The NMHU Softball team lost all four games of their conference road series against the Rangers of Regis University, on Saturday and Sunday, 3/24-25, in Denver, Colo. The Rangers dominated both double headers on Saturday. In game one, on 3/24, the Rangers' Nikki Haberkorn only allowed the Cowgirls three hits as the Rangers took the 7-1 victory. In game two, on Saturday, the Rangers benefitted from a six-run sixth inning to take the 13-5 victory in six innings of play. The Cowgirls started out Sunday's double header looking for a victory and almost captured it in the first game. The Cowgirls took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning, but Regis tied it up with four runs in the inning. The game went into extra innings with the Rangers claiming the 5-4 win with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Rangers closed out the sweep in the second game of Sunday's double header with a 10-2 victory in six innings. With the losses to the Rangers, the Cowgirls, led by Head Coach Shellie Broyles, fall to an 11-13 record in the RMAC and 16-18 in overall play.
In game one on Saturday, 3/24, the Rangers took advantage of a masterful pitching performance from Nikki Haberkorn. Regis scored a run in the first two innings of play and then exploded for four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Haberkorn was working a no-hit shutout into the fifth inning before the Cowgirls were able to get a hit in the top of the fifth inning. The Rangers put up another run in the bottom of the fifth inning and the score was 7-0 after five innings of play. The Cowgirls finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth inning when
Brittany Potter drove in
Erica Wieck from third base with an RBI single. The Rangers' Haberkorn continued her form in the top of the seventh inning to end the game with Regis coming out on top 7-1.
Jenelle Klassen (7-3) was credited with the loss in game one on Saturday for the Cowgirls. She threw a complete six innings from the pitcher's circle and faced 33 batters. Klassen allowed seven runs on nine hits, with only two runs being earned. She struck out four batters and walked three.
The Cowgirls' defense did not help Klassen out in the game. They committed six total errors in the game, including four errors in the Rangers' four run fourth inning. The Rangers' Nikki Haberkorn shutdown the Cowgirls' offense from the pitcher's circle, she only allowed three hits and one run.
In game two, on Saturday, the Rangers jumped out to an early lead, scoring four runs in the first inning. A Rangers' error in right field allowed the Cowgirls to score a run in the top of the second inning, but Regis came out scoring in the bottom of the inning. The Rangers put up three runs in the second inning to take a comfortable 7-1 lead. The Cowgirls scored two more runs in the top of the third inning to cut the Rangers' lead to 7-3.
Jenelle Klassen hit an RBI single to left-center field that scored
Devon Paiz and
Shelby Watts hit an RBI double to right field that scored Klassen later in the inning.
The Cowgirls scored again in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Rangers' lead down further.
Alisha Perry led off for the Cowgirls and reached first base after being hit by a pitch. Then
Erica Wieck stepped up to the plate and blasted a two-run homerun. Regis was scoreless in the fourth inning and after four innings of play the Rangers still held a 7-5 lead. The Rangers ended the game early by scoring six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Regis took the six inning victory 13-5, by collegiate softball's eight run rule.
Jessica Brink (4-2) was credited with the loss in game two, on Saturday, for the Cowgirls. She threw one and a third innings from the pitcher's circle and faced 14 batters. Brink allowed seven runs on eight hits.
Erica Wieck came on in relief of Brink in the second inning. She threw four innings for the Cowgirls and faced 22 batters. Wieck allowed six runs on three hits, but only five of the runs were earned. Wieck struck out five batters and walked seven.
The Cowgirls' offense had a better game at the plate in the second game of the double header on Saturday. They combined for a .333 team batting average with nine hits, five runs scored, and four doubles.
Shelby Watts,
Devon Paiz, and
Erica Wieck were the offensive leaders in the game for the Cowgirls. Watts was a perfect 3-3 at the plate with an RBI and two doubles. Paiz went 2-4 in the batter's box with two doubles and a run scored. Wieck was 1-4 at the plate with a two-run homerun in the fourth inning.
The Cowgirls were looking for their first win of the series and came close in the first game of Sunday's double header. Neither team was able to score in the first two innings. The Cowgirls broke the deadlock in the top of the third inning with two runs.
Alisha Perry led off with a double to center field and
Erica Wieck drove her in with an RBI double to left-center field. A couple of batters later
Brittany Potter hit an RBI single to center field that allowed
Erica Wieck to score from third base. After three innings of play the Cowgirls had the 2-0 lead.
