PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico softball came out with vengeance Sunday afternoon at Greyhound Softball Field as ENMU won both games of the doubleheader to win the weekend series.
"I'm just so proud that we are able to pull this series off," said head coach
Amanda Fefel after the game. "To pull out in a different direction in our favor is huge."
Eastern run-ruled Cameron, 15-3, in five innings and held control in a 6-3 outing in game three.
Coming into the weekend, Eastern had only won four games against the Aggies over 36 contests.
Game 1
Cameron got off to an ideal start with a first-pitch homerun over the left field foul pole courtesy of Khamari Edwards.
Trailing 1-0 going into the bottom half of the inning, ENMU looked to respond and they did just that.
Mikenzey Patterson and
Ashley Nickerson began the comeback attempt with a pair of singles and the Aggies were able to get the next two batters out to get one out away from moving into the next frame.
With two outs,
Jennifer Gress hit a ball arching over the first baseman's head and in fair territory with a heavy sidespin going towards the outfield fence. The hit turned into a two-RBI triple and gave Eastern the advantage going into the second.
The Aggies added a pair of runs off a dinger to deep center field and held a 3-2 score through 1 ½ innings. In the bottom of the second, Eastern New Mexico got a single from
Jokaira Paredes and a base hit from Patterson gave Paredes a chance to score after she advanced to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch in the frame. Patterson advanced to second after a throw attempt to catch Paredes was unsuccessful. The right fielder, Patterson, also reached third via a wild pitch.
With a runner in scoring position,
Ashley Nickerson found her ideal pitch and drove it to right center for an RBI double and ENMU retook the lead, 4-3.
CU got one runner on in the third, but two-straight putouts at second and a groundout to third took away a scoring chance for the Aggies.
In the fourth, Cameron loaded the bases with two outs, but a commanding three-pitch strikeout from
Emma Southerland kept the Hounds with the advantage heading into the bottom side of the frame.
That is when the offensive showcase came for the Hounds.
ENMU scored eleven runs in the inning to take full control of the matchup. Fifteen different Greyhounds hit over the offensive explosion.
Jokaira Paredes got on base as she was hit by a pitch. Her teammate
Emma Southerland hit a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher to advance Paredes to scoring position. A second Hound was hit by a pitch giving
Mackenzie Shaw an opportunity to reach base.
Head coach
Amanda Fefel went to the dugout and put
Chanler Groves to pinch run at second and
Emily Muth to run at first.
Patterson placed a perfect bunt between home and the third baseman to give herself enough time to reach base safely for one of her seven hits on the day. The bunt also loaded the bases for ENMU.
Freshman
Ashley Nickerson came up to hit next for the Hounds and wasted no time.
On the first pitch she saw, the first baseman sent a deep, high-flying shot over the centerfield wall. The grand slam ignited a push that saw a season-best for most runs scored in an inning.
"To see her hit that I was so excited," said Fefel when asked about Nickerson's slam. "I think she has been putting in a lot of work. She is by far the most savvy in knowing her zone and knowing what she can hit."
Alondra Vasquez kept the action rolling as she reached on an error by the shortstop who threw the forceout a little high moving the first baseman to step off the bag.
Madison Begaye came in as a pinch runner for Vasquez.
Valeria Contreras got herself a hit as she placed a ball in an ideal spot rolling to left field and the Hounds had runners on first and second.
A walk to
Jennifer Gress loaded the bases for the second time in the inning.
Azalea Martinez drove two base runners in as she hit a ball on the left side of the field to put another two runs on the board for Eastern.
The bats continued rolling as Paredes reached base for the second time in the frame as she managed to get a RBI-single on an 0-2 count and give ENMU a 9-3 lead.
Southerland grounded out to CU's pitcher and it looked like Cameron was close to taking the game to the fifth. The Greyhounds did not let that happen as a
Mackenzie Shaw six-pitch walk loaded the bases.
With the bases loaded, Patterson kept the party going with a single to shortstop. A fielding error in centerfield on a hard-hit ball drifting from right to left in the wind allowed Nickerson to reach second and send all three base runners home to give the Greyhounds a 15-3 lead.
