Cowgirls score 11 runs in second inning to lift passed Regis 13-7

Las Vegas, NM --- The New Mexico Highlands softball team used a big second inning to gain a four-game split with Regis in RMAC play. On both days, the Rangers took opening game while the hosts notched wins in the back end of each double-header. For Regis (9-3, 6-2 RMAC), it was their first losses in conference play.
 
Regis ace Taylor Armitage (4-0) spun a three-hit shutout in the first game. The Cowgirls picked up their first hit in the third inning courtesy of a double by shortstop Tamia Yellowman (FR; Phoenix, Ariz.). Armitage kept hits from the Cowgirls until sixth. In the bottom of the inning, a single by Brooklynn DeLozier (SR; Longmont, Colo.) and double by Megan Gutierrez (FR; Whitier, Calif.) sparked life for Highlands. But two foul outs ended the threat and the game as the Rangers scored two runs in each of the second, third and fourth innings and three runs in the sixth inning to invoke the NCAA run rule. The shut out was the first against the Cowgirls this season.
 
Starter Paige Varni (FR, Clovis, Calif.) took her first loss of the season, dropping her record to 2-1. She surrendered six runs, four earned, struck out one and walked two. Reliever Cassidy Munoz (FR, Lancaster, Calif.) pitched 2 1/3 inning giving up 3 runs, all earned with no strikeouts and one walk.
 
Game two, Regis struck first again with two runs in the second inning. Jade Loe lead off the inning with a solo homerun. Katherine Raper reached on a hit-by-pitch and one out later, scored all the way from first on a double by Shayelyn Allen. Cowgirl starter Nathalie Blattmann (Abbotsville, British Columbia, Canada) got the next two batters on an infield pop-up and a strikeout.
 
Highlands answered in a big way in the bottom of the inning. Carlee Gonzalez (FR., Rocklin, Calif.) walked to lead off the inning. Samantha Gamboa (FR; Albuquerque, NM) reached by a hit-by-pitch. Savannah Pineda Chavez (FR; Montebello, Calif.) reached on a bunt single scoring Gonzalez. Designated player Brooklynn DeLozier (FR; Silver City, NM) followed with a bung single of her own, loading the bases. Yellowman smashed an infield single off the Rangers third baseman, driving home Gamboa and tying the game, 2-2.
 
Camrynn Ziegler (JR; El Paso, Texas) singled through the left side as Pineda Chavez scored. Next up was DeLozier who singled up the middle knocking in two runs. That hit chased Regis starter M Loveland for A Kemp.  But the Cowgirls greeted the Ranger reliever with three more consecutive RBI-singles by Gutierrez, Fish and Gonzales, pushing the lead to 8-2. After another pitching change, Gamboa doubled with two more runs coming in on the play. Gamboa reached third on the play on a throwing error and scored on a passed ball before Pineda Chavez's double made it 10 straight hits for Highlands. When the inning ended and the dust settled, the Cowgirls owned an 11-2 lead.
 
The sides traded two-run frames in the third inning. The Cowgirls got their tallies on a Gonzalez home run to right-center, her third of the year.
 
The Rangers got a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth, to close the gap to 13-7. But Blattmann navigated cleanly through a two-out double in the sixth and a runner who reached on an error in the seventh to secure her second straight win. Blattmann (2-3) gave up six earned runs, striking out four and walking two.
 
New Mexico Highlands head coach Kevin Jannusch was happy to see the effort in game two. "We were not ourselves in the first game. It was the flattest we've played so far," Jannusch said. "I challenged them to not finish the weekend without a fight. They responded."
 
The big second inning did not go unnoticed by the first-year Cowgirl coach. "I can't recall a 10-straight hit rally by a college team in my 25-year career. It was awesome to watch."
 
The four-game split keeps Highlands record even at 4-4. All their games have been RMAC contests. They sit tied for fifth in the conference standings. After their 2-2 weekend, Regis drops to runner-up in the standings.
 
New Mexico Highlands continues RMAC play next weekend at Colorado School of Mines (4-8, 3-5 RMAC). The first pitch for Saturday's double-header is scheduled for 12:00 pm.