The teams went scoreless for the next three innings of play. The Cowgirls struck again in the top of the seventh inning with two more runs.
Brittany Potter hit another RBI single that allowed
Alisha Perry to score from third base and
Erica Wieck scored from third when
Shelby Watts got on base on an error by the Rangers' first baseman. Things were looking up for the Cowgirls, but the Rangers weren't done yet. They put up four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning off three hits and two Cowgirls' errors to tie the game up at 4-4 and send it into extra innings.
Neither team got a hit in the eighth inning so the game continued on into the ninth inning. The Cowgirls managed a hit in the top of the ninth inning but couldn't capitalize. The Rangers finished the game off in the bottom of the ninth inning scoring a run off two hits to take the 5-4 victory in nine innings.
Jenelle Klassen got the start from the pitcher's circle for the Cowgirls in the first game of Sunday's double header. She threw six and two-thirds innings and faced 31 batters in her no-decision appearance. Klassen allowed four runs on eight hits, but none of the runs were earned. She struck out one batter and walked two.
Jessica Brink (4-3) was credited with the loss in relief of Klassen. She was brought on in the seventh inning and threw two innings, facing eight batters. Brink allowed one run on two hits, struck out three batters and walked one.
The Cowgirls' offense combined for a .285 team batting average in game one on Sunday. They had 10 hits with four runs scored and four doubles.
Brittany Potter,
Erica Wieck, and
Alisha Perry were the offensive leaders in the game for the Cowgirls. Potter was 4-5 at the plate with two RBIs and a double. Wieck went 2-4 in the batter's box with an RBI, two runs scored, hit one double and drew a walk. Perry was 2-3 at the plate with a double and two runs scored.
The Cowgirls' defense once again failed to help their team out. The four runs that the Rangers scored in the bottom of the seventh inning were unearned because of two fielding errors.
In game two of Sunday's double header, the Cowgirls were still looking for their first victory of the series. They started out the scoring in the first inning when
Brittany Potter hit an RBI single up the middle to score
Erica Wieck. The Rangers also scored a run in the first inning to tie the game up at 1-1. Regis took the 4-1 lead in the second inning with three runs off two hits.
The teams went scoreless until the Cowgirls cut the lead to 4-2 with a run in the top of the fifth inning.
Shelby Watts hit an RBI single to center field that scored
Devon Paiz from third base. The Cowgirls managed to hold the Rangers scoreless in the bottom of the fifth inning, but couldn't come up with any offense in the top of the sixth. The Rangers finished the game early with another big sixth inning. They got six runs off five hits with two Cowgirls' errors in the bottom of the sixth to earn the 10-2 victory.
Erica Wieck (5-10) was credited with the loss in the second game of Sunday's double header. She threw four and a third innings from the pitcher's circle for the Cowgirls and faced 25 batters. Wieck allowed four runs on eight hits, struck out four batters, and walked six.
Jenelle Klassen came on in relief for the Cowgirls in the fifth inning. She threw one and a third innings from the pitcher's circle and faced 12 batters. Klassen allowed seven runs on five hits, but only four runs were earned. Klassen struck out three batters and walked one.
The Cowgirls' offense struggled again in last game of the series, only combining for a .227 team batting average. They had two runs on five hits with two doubles.
Brittany Potter,
Devon Paiz, and
Shelby Watts were the offensive leaders in the game. Potter finished the game 1-2 at the plate with an RBI. Paiz was also 1-2 in the batter's box. She drew one walk, hit a double and scored a run. Watts was 1-3 at the plate with an RBI.
The Cowgirls' offense struggled more than usual at the plate in the four game series against Regis University. However, it was the mistakes by the Cowgirls' defense that cost them the series. Despite the loss of four games to the Rangers the Cowgirls are still contenders for post-season action in the RMAC by sitting in eighth place in the conference.
The Cowgirls will be in non-conference action, on 3/28, as they host their in-state rivals, the Zias of Eastern New Mexico University, in Las Vegas, N.M. The Zias are in last place in the Lone Star Conference with a 1-11 conference record and 6-24 in overall play. The teams last faced each other in a double header in the West Texas A&M Lady Buff Classic tournament on 2/17. The Cowgirls won the first game, in Canyon, Texas, 10-0 and lost the second game 6-5 in extra innings. Game one on Wednesday is scheduled to begin at 2 pm with game two to follow shortly after the completion of the first game. If you can't make it out to Brandt Field to watch the Cowgirls in action, you can watch the Live Stats
HERE.
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GO COWGIRLS!!!
