Softball: Lobos lose to UTEP

The University of New Mexico softball team lost an afternoon affair to the University of El Paso Miners on Monday, 7-0.

UTEP opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, as Kaitlyn Rider drove in Courtney Clayton on a single to right field to score the first run of the game and give the Miners a 1-0 lead heading into the second.

The Miners promptly got the Lobo starter Jensen Main again in the second, adding three more runs to their tally. A one-out triple from Albuquerque native Taylor Sargent followed by a walk got things started for UTEP, before a single to right center scored Sargent. A throwing error by Cameryn O’Grady allowed two more runs to come in and score, both unearned, to push the score to 4-0 UTEP.

The Lobos offense struggled against UTEP starter Julia Wright, and was unable to produce a hit until the fifth inning, when Monica Salas broke up the no-hit bid with a single.

In the sixth, UTEP added three more runs, beginning with a hit by pitch with the bases loaded. A sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout brought the final two runs home to make the score 7-0. The Lobos were unable to string together enough hits to score in the top of the seventh, and stranded two baserunners as the Miners swept the season series two games to none.

Cameron Goeldner is a sports beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s soccer, softball and the Albuquerque Isotopes, but also contributes content for baseball, basketball, football and track and field. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @goeldfinger.