SPEARFISH, S.D. – After playing 17 games against the top teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the New Mexico Highlands softball team (7-19, 3-14 RMAC) takes time off when it travels to Spearfish, S.D., to battle Black Hills State (2-15, 1-9 RMAC) for a pair of double headers Saturday and Sunday (March 29-30).
While there will not be live stats or video, you can follow live updates via Twitter @NMHUCowboys.
Can We Get a Break?
After a stretch where Highlands has played 16-of-17 games to begin RMAC play against the top half of the conference, the Cowgirls finally get a bit of a breather against Black Hills State, who has only one win in conference play.
Highlands ends conference play with 16-of-20 RMAC games against the bottom half of the conference starting with this weekend. However, the four games against the Yellow Jackets is a short reprieve as the Cowgirls play a pair of games against the fourth (Metro State) and sixth (UC-Colorado Springs) best teams in the RMAC next weekend. It will be in Las Vegas, N.M., and will be the final RMAC pod of the season for Highlands.
Clean Sweep
After beginning the season 1-14 in the RMAC, the Cowgirls swept getaway day last Sunday (March 23) in Pueblo, Colo., thanks to timely two-out hitting and contributions from the pitchers – both on the mound and from the plate.
Highlands took a 5-1 lead in game one against Fort Lewis and held on for the 5-3 win. In game two, the Cowgirls scored in the fourth and added an insurance run in the sixth for the 2-0 win over host CSU-Pueblo. With two outs and runners in scoring position for the day, the Cowgirls were 5-for-8.
Junior
Jacquelyn Wood got the shutout in a complete game win against CSU-Pueblo. Only one runner got past second for CSU-Pueblo while Wood scored both runs for the Cowgirls after singles to begin the fourth and sixth innings. Sophomore
Jessica Brink claimed the win in game one against Fort Lewis, going 2-for-3 from the plate in both games. She put Highlands in the lead for good on the weekend with a two-out, RBI single in the third against Fort Lewis. Against CSU-Pueblo, she provided insurance with a two-out, RBI hit in the sixth.
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Scouting Black Hills State
If you are looking for quick games, this might not be the weekend. Black Hills State is seventh in the conference and 74th in the nation with a .304 batting average. The Cowgirls are not far behind in batting average at .294. However, the Yellow Jackets are last in the RMAC and 267th in the nation with a 10.78 ERA, just shy of two runs behind the next-highest team in the conference and nearly five runs per game worse than the Cowgirls.
New Mexico Highlands leads the RMAC and is 12th in the nation with 1.23 runs per game. That number could go up as Black Hills State averages surrendering 1.27 home runs per game.
Nia Shumpert leads the team with a .410 batting average. Erica Everson is 10th in the nation with 0.85 walks per game, and not surprisingly, leads the team and is 70th in the nation with a .512 on-base percentage. Becky Green is 10th in the nation with 0.42 sacrifice bunts per game.
Next Up
The New Mexico Highlands softball team hosts its own pod next weekend when it plays Metro State and UC-Colorado Springs in one game each on both Saturday (April 5) and Sunday (April 6). Play begins Saturday at 11 a.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m.
