by Justin Goodrum
Daily Lobo
With a tournament title all but wrapped up, the UNM softball team still had plenty on the line Sunday at home against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
A 13-game winning streak and an unbeaten record at home went by the wayside though in a 4-2 loss to the Raiders in the final game of the Airport University Inn Lobo Classic.
The Lobos put the pressure on the Red Raiders early with a two-run home run by senior Kristina Schmallen in the bottom of the second inning that gave the Lobos a 2-0 lead.
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A base hit by Heather Parker and a Whitney Riley RBI single put the Red Raiders within one run during the top of the third inning.
As Texas Tech started to get hot, the Lobos went ice cold, failing to score the rest of the game.
A fielding error by the Lobos during the fourth inning gave the Red Raiders two more runs and the 3-2 lead. They never looked back after that.
UNM head coach Kim Newbern said the unusual errors cost the Lobos the game.
"It's not the way we wanted it to go," she said. "I don't feel like we played as sharp as we've been the past couple of weeks. Texas Tech just took advantage of that."
Senior catcher Liz Young said the Lobos let a winnable game slip away.
"I think that we beat ourselves," she said. "I don't think they outright beat us. We're just as good if not better than they are. So I think we'll be all right."
Lobo pitcher Jen Mendenhall almost salvaged the game for UNM when she came in for the fourth inning.
Mendenhall gave up only one run to Natalie Kula in the top of the fifth inning, giving her team a chance to pull back into the game. Lobo outfielders Jennifer Deitrich and Ryanne Hodgins added base hits in the bottom of the fifth inning, but a double play ended the best scoring chance of the game.
No offensive production in the sixth and seventh inning secured a 4-2 win for Texas Tech.
The Lobos dropped one game during the tournament, going 4-1 to take the title. They are now 15-13 on the season.
"The kids played great all weekend," Newbern said. "I think overall the tournament was wonderful. They've been playing really strong during the month of March."
Along with winning the tournament, senior shortstop Cassie Chavez was named the Most Valuable Player with seven RBIs and two triples over the weekend.
Although the winning streak was snapped, Young said the weekend was a success for the Lobos and showed they're still improving.
"Everything clicked," she said. "Our pitching was a lot better. Our hitting came together. We had hits from all different players the whole weekend. I thought it was great."
UNM plays Northern Colorado University on Saturday in a doubleheader at noon at the Lobo Softball Field.
