Spearfish, South Dakota - The New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls were on the wrong end of two walk-off finishes Sunday afternoon, falling twice to Black Hills State in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference doubleheader at Yellow Jacket Field.
The Yellow Jackets claimed the opener 4-3 on a walk-off home run before rallying from a large deficit to take the nightcap 12-11 in eight innings.
Game 1 - Black Hills State 4, New Mexico Highlands 3
The Cowgirls outhit Black Hills State 9-7, but a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Yellow Jackets to a 4-3 victory in the opening game.
New Mexico Highlands broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning.
Olivia Boswell delivered an RBI infield single that scored
Giana Marez to give the Cowgirls a 1-0 lead.
Black Hills State responded in the bottom of the inning with a single to shallow center that brought home two runs to give the Yellow Jackets a 2-1 advantage.
New Mexico Highlands rallied in the seventh.
Jazmyn Griego launched a two-run home run to deep center field, scoring
Andrea DeLaTrinidad and putting the Cowgirls back in front 3-2.
The lead was short-lived. In the bottom half of the inning, Black Hills State hit a walk-off two-run homer to right field to secure the 4-3 win.
Griego led the Cowgirls at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double, home run and two RBIs. DeLaTrinidad and
Hallie Watkins each added two hits.
Jolissa Valdez pitched a complete game for Highlands, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out four.
Game 2 - Black Hills State 12, New Mexico Highlands 11 (8 innings)
The second game of the day turned into an offensive slug fest that saw the Cowgirls build a large early lead before Black Hills State stormed back for a walk-off win in extra innings.
New Mexico Highlands erupted for five runs in the first inning. RBI hits from
Jazmyn Griego and
Yasmin Villa, along with bases-loaded walks from
Giana Marez and
Cheyenne Ben, helped stake the Cowgirls to an early 5-0 lead.
The Cowgirls added two more runs in the second when
Jolissa Valdez blasted a two-run home run to left field to extend the advantage to 7-1.
Highlands continued the offensive surge in the third inning. Griego ripped a three-run double to center field before
Hallie Watkins followed with an RBI double to push the lead to 11-1.
Black Hills State chipped away throughout the middle innings and then erupted for four runs in the sixth to pull within two. The Yellow Jackets tied the game with two runs in the seventh inning to force extra innings.
In the eighth, Black Hills State completed the comeback scoring the winning run on a ground out for the 12-11 victory.
New Mexico Highlands finished with 14 hits in the contest. Watkins led the way with a 4-for-4 performance, while Griego went 3-for-5 with four RBIs. DeLaTrinidad and Boswell each added two hits.
The Cowgirls continue their RMAC road series against Black Hills State with another doubleheader on Monday in Spearfish. First pitch is at 11:00 am.
