It couldn’t have been a better home-opening weekend for the UNM softball team.
The Lobos nearly swept Seattle, winning three of four games over the weekend at the UNM Softball Complex.
UNM won Saturday’s games 6-1 and 9-8, before dropping Sunday’s first leg of the doubleheader 9-3, but then run-ruled the Redhawks, 9-0 in five innings of the second leg.
The Lobos scored four runs each in the third and fourth innings, in Sunday’s 9-0 pasting, putting their record at 5-3 overall.
Second baseman Cristin Anderson said Sunday’s shutout was invigorating.
“We really didn’t get it done in the first game, but we came back in the second game strong and knocked them out in five innings, which was good,” Anderson said. “I think we just had (more) heart and being able to bounce back definitely played a role.”
While Sunday’s games were hardly in doubt, Saturday was chock full of unscripted theatrics.
That’s when Anderson rescued the Lobos with a walk-off hit with two outs and the bases loaded to drive in Jessica Lujan-Dresslar for the game-winning run, giving the Lobos a 9-8 victory over the Redhawks.
Down 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Lujan-Dresslar singled to right field to tie the game at eight a piece.
And then Anderson stepped to the plate, after struggling for much of the afternoon.
“In that second game, I just kept hitting right to people,” Anderson said. “When the time came, I just knew I had to get it done. I had to find a hole, and I did. I have been in that position a couple of times, but definitely it’s always exciting, because your adrenaline is always pumping. I was so excited, so happy, to get the hit.”
UNM freshman outfielder Cassandra Kalapsa said all Anderson had to do was make solid contact, because Lobos were in scoring position.
“We were down coming into the seventh, and there is nothing to do but hit, especially when you’re the home team,” Kalapsa said. “You have to hit, and, when you have runners on base, you have to score, and that is what we did. We executed really well.”
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