The Lobo softball team used a clutch two-out RBI triple by Stephanie Kennedy and a dominating performance by Amy Dumas on the mound to beat league leading San Diego State 2-1 Sunday afternoon at Lobo Field.
"She has the ability to hit for power," head coach Kim Newbern said of Kennedy. "They pulled in on her and they were going right at her."
In the bottom of the fifth inning, UNM quickly found itself down two outs and nobody on base after third baseman Ora Hensley struck out and catcher Kim Korsak flied out to center. Junior Sabrina Sandberg kept the inning alive by placing a bloop single over the shortstop's head.
Kennedy then stepped to the plate and nailed a line drive that carried over the right fielder's head and bounced off the fence. Sandberg came around to score all the way from first and Kennedy slid head first into third for a triple.
"It was a little bit outside and it was actually kind of a fatty," Kennedy said. "I knew that it was a hit and that I needed to run."
The run gave the Lobos a 2-1 lead.
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SDSU threatened to tie the game in the top of the seventh on a series of bizarre plays. With two outs, Aztec catcher Amber Grahlman ripped a grounder down the first-base line that got past Ashley Shartzer and rolled into the outfield for a single. Designated player Deanna Richards came up next and hit what looked to be a routine fly ball into left center field. The play turned out to be anything but routine as center fielder Kelly Glass and Sandberg collided, dropping the ball which resulted in a base hit.
"She didn't hear me call the ball," Glass said. "I called it but she just didn't hear me."
Grahlman advanced to third and Richards moved up to first setting up a crucial two-out showdown. The Lobos breathed a sigh of relief when SDSU left fielder Erin Mahoney popped up to Korsak behind home plate to end the game.
"I don't think I took a breath the entire time it was up in the air," Korsak said of the game's final out.
The Aztecs got on the board first in the second inning when Kelcy Murphy reached base on a throwing error by Dumas and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Bianca Cruz then delivered a RBI double to give SDSU an early 1-0 lead.
The Lobos wasted no time getting back in the game as freshman Iraina Ogas homered leading off the bottom of the second. Ogas connected on a 0-2 pitch and drove it high and deep over the right field fence.
"When it's 0-2 you have to hit whatever comes at you because anything close is a strike," Ogas said. "I just wanted to get on with a hit and I came out with a home run."
After the second, Dumas was nearly unhittable scattering four singles over the next five innings. Before the Aztecs' two-out rally in the seventh, Dumas had retired eight batters in a row. As the game wore on, Dumas grew stronger, hitting her stride on the hill.
"I thought I was struggling in the beginning and then towards the end I got in a groove," Dumas said.
Dumas finished with a complete game, giving up one unearned run on five hits and two walks while striking out four.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Lobos lost 4-2, splitting the series with SDSU. UNM swept two games from UNLV on Friday, 1-0 and 3-2, respectively. This weekend's games conclude the regular season for the Lobos as they prepare for the Mountain West Conference Tournament May 8-10.
