LUBBOCK, Texas – Eastern New Mexico softball tallied a win and loss against Chadron State in a doubleheader with the South Central region foe Wednesday afternoon.

Game 1
Looking to start out strong, ENMU loaded the bases in the top of the first. The early boost provided the Greyhounds with some cushion in its lineup, but the score stayed locked at 0-0 as Chadron State got out of a testy jam.

Senior Brook Leger got the start for Eastern as she was looking to win her fourth game in six days. The Albuquerque native looked dominant as three batters came up and three batters went down.

The next scoring chance for the Hounds came in the top of the second. Jokaira Paredes got the momentum swinging forward with a shot down the left side for a basehit single. Leger helped move Paredes to second on a sacrifice.

Three straight batters walked to score Paredes and give ENMU the lead.

Leger continued to manage the game from the circle as she went three up, three down in the second and fourth inning and allowed her only hit on the night in the third.

"I think I pitched pretty good in the first game," said Leger after the doubleheader. "Got the job done and defense worked well behind me and that's all you can ask for."

Then, the fifth inning happened.

For quick recap, the Greyhounds played 11 runs in the half inning to take full reins of the contest.

Although the stat is not readily available to find, ENMU did have a game back in 2008 against the University of Southwest where they scored 11 runs in the fourth inning on their way to a 28-0 victory.

Now, how did the Hounds roll past the Eagles in game one?

Jennifer Gress got the action started with a double to left center and Azalea Martinez single to left field to put the runners on the corners.

Alondra Vasquez hit a line shot straight out of the ballpark for a three-run homerun.

Taighen Whitzel followed the action up with her second hit of the afternoon – a single to center field.

Then, a throw by CSC's third baseman got out of control and allowed Ashley Nickerson to advance to third and eventually score Chanler Groves who came in as a pinch runner for Whitzel.

Jokaira Paredes hit a deep ball to right field with enough distance for Nickerson to score on the sacrifice. Now, the bases became empty.

Edyn Lopez came into the game as a pinch hitter and lined out to the second baseman.

A new set of craziness happened with the Eagles only needing a run to get out of the inning. Katelyn Cifuentes walked, Kianna Galindo singled, and Jennifer Gress walked in her second plate appearance of the inning to load the bases.

Martinez smashed a double to left center scoring all three players on base. Vasquez followed it up with a double of her own giving Martinez enough time to cross the plate. Groves came up to the plate and singled to right field. At this point, Vasquez had just enough time to beat out a throw to home and score.

The big inning's last run came after Ashley Nickerson got jammed, but was able to trickle a ball into center field past the second baseman.

Leger secured the win as she allowed one walk before garnering a third out. The only other pitcher with four victories early in the season is Camryn Bailey from Mississippi College. She moves to 22 wins all-time which ranks tied for sixth in program history.

Game 2
The Greyhounds began an early attack in game two of the doubleheader with Chadron State. Jennifer Gress began the game with a walk, but got out on a fielder's choice pushing Vasquez to first base. An error on the second baseman put Ashley Nickerson on first and advanced Vasquez to third.

However, the Hounds would leave the two runners on base and head to the bottom half of the inning.

Marissa Rodriguez got the start for ENMU and went three up, three down.

The second inning started with a Jokaira Paredes single, but the Hounds were unable to gain additional run support to take the first shot in the game.

In the bottom half, CSC struck first with a homer to right center.

Eastern New Mexico took a brief lead in the top of the third as Jennifer Gress began the inning with a double and scored on an error. Then, a sacrifice bunt allowed Azalea Martinez to score later in the frame. Down 2-1, the Eagles answered back in a big way.

CSC posted four runs on four hits in an inning that saw nine different batters at the plate.

Despite getting two runners on base in the following frame, ENMU was unable to plate any additional runs in the fourth. Instead, the Eagles increased the lead to 7-2 with a pair of scores in the fourth off two hits and an error.

A slow rally began for Eastern as Ashley Nickerson scored on a sacrifice fly from Paredes.

In the sixth, the Greyhounds scored three runs on fie hits to get the game within one run, 7-6.

With one final shot to regain the advantage, ENMU put two runners on base courtesy of walks. Eastern had Gress at the plate who had reached base on her previous four appearances in the game. However, her final at-bat of the evening ended with a groundball played by CSC's first baseman to clinch the Eagles first win of 2023.

"I believe in my team," said Azalea Martinez after the game. "We're going to come back this weekend and kick some butt."

The Greyhounds will play five games at the West Texas A&M Invitational from Feb. 10-12. They will face the likes of New Mexico Highlands, Fort Lewis, and Colorado Mesa.