Cowgirls fall short against Colorado School of Mines

Las Vegas, NM --- The New Mexico Highlands softball team dropped a four-game series with Colorado School of Mines on Sunday March 14^th, after losing game three 4-12 and game four 3-11.
 
Colorado School of Mines exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the third inning to take control of game three 9-0, which was highlighted by six Oredigger hits and a fielding error by second basemen Savannah Pineda Chavez (Fr; Montebello, CA). It wasn't until the top of the fourth inning that the Cowgirls would score their first run of the day as Carlee Gonzalez (Fr; Rocklin, CA) smacked a one-out double to right field that scored Megan Gutierrez (Fr; Whitier, CA) from second. Next batter up, Samantha Gamboa (Fr; Albuqurque, NM), stepped in to score Gonzalez with single to right field.
 
Gonzalez recorded her second RBI of the day again in the top of the fifth inning with single up the middle to score Gutierrez while Pineda Chavez reached and scored Brooke De La Garza (Fr; Silver City, NM) on an error from Colorado School of Mines third basemen Stefanie Brunello, to make it 9-4 Orediggers.
 
The Orediggers would add three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, to take game three 4-12. Gurierrez finished a perfect three for three from behind the plate with a double while Carlee Gonzalez finished two for two with a double and two RBI. Nathalie Blattmann (2-5) gave up nine runs off eight hits while Cassidy Munoz stepped in the circle to record three runs off five Oredigger hits.
 
Camrynn Ziegler (Jr; El Paso, TX) got the ball rolling in game four against Colorado School of Mines after getting hit by a pitch, followed by Brooklynn DeLozier (Sr; Longmont, CO) and Gutierrez to set up bases loaded for Samantha Gamboa. A deep sacrifice fly to left field scored Ziegler, to give the Cowgirls an early 1-0 lead before the Orediggers would respond with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the first inning.
 
The Cowgirls quickly tied the game at two runs apiece in the top of the second inning after Raelynn Sanchez (R-Sr; Albuqerque, NM) smacked a double down the left field line, which was followed by a Ziegler double to score Sanchez and make the score 2-2.
 
A Gutierrez base on balls in the top of the third, followed by a single from Gamboa and Paige Varni (Fr; Clovis, CA), would set up bases loaded for Brooke De La Garza. De La Garza was hit by a pitch and scored Gutierrez to tie the game at three before the Orediggers would retake the lead in the bottom half of the inning after a Cowgirls fielding error set up Colorado School of Mines Kylie Redding to score Brunello with double down the left field line.
 
The Orediggers would score four runs in the fourth inning and three runs in the bottom of the sixth, to complete the four-game sweep and take game four 3-11.
 
Ziegler led the Cowgirls with two hits and an RBI while Paige Varni stepped in to record eight runs off ten hits and two strikeouts. Samantha Gamboa, stepped on the rubber for the first time this season, pitched 2 complete innings for the Cowgirls, giving up three runs off six hits and two strikeouts.
 
The Cowgirls will be back in action next weekend as they host MSU Denver for a four game series, with a double header scheduled to start on Saturday March 20^th at 12 PM at the HU Softball Field in Las Vegas, NM.
 
GO COWGIRLS!!