Brooklynn DeLozier leads Cowgirls on her Senior Day to an RMAC split with UCCS

Las Vegas, NM --- The New Mexico Highlands softball team split their final home series of the season with a 7-5 win over UCCS on Sunday afternoon.
 
After dropping the first game of a double-header to the Mountain Lions 19-1, Brooklynn DeLozier (Sr; Longmont, CO) stepped up on Senior Day and started a first inning rally for the Cowgirls with a lead-off homerun. Camrynn Ziegler (Jr; El Paso, TX) hit a high pop up to left field that bounced over UCCS Maddie Unreins' head to give the junior a two out triple.
 
Megan Gutierrez (Fr; Whitier, CA) followed with a single to the short stop and scored Ziegler to cut the Mountain Lion lead to two runs after UCCS scored four runs in the top half of the first.
 
A pair of hits from Talyor Fish (Fr; Wildomar, CA) and Samantha Gamboa (Fr; Albuquerque, NM) brought Gutierrez around to score the third run of the inning and make it 4-3 in favor of UCCS.
 
The next three and a half innings would be a pitcher's showdown as both team were held scoreless, until the bottom of the fifth inning as DeLozier walked, then proceeded to steal second. Ziegler and Gutierrez again stringed together a pair of hits that scored DeLozier to tie the game at four.
 
Nathalie Blattmann, after giving up four of her first eight hits in the first inning, held the Mountain Lions to four hits in the final six innings, striking out two, as the Mountain Lions regained the lead in the top of the sixth inning by scoring a run.
 
"Nathalie was nails after the rough start" stated head coach Kevin Jannusch on is sophomore pitcher. "It's so gratifying to see her hard work paying off. She's learned how to pitch in this league; a tough thing to do."
 
DeLozier didn't fail to show-out for her game as a Cowgirl as the senior stepped in to finish her final home game going 3 for 3 with another home run, this time a three run shot, to give the Cowgirls an eventual 7-5 win over the Mountain Lions.
 
"Brooklynn had a special weekend. I can't imagine too many Cowgirls have had a better last home game in our history" commented Jannusch on his senior's performance. "You could just tell she was on her mission in her last at-bat. She put a great swing on her second strike and fouled it straight back. Cam (Ziegler) looked at me and said 'Oh, Coach. She's on it'… Was she ever."
 
The other Cowgirl senior, Raelyn Sanchez, showed great heart and hustle late in the top half of the sixth inning to record the final out of the inning after almost colliding with second baseman Brooke De La Garza (Fr; Silver City, NM) to make the catch.
 
"I just couldn't have asked for two better seniors in my first year here" stated Jannusch. "We've had some ups and downs, but having Brooklynn and Raelyn on this team has been a joy."
 
The Cowgirls will be back in action next weekend for their final series of the 2021 season against Colorado Christian.
 
GO COWGIRLS!!