SAN ANGELO, Texas – For the first time since 2016, Eastern New Mexico beat Angelo State in softball. The Greyhounds and Rams split a doubleheader Friday evening and will complete the three-game series Saturday afternoon.
Game 1
The first game of the day got off to a promising start for the Greyhounds as they loaded the bases, but could not pull ahead early on in the game.
Brook Leger got the start in the circle for the Hounds and she looked good early as she sat down the first three hitters on a pair of groundouts to short and a fly out to center.
ASU struck first in the second as they used two consecutive doubles to earn the 1-0 lead.
Eastern equalized the game on a sacrifice fly to right field from
Valeria Contreras. The score proved to be the only for the Hounds in the first game of the day.
Angelo State took the lead again with a homerun in the bottom of the third and added an insurance run in the fourth off another solo shot.
The pitching duo of Genesis Armendriz and Cheyenne Floyd combined for four strikeouts and 125 pitches. The 3-1 win marked fifteen in-a-row for ASU over Eastern New Mexico.
Game 2
The Greyhounds took the second game with a different energy as they pulled off a 9-5 result over Angelo State.
ENMU began the game hot with a first-pitch homerun to deep centerfield from
Ashley Nickerson.
ASU found the equalizer in the bottom half of the inning and took the game into the second, 1-1.
Senior
Azalea Martinez came into the game without a multihit outing since March 4 after hitting eight over the first month of the season. She got off to a great start with a solo homer to leftfield. It marked her first long blast since February 11 and her fourth on the season.
"Coming out of game one I knew I had to change my approach at the plate," said Martinez after the game. "I stayed patient and waited for a pitch I could drive and I just had the mentality that the pitcher was not better than me and I was going to produce for my team. I felt comfortable in the box."
The offensive showcase broke through in the third inning for the Hounds as they plated five runs in the frame.
Madison Begaye got the rally going with a five-pitch walk.
Jennifer Gress got hit by a pitch and
Ashley Nickerson got on base courtesy of a four-pitch walk.
With the bases loaded, ASU forced two straight infield popups.
Valeria Contreras hit a hard-hit ball to shortstop and earned the Hounds the first run of the inning. Martinez then sent a deep shot to centerfield just a couple feet shy of her second homerun of the day. Instead, she settled for a two-RBI double.
Jokaira Paredes drove in the final two runners of the inning with a base hit up the middle and the Greyhounds carried a 7-1 advantage going into the bottom half of the third.
Angelo State added a run in the third and two more in the fourth to decrease the deficit to 7-4.
The fifth inning started with an
Alondra Vasquez double to left and four pitches later,
Marissa Rodriguez hit a deep shot to the same side of the field for a two-run jack.
"I felt ready and confident. I was really hyped up when my name was called to be put in next because my teammates were talking me up," said Rodriguez when asked about her role late in the game. "I can always count on my team to keep my head up above any situation I am put into."
A leadoff homer in the bottom of the fifth brought the game to 9-5 and that is where the scoreboard stayed for the rest of the night.
In the circle,
Delia Smith went 3.1 innings of work and only allowed four runs on six hits and four walks. Her teammate Rodriguez came in relief for her and held the Rams away from any additional damage. She finished with three strikeouts and only allowed four hits and a run in the final 3.2 innings for the Hounds.
Rodriguez and Martinez finished with two hits each and seven different players finished with at least one hit in the second game of the series.
The three-game set closes tomorrow with a 12 p.m. MT first pitch.
