Over the weekend, the UNM softball team split a four-game series against Iowa State.
On Saturday, the Lobos slid by the Cyclones, winning 3-1. UNM ended the day by run-ruling Iowa State 12-4 in the fifth inning. But Sunday, the Cyclones got past the Lobos 18-5 and 7-5.
In the second inning of Sunday's first game, Iowa State teed off on pitcher Analise Rubalcava, who gave up five hits to put UNM in a 9-1 hole.
Head coach Ty Singleton said the team was lackadaisical on Sunday.
"We didn't play as hard today as we played yesterday," he said. "You could see it right from our warm up, and all the coaches could see it right from the get go."
Iowa State returned in the third to cause more damage. Two hit batters and four runs later, Rubalcava was pulled and freshman Danielle Castro replaced her. After Castro's entrance, the Cyclones knocked in another five runs and ended the inning with an 18-1 lead.
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A late fourth-inning rally saw the Lobos score four, but that was not enough, and UNM lost 18-5.
"There were probably some plays that we should have made that we didn't, (and those plays) would've put us in a much better position to win the ball game," Singleton said.
The second game seemed to belong to the Lobos until Iowa State was able to string together a few hits against freshman pitcher Kerry Hodgins.
Heading into the fifth, the visitors were still looking for their first run, but after three hard hits, the Cyclones cut the lead in half.
In the sixth, five more hits and an error allowed them to take the lead for the first time. But after an RBI by Cristin Anderson in the bottom of the sixth, the game was tied up. Iowa State's Carrie Monroe then hit an RBI single off of Rubalcava to the left side to end the tie. The Cyclones went on to win the game 7-5.
The Lobos' biggest challenge will come when they travel to Fullerton, Calif., for a six-team tournament, where UNM will face Arizona and Louisiana-Lafayette. Both teams made the College World Series last year.
"We will come out like we did yesterday," Hodgins said. "With higher competition, they will make us come out and play as hard as we can."
