Tiffani Chambers’ pinch-hit RBI double in the top of the eighth inning lifted the UNM softball team over the University of Nevada at Las Vegas 10-9 in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday at Lobo Field.
Chambers’ hit capped a three-hit, four-RBI game and pushed the Lobos’ record to 32-17-1 overall and 5-4-1 in the Mountain West Conference.
“This team has so much character, and they never quit,” UNM head coach Susan Craig said. “They go after people with all their heart. We just make too many little mistakes, and we can’t do that and win championships.”
UNM now hits the road for 10 straight games before returning home May 10-12 for the Mountain West Championships.
With the score tied at one, the Rebels tapped UNM starter Amy Dumas for five runs on five hits in the top of the third inning, and it looked as though UNLV was on its way to a doubleheader sweep. The Rebels won game one 4-2.
But the Lobos responded with four runs in the bottom of the third and two in the fourth to keep pace.
In the third, Elena Cranmer, Krissy Keene and Kathy Moore all doubled to begin the inning. Brooke Chaffee hit an RBI single and Chambers’ one-out double scored Moore and Chaffee to bring the Lobos to within 6-5.
In the top of the fourth, Rebel Bridget Byrne scored on a wild throw. In the bottom of the inning, Cranmer and Moore singled and Kelly Glass and Chambers brought them in with singles to tie the game at seven.
UNM freshman pitcher Hayley Punter replaced Dumas in the top of the fourth and she promptly struck out Geney Orris and Marisa Martinez. She finished with seven strikeouts in four innings of work.
UNLV added runs in the sixth and seventh innings, then the Lobos’ rally ensued.
Cayley Warner and Rachel Wennekamp singled off Orris and Marianna Fenelli grounded out for the first out. Cranmer looped a single into right field that scored both Warner and Wennekamp to tie the game at nine and sent the game into an extra inning.
In the bottom of the eighth, Glass took Orris’ first pitch to the right field fence and Chambers’ game-winning hit came on a full count to end the game.
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Friday, the Lobos split a doubleheader with conference rival San Diego State University.
The Aztecs took a close 5-4 victory, then fell victim to the Lobos’ bats in game two, a 9-0 win. The game ended after five innings due to the mercy rule.
With the two losses in two days, the Lobos continued to struggle at home. The team is 6-2 in away games and 10-5-1 in home games.
Craig dispelled the notion that the Lobos are tougher on the road.
“We haven’t been home enough to have a mindset,” Craig said. “We only have a few games at home, so I don’t think it has anything to do with that.”
She also praised Punter, though she served up a solo home run to Samantha Inouye in the bottom of the seventh with the Lobos already down a run.
“I think she’s a quality pitcher,” Craig said. “She’s a young freshman, and she makes bad mistakes sometimes. The whole thing is that we have to learn how to stop doing that.”
Mountain West Notes
The Lobos play 10 games in 15 days, beginning with next weekend’s trip to Provo, Utah, for a doubleheader with Brigham Young University Friday and then to Salt Lake City, Utah, for a doubleheader with the University of Utah Sunday. After that, UNM travels to Las Vegas, Nev., then to San Diego, Calif., for rematches against the Rebels and Aztecs.
The third-place Lobos trail Utah (5-2-1) and BYU (3-2) in conference play. The Utes and Cougars were slated for a doubleheader Saturday, but it was postponed due to inclement weather. The teams will make up the two games May 4.
