The NMHU Softball team won their four game home series with the Orediggers of the Colorado School of Mines three games to one, on 2/25-26. The Cowgirls split their final double header of the series, on Sunday, 2/26. The Cowgirls came back in the first game of Sunday's double header to take the 11-10 victory. In game two, the Orediggers' bats finally came alive and they went on to take the 10-1 victory in five innings. With the split of the second double header in the series against the Orediggers, the Cowgirls, led by Head Coach Shellie Broyles, improve to a 3-1 record in the RMAC and 8-6 in overall play. Thanks to their successful 3-1 win in their first RMAC series, the Cowgirls are currently in fourth place in the conference.
The Orediggers got off to a good start in the first inning of game one against the Cowgirls. They scored four runs in the top of the first inning off of a grand-slam homerun by Molly Thiebaut. The Cowgirls managed to score one run in the bottom of the first inning. The Orediggers got another run in the top of the second inning, while the Cowgirls weren't able to score in the bottom of the inning. After two innings, the Orediggers had the 5-1 lead. Neither team scored in the third or fourth innings. The Cowgirls held the Orediggers scoreless again in the top of the fifth inning, then their bats came alive in the bottom of the fifth.
Lynette Directo hit a two-RBI double to get things started for the Cowgirls in the fifth. Then three batters later
Molly McDougall stepped up to the plate and hit a three-run homerun over the left field wall. The Cowgirls got five runs off of five hits in the fifth inning and took the 6-5 lead. The Orediggers regained the lead in the top of the sixth inning off of an RBI single down the left field line, taking back the lead 7-6. The Cowgirls bats were hot again in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Krista Mattice hit an RBI double down the left-field line that scored
Erica Wieck.
Katie Kerr then hit an RBI single to score Mattice.
Lynette Directo got an RBI and reached first base on a fielder's choice. A few batters later,
Alisha Perry reached base after being hit by a pitch, which allowed a run to score because the bases were loaded. The Cowgirls got four runs off of four hits in the sixth inning and took the 10-7 lead. The Orediggers tied the game up with three runs off of three hits in the top of the seventh inning. The Cowgirls once again reached down for some clutch offensive plays in the bottom of the seventh.
Krista Mattice hit a single and was advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by
Brittany Potter. Mattice then went to third on a well hit grounder to the shortstop by
Katie Kerr.
Lynette Directo went to the plate and with two outs fought off the Orediggers' pitcher until she was able to drive in the winning run with a well hit single to right-center field. The Cowgirls won game one of the double header in the seventh inning by the final score of 11-10.
Jessica Brink started the game in the pitcher's circle for the Cowgirls. Despite giving up the grand slam in the first inning, she regained her composure and continued to pitch a good game. Brink threw five and a third innings from the pitcher's circle. She faced 29 batters, struck out four, walked two and allowed seven runs on nine hits.
Erica Wieck (4-6) came in to relieve Brink in the bottom of the sixth inning. Although she wasn't able to secure the save, Wieck went on to capture her third win of the weekend. She threw one and two-thirds innings from the pitchers circle. Wieck faced 11 batters, struck out one, walked one, and allowed three runs on four hits, although only two of the runs she allowed were earned.
The Cowgirls' offense played really well in game one of Sunday's double header, combining for a .441 team batting average. They bailed out the Cowgirls' pitching staff with 11 runs off of 15 hits, hit one homerun, and three doubles.
Krista Mattice,
Molly McDougall, and
Lynette Directo were the offensive leaders for the Cowgirls in game one. Mattice went 3-4 at the plate with two doubles, four runs scored and one RBI. McDougall hit her second homerun of the weekend against the Orediggers. She was 1-3 from the batter's box, with three RBIs and one run scored.
Lynette Directo was 2-5 at the plate, with a double, four RBIs and two runs scored. Directo hit the game winning RBI single for the Cowgirls in the seventh inning.
After dropping three straight games to the Cowgirls, the Orediggers came out in game two of Sunday's double header looking to get something out of their weekend series on the road. The first two innings were a pitcher's duel with no runs scored by either team. Then the Orediggers opened up the scoring in the third inning with three runs off of two hits to take the 3-0 lead. The Orediggers shutout the Cowgirls offense in the bottom of the third inning, then commenced to scoring three more runs from four hits in the top of the fourth inning.
Brittany Potter got to the plate in the bottom of the fourth and hit a solo homerun over the left-field wall to get the Cowgirls on the scoreboard. After four innings of play the Orediggers were still in the lead 6-1. The Orediggers just kept scoring in the fifth inning. The majority of the damage came off of a monster three-run homerun, by Kamee Vessey, that cleared the scoreboard in center field. They managed to drive in another four runs off of three hits in the inning to extend their lead to 10-1. The Cowgirls attempted to get back into the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Despite getting a hit and having two runners on base, the Cowgirls couldn't convert any of that into runs. The game was called due to collegiate softball's run rule in the fifth inning, with the Orediggers getting their first win of the weekend 10-1.
Erica Wieck (4-6) was credited with the loss in game two of Sunday's double header. She threw three and two-thirds innings from the pitcher's circle and faced 23 batters. Wieck allowed six runs on seven hits, but only three of those runs were earned. She struck out two batters, walked three and allowed a run to score on a wild pitch.
Jessica Brink came in to relieve Wieck in the fourth inning. She threw one and a third innings and faced eight batters. Brink allowed four runs on three hits, struck out two batters and walked one.
The Orediggers' pitcher, Ashley Goletz, shutdown the Cowgirls' offense in game two, only allowing three hits. The Cowgirls combined for a .167 team batting average, with only one run scored off of
Brittany Potter's homerun.
Brittany Potter,
Lynette Directo, and
Molly McDougall each managed to get a hit in the game.
The Cowgirls played a very impressive first RMAC series this past weekend. The managed to win the first three games against a very talented Orediggers' team. Some highlights for the Cowgirls during the series were:
Erica Wieck's two-hit shutout in game two on Saturday, and
Molly McDougall's two homeruns in the series. The Cowgirls played well as a team on offense and were able to drive in runs when they needed them, getting game winners in the seventh inning of two games this weekend. The Cowgirls look to be contenders in the RMAC this season.
The NMHU Cowgirls will continue conference action, on 3/3-4, as they host the Mavericks of Colorado Mesa University for a four game series at Brandt Field, in Las Vegas, N.M. The Mavericks are currently sitting in first place in the RMAC with a 4-0 conference record and 6-2 in overall play. The first game of the double header, on 3/3, is scheduled to begin at 12 pm with the second game of the double header to follow shortly after the completion of game one. Come on out to Brandt Field to catch the Cowgirls in action.
Click
HERE For Complete Game One Stats
Click
HERE For Complete Game Two Stats
GO COWGIRLS!!!
