AUSTIN, Texas – For the second time in a nine-day span, it took ten innings to decide a winner for Eastern New Mexico softball. St. Edward's pulled off a 2-1 victory over ENMU in the tight battle and the Greyhounds moved to 12-9 (4-5 LSC) on the season.
Brook Leger was in the circle for the Hounds and for the Hilltoppers it was Cadie Belle Curie.
Both pitchers went back-and-forth all afternoon long, but at the end of the game St. Edward's held the final advantage.
The first inning blew by quickly as both teams went three up and three down to head into the next frame.
ENMU got a runner on base courtesy of a hit by pitch and SEU reached base off an error and fielder's choice, but no damage took the game into the following inning.
The Greyhounds scored their lone run of the day in the third. The order began with a walk by Leger and a single by
Mikenzey Patterson. A sacrifice bunt from
Azalea Martinez moved the runners into scoring position. A grounder hit to third base got Leger out trying to reach home and put the Patterson and
Alondra Vasquez on the corners.
From there,
Ashley Nickerson drove a ball into left field and gave Eastern its only score of the day. ENMU managed to get the bases loaded on a
Jennifer Gress walk, but the Hilltoppers kept the visitor's away from any additional scoring threats.
St. Edward's responded nicely in the bottom half of the third as an error by Vasquez allowed a runner to score from third.
The Hilltoppers loaded the bases in the fifth, but a lineout to
Jokaira Paredes kept the score locked at 1-1.
In the seventh, both teams left one runner on base and for the fourth game of the season, ENMU went into extras.
The game ended in the tenth as SEU had a leadoff single before advancing the runner to second on a sacrifice bunt. A single into right center gave the runner enough time to score and St. Edward's took the three-game series over Eastern New Mexico.
Leger finished the contest with 9.1 innings of work allowing just seven hits on two runs – one earned and one unearned. She struckout three batters and finished with 127 total pitches.
"Brook had another great outing against St. Edward's offense. She commanded the zone and was able to keep them guessing," said head coach
Amanda Fefel on the senior pitcher after the game. "She got stronger as the game went on, but it's hard to win when we can't push runners in scoring position. We just have to get back to the drawing board this week and prepare for our next series against TAMIU."
The Hounds are back at Greyhound Softball Field for three games against Texas A&M International this weekend. A doubleheader will take place Friday with first pitch set for 3 p.m. and Saturday's contest will begin at 12 p.m. For more information, please follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