It only took Southerland seven pitches in the top of the fifth to give ENMU the program's first win over Cameron since 2015.
Four different Hounds finished with multiple hits in the game – Patterson (4), Nickerson (3), Contreras (2), and Paredes (2).
Southerland also managed well over five innings of work as she allowed just four hits and four walks with three strikeouts over 85 pitches thrown.
Game 2
Game two of the doubleheader got off to a fairly similar start for the Aggies as they scored the game's first run. How it happened was much different than the first game.
With one out, CU earned a single to get on base. That base runner advanced on a passed ball, but was tagged out at third on a fielder's choice play. The runner on first stole second to get herself in scoring position and her teammate at the plate walked.
The next batter hit a ball to
Madison Begaye and she threw the ball just too high for
Ashley Nickerson to get the out. This allowed the baserunner on second to come all the way home to score and give the visitor's another lead.
In the bottom half of the inning, ENMU managed to get on base after a
Mikenzey Patterson single and a
Valeria Contreras walk, but the game moved to the second before a run could score.
Starting pitcher
Marissa Rodriguez allowed a leadoff walk in the second, but forced three straight ground balls to move the Hounds into the bottom side of the inning.
With two outs in the second,
Aylene Lucero placed down a perfect bunt to reach safely.
Rodriguez found herself with a hitter's count (2-0) and lined a shot to right center for an RBI-double and tied the game at 1-1.
Patterson hit a ball that came off the pitcher's glove and allowed her just enough time to get another single and move Rodriguez to third.
With runners on the corners, Nickerson blasted a pitch to left center for a two-RBI double and gave her team a 3-1 advantage.
Rodriguez forced Cameron to go three up and three down in the third while only throwing ten pitches.
In the bottom of the third,
Azalea Martinez started out with a base hit to left field. The Albuquerque native advanced to second on a ground out to the pitcher.
Fefel went to
Torianna Borunda as a pinch hitter on the next plate appearance. She was hit by a pitch and now the Hounds had two base runners with just one out.
Lucero swung at the first pitch she saw and flied out to left field to bring up Rodriguez to hit with two outs.
The Greyhounds' pitcher hit a nice shot down the left field line for a double which gave enough room for both runners to score on the play.
On the ensuing at-bat,
Mikenzey Patterson earned another single as she advanced Rodriguez all the way home for her team to take a 6-1 lead into the fourth.
Cameron threated in the top half of the inning as they scored two runs and cut into the deficit. They looked to earn more runs, but ended up leaving two runners on base.
With the game locked at 6-3,
Brook Leger came into the contest and pitched in relief for Rodriguez. The senior only saw ten hitters over the next three scoreless innings and earned her first save of the season.
The two straight victories mark the first time ENMU has accomplished that feat over CU in program history and the Greyhounds moved to 16-14 (8-10 LSC) on the season.
Rodriguez managed to only allow three runs with two earned. She finished the afternoon with two strikeouts and allowed just five hits over four innings of work. Rodriguez also went 2-for-2 at the plate with a pair of doubles and three RBI's.
"Marissa's been one of those players that has been silent, but deadly," said Fefel on the starting pitcher. "It's good to get her some quality innings. I'm very happy she is able to pick up her first win."
Over both games combined, Patterson went an impressive 7-for-8 at the plate with all seven hits tally as singles. She drove-in three runs and stole a base in game two. The right fielder also scored five runs with four of them coming in the team's 15-3 win.
"I wanted to focus on using the ground more and use my speed any way I could," said
Mikenzey Patterson after the two wins. "I think we did amazing. Our bats came alive today and our energy was amazing in the dugout."
The focus on playing small ball definitely made a difference to the team and their ability to pull off the series win.
"We need to use Mikenzey as a table-setter," said Fefel on Patterson after the contest. "I think speed kills for her."
Eastern New Mexico now looks ahead for a three-game set on the road against Angelo State with a doubleheader set for March 17 and the closing matchup on March 18.
