The UNM softball team made a late-inning comeback, but threw the ball and the game away in the final inning to lose 4-3 to Brigham Young University in the Mountain West Conference Tournament at Lobo Field.
After beating Colorado State University 2-0 earlier in the day in the first round, the fourth-seeded Lobos could not overtake the top-seeded Cougars. The Lobos (38-23-1) now move into the losers’ bracket of the double-elimination tournament.
Down 3-0 against BYU (33-23) after the first three innings, the Lobos, playing as the visiting team, battled back to tie the score in the top of the seventh only to give up an unearned run on a throwing error in the bottom half of the inning.
With the score tied at three in the bottom of the seventh inning, BYU’s right fielder Oli Keohohou lead off the inning with a single to center field off of Lobo freshman Amy Dumas.
Cougar left fielder Liz Smith followed with a sacrifice bunt. However, the bunt turned into the game-winning play as Lobo first baseman sophomore Elena Crammer threw the ball into right field for an error. Keohohou was running on the play and scored easily from first base, but she did not touch home plate. When the throw reached catcher junior Tiffani Chambers, she did not know what was happening. Then as both players realized that the play was still alive, Keohohou touched the bag just before Chambers applied the tag to score the winning run.
"She thought there was an obstruction on the play, but she didn’t realize there wasn’t,” head coach Susan Craig said. “Instead of completing the play she just stood there when everybody was yelling and their player touched home plate.”
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Dumas took the loss to go to 17-7. She pitched 4 1/3 innings after coming in relief, allowing two runs — one unearned. Sophomore center fielder Kelly Glass had a good hitting game for the Lobos as she went two-for-three with two runs scored. However, she was the only one with much success against the Cougar pitching. Craig said she was frustrated by her team’s offensive performance.
“We’re not hitting the ball well, we’re not seeing the ball well,” Craig said. “We did a lot of things bad at the plate, but we kept competing and we kept working hard. We had a good chance to win that ball game, but we didn’t do all the little things on defense to make it happen.”
>YU quickly went up 3-0 on the Lobos, pounding starting Lobo pitcher freshman Hayley Punter. Punter lasted only 1 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and falling behind in the count against many of the batters she faced.
The struggles began in the first inning, as Keohohou led off with a walk, was sacrificed to second and scored on a two-out double by designated hitter Brooke Cadiente.
In the second inning, the Cougars shortstop Becca Erickson hit a towering home run to center field, making the score 2-0 and ending Punter’s day.
After BYU tacked on another run in the third inning, the Lobos began their comeback. With two outs and base runners on second and third in the fifth inning, pinch hitter junior Michelle Carter hit a line-drive double to center field to score two runs. UNM tied the score with some nifty base running by Glass.
She led off the inning with a walk, stole second and then advanced to third on an infield single by senior shortstop Marianna Fenelli. Carter scored on a double-steal, with Fenelli stealing second and Carter beating Cougar second baseman Kari Pringle’s return throw to home plate.
Cadiente went two-for-three for the Cougars, with one RBI and one run scored.
Meghan Pricer won in relief (13-6), allowing no hits in one inning of work.
In the CSU game earlier in the day, the Lobos got an outstanding performance by Dumas and some sloppy defense by the Rams to get the win. Dumas pitched 61/3 innings of scoreless baseball to get the win.
Punter came in relief and got out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the seventh to get her first save of the year.
Both of the Lobos runs were unearned as the Rams committed three errors. Chaffee went two-for-three, including one RBI.
UNM will meet the University of Nevada at Las Vegas on Friday at 9 a.m. at Lobo Field. The Lobos beat UNLV three of four times this year.
