runs to bring the score to a 7-0 final. Marshall and Mendoza knocked in the sixth and seventh runs thanks to a triple from Marshall that scored freshman Haleigh Behncke and a single from Mendoza that scored Marshall.

Mendoza and Brockman each recorded three hits on the day, while Brockman led the squad with four RBI's.

The 3-0 series win is the second in as many weekends for the Hounds and moves the team into a tie for third place in the Lone Star Conference with Texas A&M-Commerce. The Hounds will travel to Commerce, Texas next weekend to take on a Texas A&M-Commerce team that entered the weekend ranked no. 2 in the national rankings before dropping all three games on the road at Texas A&M-Kingsville this weekend.