The softball team made it through Saturday with two wins, beating Northern Colorado and Central Arkansas, but failed to keep its undefeated season alive after it fell on Sunday to Purdue.
The two wins on Saturday put the team’s record at 9-0, tied for the best start to a season in UNM history, but the 10-6 loss to Purdue takes them to 9-1 on the season.
“I didn’t really come in with any expectations of wins and losses,” head coach Erica Beach said. “It’s really fun for me to see the team getting the recognition and getting the wins for all the work they’ve put in.”
In the first game, the Lobos went 5-0 over the Northern Colorado in the first inning and never looked back.
The Lobo batters registered 11 hits and four home runs. Two of the homers were courtesy of junior infielder Stefanie Carramusa, while senior outfielders Shenise Cox and Jessica Lujan-Dresslar each had home runs of their own.
Beach said the team’s power is partially thanks to hitting coach Lyndsey Angus. The other part is intuition.
“Our team has been hitting home runs since day one,” Beach said. “We’re a power-hitting team. The bottom line is that they know how to hit home runs.”
The game ended in the fifth inning because of softball’s eight-run mercy rule. Junior pitcher Kaela DeBroeck was credited with the win.
The Lobo bats stayed hot through the second game. Carramussa sent a solo shot over the left field fence to start the first inning against Central Arkansas.
The Sugar Bears kept it close. The game tied 2-2 heading into the fourth inning.
That all changed when sophomore infielder Jordan Sjostrand sent the ball out of the park, to bring in two runs. The home run was Sjostrand’s first of the season.
“I wasn’t even thinking about it,” Sjostrand said. “I just did what coach says. I went up to the plate and put a good swing on a good pitch.”
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From there, UNM’s starting pitcher, freshman Carrie Sheehan, took over.
Thanks to Sheehan, the Sugar Bears went hitless in the fourth and fifth innings.
Cox’s home run in the top of the sixth sealed the win for the Lobos.
“We knew that we were going to have to play really good defense and our pitching was going to have to step up this game,” Beach said. “Carrie Sheehan threw a really good game, and we did what we needed to do.”
