Staff Report
The UNM softball team kissed its two nasty losing streaks goodbye on Sunday with a 3-2 win in the second leg of a doubleheader against Utah.
The first - and the ugliest - was an 11-game overall skid. The second was a four-game losing streak against the Utes.
Utah won the first game of the doubleheader, 5-3.
In the second game, the Lobos fell behind early in the first inning when Sarah Lyman singled to send Diana Phillips and Jackie Wong home.
After the Utes' first two runs, the Lobos came back and put up two runs in the fifth to go up 3-2.
Freshman Ashley Allen's single in the fifth inning put the Lobos up for good, sending home Kristina Schmallen and Cassie Chavez.
Junior pitcher Katie Gregg pitched a five-hit shutout to record her seventh win of the season. The Utes' Brianna Gourdin was credited with the loss after pitching an eight-hit complete game.
Allen had a perfect game at the plate, going 2-for-2 with one RBI.
In the first game, UNM briefly held a 2-1 lead before falling behind for good in the third inning.
Lindsey Elcess' single in the first inning drove home juniors Chavez and Schmallen, but the Utes came back in the third inning with a three-run homer by Ivette Hernandez.
Utah scored its fifth run in the fourth inning when Diana Phillips had an infield hit that sent Kelly Matthews home from third.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Allen reached on an error by the Utes' shortstop that allowed Schmallen enough time to get home for the Lobos' last run of the game.
UNM threatened to come back again in the seventh when Schmallen hit a double. Elcess was tagged with a pitch, and then Allen hit a single. The bases would have been loaded with one out, but Elcess was thrown out at home trying to score to end the game.
Senior pitcher Ashley Perkins was credited with the loss in the last home game of her career.
She pitched a 13-hit complete game, recording one strikeout and five earned runs. Utes' pitcher Lindsie Nielsen snagged the win for Utah with a nine-hit outing.
Schmallen and Chavez both hit 2-for-3 in the first game. Scmallen had two runs scored, while Chavez recorded one.
Allen went 2-for-4 with an RBI, but it was Hernandez who did the most damage to UNM. She went 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs to go along with one run scored. The Utes' Wong and Phillips finished 3-for-4.
The Lobos are 14-29 overall and 4-12 in the Mountain West Conference. Utah is 18-25, 6-10.
UNM will take on San Diego State on Friday and conclude the season Sunday in Las Vegas against the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
