Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The New Mexico Highlands softball team (11-23, 7-16 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) lost a pair of games Saturday afternoon (April 5) in day one of the its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference pod. The Cowgirls fell 13-4 in six innings of game one against UC-Colorado Springs (19-9, 15-6) and lost 16-6 to Metro State (18-10, 12-7 RMAC) in the nightcap.
Trailing 7-0 in game two, the Cowgirls rallied to cut the deficit to within one to trail 7-6 heading into the fifth. Highlands got on the board in the second inning when sophomore
Amber Cordero doubled down the left field line and scored on junior
Jessica Brink's two-out single.
Redshirt freshman
Annie Reynolds added a two-run home run in the third before sophomore
Dekota Monarrez hit a two-out, three run home run in the bottom of the fourth. It was Monarrez's RMAC-leading 10th home run of the season.
However, Metro State answered with nine runs over the final three innings to secure the 16-6 win.
Junior
Jacquelyn Wood fell to 6-9 in the circle for the Cowgirls, allowing seven hits and seven run (five earned) over 1.2 innings pitched.
Kaylynn Harmon paced Metro State with five hits in as many at-bats with five RBI's and three runs scored. Aubree Maul added three hits, four RBI's and a run scored on her third home run of the season. Cassidy Smith (9-3) took the win in the circle for the Roadrunners, throwing a complete game with 10 hits allowed and six earned runs.
In game one, the Mountain Lions put up a pair of five-spots en route to a 13-4 win. Down 7-0 in the bottom of the third, the Cowgirls scored a pair of unanswered runs. Wood and Reynolds both reached on fielding errors before advancing to scoring position when Monarrez was walked. Senior
Dominique Padilla provided the single through the left side for two RBI's.
After UC-Colorado Springs went up 13-2 in the sixth, the Cowgirls scored a pair of run in the bottom of the inning. Monarrez led the frame off with a double and advanced to third on a single by Padilla. A sacrifice fly by Cordero and a junior
Amber Harding double brought the Cowgirls within nine, but they could climb no closer.
Padilla led the Highlands' offense with three hits in as many at-bats with two RBI and a run scored. Brink took the loss in the circle, falling to 5-11 by allowing eight hits and seven runs over 2.2 innings pitched.
For the Mountain Lions, both Jessica Belsterling and Dani Fonseca went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. Fonseca had two RBI's while Belsterling added one. Korey Kulpins had a two-run home run in three at-bats, earning the complete-game win while allowing five hits and four runs (one earned) with three walks and three strikeouts.
The New Mexico Highlands softball team returns to action Sunday (April 6) when it takes on Metro State at 10 a.m. and UC-Colorado Springs at 2 p.m.
