In four years on the New Mexico softball team, seniors Krissy Fortner and Chelsea Johnson had never experienced a win over rival New Mexico State. That changed on Tuesday with a 13-4, mercy rule win over the Aggies in Las Cruces.
The last time the Lobos beat the Aggies in March of 2014, Johnson was finishing her senior year at Riverside Poly High School in Riverside, California. Fortner, a Farmington native, was enrolled at UNM but not yet a member of the softball team.
Johnson, who leads the team with a .343 batting average so far this season, went 3-for-4 with four runs batted in her final matchup against the Aggies.
“I was just really excited no matter what, because it was going to be a good game,” Johnson said. “We were going to go back and forth and fight for that final inning. I knew it was going to be a bloodbath for us, and it kind of felt good to (have it) be a mercy rule, especially in our last game facing them, so it was pretty awesome.”
Fortner did not appear in the game, as starter Jensen Main went the distance but still had fun watching as the team got the victory.
“It was really fun to go there and be able to push back because the entire game, we pushed, played defense well, we pitched well, we hit well every single inning,” Fortner said.
In addition to the win over the Aggies, the Lobos also recorded their first win over Fresno State since 2014 in Thursday night’s walk off 4-3 win.
“It’s awesome (to be able to beat teams we haven’t previously),” Johnson said. “Four years here and just letting them roll over us, it sucks — and on our final matchup, we get to beat them. It felt awesome. You go in expecting to win, but you kind of have that doubt in the back of your mind like, ‘They’ve handed it to us a couple times,’ and it was a good team win too.”
Not only are Johnson and Fortner enjoying it, but Lobos’ head coach Paula Congleton is too.
“(It’s) really exciting (to get these wins),” Congleton said. “As a coach I try not to look at some of those numbers too much and get tied up into that, but I knew it had been many years, and for us in the first, basically seven months, I can tell you that I’m not only so proud and excited for my coaching staff that we are making that impact on these kids and that we are making a quicker turnaround than we ever imagined.”
With 17 games remaining, the season is well past the midway point, and the careers of the team’s two seniors are winding down and making the most of that time is something that Congleton is cognizant of.
“As we get closer to May that’s kind of at the forefront of our mind with (Johnson) and (Fortner),” Congleton said. “These guys are seniors, and we are very proud to have had the opportunity to coach them, and we want to go out with really positive images of the program, and of course to beat their rival New Mexico State.”
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Cameron Goeldner is a sports beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s soccer and softball but also contributes content for baseball, basketball, football and track and field. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @goeldfinger.